Tim Del Signore tore out of the end zone in Glass Bowl Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 29, the engine of his racecar roaring as he accelerated onto the field ahead of the Rockets’ season opener.
The mechanical engineering junior estimated that he maxed out at around 50 miles per hour, cheered on by a near-capacity crowd that he said didn’t really register under a full-face helmet and in the tight confines of an open-cockpit seat. It’s not the fastest that the vehicle he helped to design and build last year can go, but it was fast enough to put a smile on his face as he slowed, turned and then headed back across the field.
Tim Del Signore, a mechanical engineering junior, is behind the wheel of the racecar he and his Rocket Motorsports teammates designed and built last year to lead the Rockets football team into Glass Bowl Stadium before home games all season.
“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “I’m very happy with how it all worked out.”
Del Signore is the current president of Rocket Motorsports, the student organization that’s been representing The University of Toledo in Formula SAE since 1994-95. Each year the team of student engineers puts together a Formula One-style racecar from scratch, with an eye toward a major regional competition at the Michigan International Speedway in May.
The team is excited to bring some extra attention to their most recent model, which placed ahead of nearly two-thirds of competitors in May. In a new partnership to enhance the football game day experience at the Glass Bowl, Del Signore will take the wheel to lead the team out onto the field ahead of home games all season.
“Showcasing the excellence of UToledo and our students is a priority within our athletics department,” said Al Tomlinson, deputy athletic director. “Having the Formula SAE team and their Rocket Motorsports car lead our football team out is one example of how we can leverage our events to highlight the tremendous work taking place on our campus. The car delivers more energy to the game day presentation and provides great visibility to the Formula SAE program.”
Del Signore followed a longstanding interest in taking things apart and putting them back together to UToledo’s College of Engineering in fall 2022, and within his first weeks on campus joined Rocket Motorsports. In his first two years with the team, he’s twice designed and wired the vehicle’s electrical system, a contribution that underscores the valuable hands-on learning opportunities the team offers to members of all skill levels.
“You learn a lot on the team that you don’t necessarily learn in your classes, especially as a freshman or sophomore,” Del Signore, of Monclova, said.
And he isn’t the only member of the 20- to 30-person team who can attest that it looks good on a resume: He landed his first of three semester-long paid co-ops that are required for graduation in most programs in the College of Engineering with one of the team’s sponsors, Projects Designed and Built in Toledo.
Tim Del Signore, far right, president of Rocket Motorsports, and some of the team members pose with the Formula One-style racecar they built from scratch.
Formula SAE requires teams to construct a new vehicle for competition each year, in line with an extensive list of rules and requirements. Rocket Motorsports spends the fall semester working on their design, and by spring is ready to put those plans into action in a new facility in the recently renovated North Engineering Building.
Del Signore said they’re particularly pleased with their current model, which has performed better than any other to which current team members have contributed.
It placed No. 37 at the Michigan International Speedway.
“This year our car has been phenomenal,” Del Signore said. “We also placed first at a smaller Grand Prix at Lawrence Technological University on Saturday, Aug. 31.”
The Glass Bowl presents a very different audience than a typical competition, but Del Signore said it was an easy decision to partner with the UToledo Athletics Department.
Several team members perform with the Rocket Marching Band — Del Signore among them for a year — so they can appreciate the energy around game day. It’s also a chance to show off what they do, and to maybe attract the attention of a few more sponsors who can help them to rank higher and race faster in 2024.
Fifty miles per hour or so is just fine in the meantime.
“It’s hard to drive on synthetic turf,” said Del Signore, who will be back behind the wheel when the Rockets play UMass in the Glass Bowl at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7. “You’re essentially on gravel with those rubber pellets that your wheels are kicking up. You don’t get the same traction that you would on pavement.”
Rocket Motorsports will host a new member meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, in Nitschke Auditorium. Non-engineering students are welcome. For more information, go to Rocket Motorsports’ website.
