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The team from Sheffield Hallam University are focusing on aerodynamics as they look to build on their fifth-place finish in 2018. “We have done some work on it in the past but always as an afterthought,” say the team. “This year we have started from the beginning with downforce in mind. Now we are in the computational fluid dynamics stage, running a number of simulations a week and learning about what does and doesn’t work.”
At the University of Warwick, students are making good progress on their first electric entry in Class 1 of the competition. “Electric vehicles are taking over the automotive industry by storm and are opening many opportunities to adopt innovative technologies,” explains Warwick Racing’s project manager, Iqra Hamid.
“Warwick Racing have taken on the challenge to design and build an electric Formula Student car featuring our very own battery packs,” she says. Close links with Warwick Manufacturing Group have given the team state-of-the-art industrial equipment and a strong support network of technicians, with more than 80% of the manufacture of each vehicle carried out in-house.
They’ll face stiff competition from Team Bath Racing Electric, the top-ranked UK electric team, who are building their fourth-generation electric vehicle. “This year brings a whole host of changes to the cars, while maintaining the single-motor rear-wheel drive powertrain,” says Kieran Shopland, Bath’s project manager. “This year brings the first major implementation of composites on the car, with a front-end carbon-fibre monocoque chassis and a composite accumulator box. We are also upgrading all of our suspension systems and taking our first-ever look at aerodynamics. All while maintaining the reliability of our electrical systems.”
Many of the teams are Formula Student stalwarts, having competed in each of the UK events so far. Brunel Racing have all 20 competitions under their belt, but are looking to recover from a disappointing 37th-place finish in 2018. “We’re going for a return to our 2017 form,” says team principal Tom Constance, who is working on a package for their Yamaha R6 engine. “We’ve used this engine for a long while, so we’re confident about getting the most out of it with the time we have to work on it,” he says.
At the other end of the spectrum are RGU Racing from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, who are competing in Formula Student for the first time. “A few of us with an interest in motorsport knew of the competition,” says team leader Michael Dow. “We decided we wanted to form a team and got this put into motion as quickly as we could.
“We knew it would be an opportunity to apply what we were learning in class to a field that most of us want to move into in the future.”
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