Our Story
Learn About Our Journey
Seniors from the Mechanical Engineering department at Santa Clara University initiated Bronco Racing as part of their senior design project, with the goal of building a fully electric F1-style racecar focused on sustainable energy development.
Bronco Racing was officially recognized as a Registered Student Organization (RSO) and received full endorsement from the School of Engineering to continue as a STEM-based student organization.
The team was restructured in January 2024 with renewed focus and expanded membership, preparing for competition.
Building our first race car to compete in the June 2025 Formula SAE Electric competition at Michigan International Speedway.
Mission Statement
To foster community among students with an interest in Santa Clara Formula SAE on Santa Clara University's campus through social/cultural events, classes, and educational events (guest speakers, workshops, conferences). To educate the Santa Clara campus about the student-led project. To establish a greater and more inclusive sense of community by collaborating with other student organizations.
Santa Clara Formula SAE provides students with a practical industry-scale engineering project. Students of all majors can expect to enhance their engineering, communication, project management, business, marketing, and automotive engineering skills. By participating in the project, students will acquire valuable experiences that will further prepare them for industry, gaining important industry knowledge, hands-on abilities, and fantastic teamwork skills. Additionally, we provide students with a fantastic opportunity to network with engineers from industry and a wide range of companies, advisors, and professionals.
Our mission is to ensure that our members can hone their mindset and skill set through designing, engineering, and preparing for the rigor of the Formula SAE competition. Members are encouraged to think boldly, learn often, and exceed their expectations.
Competitions
We primarily prepare and participate in the annual Formula SAE Collegiate conference at Michigan International Speedway, where 100 Formula SAE teams compete in several business, technical, and skill-based events.
We aim to participate in the SoCal shootout competition, a local event hosted by fellow universities in the Bay Area, such as San Jose State University, UC Berkeley, etc., during the Fall season.
What is FSAE?
The Formula Society of Automotive Engineers is an intercollegiate engineering design competition that is hosted by SAE International, an organization established to be the ultimate knowledge source for the engineering profession. By uniting more than 145,000 engineers and technical experts, we drive knowledge and expertise across a broad spectrum of industries.
Formula SAE challenges students to conceive, design, fabricate, and compete with small formula-style racing cars. Teams spend 8-12 months designing, building, and preparing their vehicles for a competition. These cars are judged in a series of static and dynamic events, including technical inspection, cost, presentation, engineering design, solo performance trials, and high-performance endurance.
Students from universities around the world design and build a car over the academic year to compete in a series of dynamic and static events against other colleges. The teams are scored throughout these events to determine the winners of the competition. The competition also has awards outside of the events that recognize teams for design accomplishments, such as best use of E-85 ethanol fuel and recyclability. Formula SAE provides students with a practical application of the knowledge gained through college curricula, experience working in a collaborative environment, and a fantastic opportunity to network with other students, faculty, and companies.
Static Events
Teams market their team & car as if they were pitching to real companies. Judges will examine how well your team has built a business capable of acquiring sponsors and creating an organized team.
Teams present the total cost of the car, including all parts and manufacturing costs, where money was sourced from, and how it was allocated to various subsystems and components.
The most crucial static event in which teams share how they went about designing their car, including major design decisions with justifications. Judges scrutinize teams' designs and dive deep into engineering principles.
Dynamic Events
See how fast your car can accelerate in a straight line.
See how fast your car can drive in a figure eight pattern.
Drive your car around one 800 meter length lap as fast as possible. Push your whole car to its limits in this single lap.
This is the longest and most important—how fast you can complete 22km of racing. Push your car to its endurance limits and get judged based on how efficient your car is (how much energy is used vs. time).
Equal Opportunity Policy
Equal opportunity will be afforded to all members for all positions on the team regardless of race, color, nationality, and/or ethnic origin, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, nationality, veteran status, or physical disability.
Santa Clara Formula SAE is committed to being an inclusive and accessible community for all interested and qualified members, regardless of their financial circumstances. No individual shall be denied membership or full participation due to an inability to pay standard membership dues or related costs. Members may request a Dues Waiver by contacting the Club Treasurer or President in confidence. The process is designed to be respectful and discreet, and no proof of income is required. A simple, private conversation is sufficient to grant the waiver.
The club will allocate a portion of its budget to provide essential club swag (e.g., t-shirts, uniforms) and necessary gear to members who have received a Dues Waiver or who otherwise request assistance.
The club will seek to secure funding through fundraising, sponsorships, or its general budget to subsidize travel, accommodation, and registration fees for competitions for members with financial need. If the budget allows, we may fully support travel expenses for those who have Dues Waivers, or members requiring travel assistance must notify the Club Executive Board by a deadline to be announced at the start of each competition season, so that the club can budget and plan accordingly.