Please introduce yourself.
I’m Howard Ash, academic faculty head at the University of Hertfordshire and I have been involved in Formula Student as one of the scrutineering judges for over ten years.
Why is it important for teams to join Learn To Win?
For a lot of students who are joining Formula Student for the first time, it’s a raft of new information to take on board. They have a lot of ideas, some of which are very outlandish, so it’s important for teams to have realistic goals for their projects. However the biggest problem all teams have is finding the time to bring them to life. People underestimate the amount of time it takes to finalise designs, organise procurement, juggle costs and so on.
What key areas in your judging category are often overlooked?
Teams have been getting better, although often I see some who use the dimensions given in the rulebook as design targets and then wonder why their car doesn’t pass scrutineering. Allowing for some tolerances in your designs means that you can work around unexpected issues and not lose points. Also, great care needs to be taken when determining the location for the driver's safety harness to ensure the belts restrain the driver correctly.
What one piece of advice would you give teams for this season?
Do not assume everything in the car from 2016 passed! A lot of teams forget the feedback of scrutineering from the previous year and carry over mistakes. Teams old and new need to pre-scrutineer their own car before turning up to get the best scoring on the track and coming to me with questions at Learn To Win is a good way of getting around particular challenges they are facing on their car.
What can teams look forward to at Learn To Win this year?
It’s important to gain perspective of the project and make enough time to build your car property. Success at Formula Student is all in the preparation, so joining Learn To Win is the best way of getting started for the season.
Howard will join judges for all areas of the Formula Student competition at Learn To Win on 14 October 2016 at the Institution's London HQ. To hear advice and guidance for all areas of the competition and get essential feedback on your vehicle ahead of the event, book your team to join Learn to Win.