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The IMechE event, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, took place at the Silverstone race track in Northamptonshire last week (19-23 July). The Italian team from University of Modena and Reggio Emilia won the overall event, which was hit by heavy rain on Saturday.
As always, live track events took place alongside business plan presentations, with about 40 judges watching over 100 teams from the UK and elsewhere. On Saturday, the four best teams presented in front of hundreds of people to decide the winner.
The theme this year was around diversity, asking teams how they could promote it within their business plans.
“We had a really incredible range of ways in which they were aiming to improve diversity in motorsport and in engineering,” said Rob Wild, head business plan presentation judge. “It was really fantastic to see the way that it was embraced by the teams, and some of the quite innovative approaches they came up with to do that.”
He added: “They have rightfully understood that there's a huge market out there for motorsport… they have tailored their business to try and include these people into their offering.”
Many of the proposals included potential modifications to the vehicles, to accommodate taller or shorter drivers, or to make them more comfortable for female drivers. Another focus for a lot of teams was accessibility for disabled drivers, including controls that are easy to interact with.
“If you have a particular disability, you might need support in different areas – so custom seats, fully adjustable pedal boxes and steering wheels to allow for that, and also considerations around being able to get people easily in and out with the vehicle, using hoists potentially,” said Wild. “One team even came up with an idea to have their controls fully on the steering wheel so that you didn't require your feet for any of the controls.”
The commitment to diversity was also reflected in ongoing efforts to make the judging team as diverse as the participants, Wild added. “Diversity is so important for us, because traditionally the engineering community hasn't been particularly diverse. But when you look at the Formula Student paddock, and see the students who are there, diversity is improving. It is getting better, and we are doing everything we can to try and give an equal opportunity chance for anybody who wants to get into engineering.”
Oxford Brookes Racing came out on top in the business competition with “one of the most professional, well-rounded presentations you are ever likely to see,” said Wild. The team came third in the overall event.
The general standard of cars was “massively high” following years of pandemic-related disruption, said head EV design judge Ruaraidh McDonald-Walker.
“Students were really knocked for six by Covid,” he said. “But this year, the event really felt like it was getting back into its pace again. There was a buzz, lots of students, lots of cars were arriving that were in a state of readiness… they were already running and tested.”
He added: “The number of people that were there was super. For me, it was a great Formula Student, and hopefully things will improve even further for next year.”
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