Jamia Team Grabs Third Place in National Go-Kart Championship

[Following is a press release from Jamia’s Go-kart Team — ‘KARTastrophe’]

Indian Society of New Era Engineers (ISNEE) conducted the nationwide event, National Go-Kart Championship (NGKC) this year in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. The event saw participation from engineering colleges from all over India, with a pre-final round that shortlisted a total of 47 teams that qualified for the final round. The final event was held on the 17th, 18th and 19th of October, at Mohite Racing Academy, Kolhapur. Team KARTastrophe, representing Faculty of Engineering and Technology of Jamia Millia Islamia, bagged the third position.

For those new to the term, a go-kart is a type of small, four-wheeled vehicle that comes in a variety of forms, from motor-less models to high-powered, high-performance ones meant for competitive racing. The competition involved the designing, development and fabrication of such a vehicle under various regulations and restrictions set forth by the organization. A team of second year students of the mechanical engineering department of Jamia Millia Islamia Faculty of Engineering and Technology by the name of Team KARTastrophe participated in this event and qualified for the final round.

With Prof. M. M. Hasan as the faculty advisor and the active support of Head of the Department Prof. Mohd. Islam, Prof. Mohd. Suhaib and Mr. Aley Ali, a team of 25 members was selected from amongst the second year students. The pre-final or virtual round was held in the month of July, in which the computer generated model of the go-kart’s proposed design was presented before and evaluated by a panel of judges form ISNEE at the Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida. The results were declared in August, following which the challenging process of finalizing the parts required, including the engine, raw material for the frame, tyres and wheels, and various other parts necessary for building the final vehicle began.

After a lot of contemplation and brain-storming, with a lot of people, including seniors, professors and local mechanics and technicians being consulted time and again, the basic kart was ready and running on the roads if the FET campus by the beginning of October. The team was sponsored by Talbros Automotive Components Ltd., a manufacturer of steering systems, suspensions and gaskets.

The team reached Kolhapur with the kart on the 15th of October. The next day was spent making some minor fixes that were necessary to be taken care of for the following day’s events. On the 17th, static events were held, that included a technical inspection by experienced persons belonging to the automotive field, and an event that involved dismantling and reassembling parts of the kart, that went exceptionally well. There was some confusion and mismanagement due to ongoing protests in the city, but the day passed favorably with some promising reviews by the judges.

The next day was full of excitement, as it involved events that would test the vehicle’s power and braking capabilities, as well as the driver’s skill at handling the vehicle on a course full of tight and twisting turns. The team faced some minor hurdles in these tests, but they were overcome with minor changes to the kart.

The final day, which was also the most awaited, was the day when the races were to be held. Up to 8 karts at a time were raced on a challenging race track. Many other karts faced problems and were even eliminated, but owing to the excellent design and sturdy construction, the kart of team KARTastrophe thrived on the track, coming only second to another. There was some disappointment, but the team did not lose faith in their work.

By sunset, the races were over and the results in various categories were announced, when much to the dismay of the team, the first and second positions were not achieved. But cheer and joy was returned as on the next day, through the official page of ISNEE-NGKC, JMI was declared to have achieved the third position out of the total 47 teams that participated. The hard work and dedication of the students and professors finally paid off.