Kick the tires and light the fires. BGSU Motorsports is revving up for an exciting year.

The student organization – formerly known as Electric Falcon Motorsports – is making big changes this year and arousing students’ need for speed.

The group has set aside its award-winning, battery-powered vehicle, the Electric Falcon, and has turned in a new direction – go-kart racing.

Kart racing may seem like child’#39;s play to some, but topping out at around 50 mph, with only a metal frame to protect them, racers will tell you differently.

‘#34;It’#39;s such a rush,’#34; said Jim Herchler, president of BGSU Motorsports.

To bring the excitement to campus, the organization is hosting the first-ever Grand Prix of Bowling Green in April and encouraging students and other organizations to get involved in the landmark event.

The group is holding a demonstration and informational meeting today from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Perry Field House, where members will go over the requirements of fielding a kart team for the competition.

Five organizations have already signed up to field their own teams, and Herchler is hoping for at least five more.

“The more teams the better,” Herchler said. “It will be more competitive and fun.”

Members of the BGSU Motorsports team finished building their first kart and are hoping to build a second for the grand prix.

Right now, they are focused on coordinating the inaugural event, which includes finding sponsors, establishing rules and enticing more teams to join.

The grand prix will take place during Earth Week on April 22, and is being modeled after the Purdue Grand Prix, which has been around for nearly 50 years.

BGSU Motorsports is setting itself apart by “racing for clean air and energy independence.”

All teams will be required to run their vehicles using an ethanol-based fuel, which burns cleaner than gasoline and is cheaper. Ethanol is also considered a renewable resource because it is derived from grain.

Since its establishment in 1993, the organization has placed a heavy emphasis on developing and promoting clean and renewable energy technologies in a motorsports setting.

Even before they switched their focus to karting, the motorsports group embodied this concept in the Electric Falcon, a battery-powered racecar which they raced against other colleges for the past 10 years.

The motorsports team won a handful of national championships with the Electric Falcon, but decided to retire it last year due to increasing costs.

The group decided kart racing would be a fun way to increase their on-campus involvement, so they set forth to establish the grand prix – an event they hope will become a celebrated BGSU tradition.

Herchler is hoping for a large turnout at the event, as kart races are a popular spectator sport.

It’s easy to see why. Powered by an engine about the size of a lunchbox, the karts zip along at high speeds – drivers sitting only inches above the pavement.

The karts resemble more of cage on wheels than a car, and it takes most drivers a few minutes to situate themselves inside the pint-sized vehicles.

The grand prix is also giving organizations an opportunity to do something exciting and different by creating a racing team.

Teams get to construct their own karts, which usually cost around $1,500 to $2,000 to build, Herchler said.

All the teams competing in the grand prix are free to find sponsors to help cover the building and entry fees.

Anyone wanting to know more about the grand prix or joining the organization can attend one of the weekly meetings.

The group meets every Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Room 124 of the Technology Building to plan the grand prix and discuss the development of their karts. They also set up times to collectively work on the karts.

“It’s crazy when we all get together,” Herchler said. “There are so many different personalities, that we all have a blast.”

Anyone can join in on the fun as membership is open to all students, no matter what their majors are.

“We are glad to have anyone join the team as long as they are interested in what we’re doing,” said Mark Strickland, a new member who helped build the first kart.

The group is especially trying to get younger students to join since many of the members are upperclassmen, said Herchler, who wants to ensure the University’s tradition of motorsports doesn’t die out.

Members can earn valuable experience working with the organization, and can get internships and co-ops with all the contacts they make, Herchler said. Those who work directly on the karts can gain important mechanical experience. Other members gain business experience through marketing and promotion of the grand prix.

“This is stuff that can’t be taught in the classroom,” Herchler said.