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Tokyo Tech News
The Tokyo Tech Automobile Club has finished second in the 2019 Ebisu Super Endurance Race, held on June 22 at the Ebisu Circuit in Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture.
(from left) Club rep Takuya Ikeda (2nd-year master's student, Materials Science and Engineering), captain Ryota Kurihara, vice-captain Yotaro Okada (1st-year doctoral students, Materials Science and Engineering)
Ebisu Super Endurance is held four times a year at the same 2,061-m circuit. Team drivers alternate to drive their car around the course for six hours non-stop. The team with the most completed laps when time runs out is the winner. Cars are divided into two classes. Class B includes modified general commercial vehicles that are not licensed for public roads. Class N automobiles are vehicles licensed for public roads. This June, a total of 14 cars participated in the two classes. Tokyo Tech's racing team completed 259 laps in six hours — 14 laps less than the race winner.
This is the first time the Tokyo Tech Automobile Club has finished in second since it began participating in the race in 2006.
Ryota Kurihara, 1st-year doctoral student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Satoru Uchiyama, 2nd-year master's student, Mechanical Engineering
Tomu Makino, 4th year, Mechanical Engineering
To finish second in a non-students-only race demonstrates the comprehensive strength of the Tokyo Tech Automobile Club.
While we have less funding than other teams, our knowledge ranges from mechanical, electrical, chemical, and materials engineering to ergonomics. Our race strategy incorporates the construction of important information networks, strong teamwork and management of our operations, daily physical and mental training, and the psychological care of our drivers and pit crew during the race. We achieved this outstanding result due to our technological expertise and teamwork.
In academic life, I conduct research on methods used for the long-term management of social infrastructure. The knowledge I have accumulated through my research and the lectures provided by various Schools and institutes can be directly applied to our racing activities. I hope to continue practicing not only motor sports but also other forms of technical craftsmanship at the highest level.
The epitome of engineering technology — the automobile — is the central source of knowledge for the Tokyo Tech Automobile Club. The club's facilities form a certified automobile analysis and maintenance center, but its members are not simply interested in passenger and stock cars. They also work on buses, trucks, bikes, and other vehicles.
By understanding the structure of automobiles, acquiring a broad range of knowledge through practical car maintenance, and learning safe driving techniques, the Tokyo Tech Automobile Club aims to enrich the library of basic theories and existing technologies through vehicles. The club also aims to study systematically the societal spheres that envelop technical craftsmanship and innovation by studying related laws, regulations, and industrial structures.
Tokyo Tech Automobile Club members also develop hybrid and electric vehicles, and race at motor sports events around the country.
Automobile Club members around winning machine
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