Team Manipal Racing (TMR) recently unveiled their TMR V3 off road vehicle which is going to hit the tracks in Burlington, U.S.A. This is not the first time when Team Manipal of the Manipal School of Technology has gone abroad to display their cars; in fact they have successfully showcased their cars at the international student race tracks in US and Europe. The event to be held in Wisconsin is going to be off-road competition, which is being organized by SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers). The TMR V3 will go against 115 teams from around the globe. Mr. Ramadas M Pai, the chancellor of Manipal University launched the car.
The all terrain vehicle, TMR V3 is the third one from Manipal college to participate in an international off-road track event. These events are a perfect platform for the students to apply their engineering expertise and skill in a rear world environment. TMR made its first appearance in the year 2009 at Wisconsin and the team finished 97th out of 115 albeit it grabbed 14th position in terms of design. At Rochester in 2010, they grabbed 62nd position out of 94. Moreover, TMR was the best Indian team at both these events. The participating in these events have helped them tremendously to improve their vehicle in the present venture in every possible way.
TMR V3 features is a step ahead in terms of technicality; it is India’s lightest BAJA car also includes improved electronics system with the addition of features like onboard speedometer, various instrumental plug-ins enabling real–time monitoring of various vehicle performance parameters from pit crew. The turning performance and stability of the car is enhanced with the incorporation of a Limited Slip Differential. There are 36 students in the TMR team, who are divided under six-technical and three-management department.
The technical departments are mainly suspension, steering, transmission, chassis, brakes, and electronics under technical whereas the departments under the management team are finance, logistics, and public relations. The preparations began way back in the year 2010, with the Team deciding not to participate in the 2011 Illionis, USA event. The extra time was utilized in the enhancement and designing of a better vehicle; the design was finalized by mid-2011 and the development began in the month of October 2011.
