Comments from our board members:
"The SAE Atlanta Race Week Event was amazing and impactful for our engineers, local colleges, and our chapter. We held two events one at Georgia Tech and the other at The University of Georgia where over 150 engineering students from Auburn, Ga Tech, UGA, and Kennesaw State learned about working for OEM’s within racing and best practices for real world job opportunities. Dean Case with Mazda Motorsports was our guest speaker at both events and he was amazing connecting motorsports and engineering. The SAE Atlanta Chapter offered free tickets to the IMSA Petit Leman race at Road Atlanta where Dean showcased the Mazda Mx-5 Cup program and the engineering behind the new Mazda Mx-5 race car. The 3 total Race Week was a huge success and I am extremely happy with how our local engineering students engaged, enjoyed, and learned from all involved."
- Kirk Fordham
"The weather was beautiful for race week. Students and enthusiasts alike gathered in strong numbers at the front gate to Road Atlanta. A short walk to the Mazda Motorsports trailer allowed us to chat about the event and get to know a few of the attendees. Racing Analytics and GB Racing provided a brand new MX-5 Cup car so that Glen Long of Long Road Racing could give us an overview of the development & production process for this vehicle. The car was up on jack stands so Glen could show off some of the finer bits underneath and around the car. After that, a quick hike over the footbridge brought us to the IMSA tech inspection tent for a presentation from Geoffrey Carter, IMSA WeatherTech Sr. Series Technical Manager, and Kirk Fordham, Sr. Director Technical and Quality Excellence for DEKRA Racing. There we got a glimpse into the IMSA Inspection process and discussed the Balance of Power (BoP) method employed by IMSA. Following that, we were able to roam the paddock and track to take in the MX-5 Cup race while enjoying local track fare. Many thanks to all who coordinated this effort - it was a blast!"
- Andrew Lennon
