Formula Student is an international competition for student teams that independently design and build racing cars. The aim of the contest organised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers is to select best engineers and managers. There are several events of this kind taking place worldwide.
A good start
”Many people could say that the 11th place is not a great success. But for us it is a good achievement. We have been developing our car only for 5 years, and our experience is really small. We had to compete with teams that have not only a huge experience, but also much more money and a huge technical base," says Łukasz Horanin, the leader of the team. “And we actually do everything by ourselves.”
Italian rivalry
44 teams in the class of combustion engine cars and 25 teams in the class of electric cards took part in the Italian competition. Among competitors there were students from Germany, Czech Republic, Italy and France. Apart from us, there were two other teams from Poland: Cerber Motosport from the Białystok University of Technology and POISI Racing from the Silesian University of Technology, which competed in the class of electrical and combustion engine cars. The competition was won by Austria’s TU Graz Racing Team ahead of Germany’s HAWKS Racing from Hamburg and Czech Republic’s CTU CarTech Combustion from Prague.
It looked like new on the finish line
The racing car of the Wroclaw university has nothing to be ashamed of. It passed all events faultlessly. “The car covered the entire route without a single fault, and its condition on the finish line was the same as before the competition. It could cover the same route once again,” adds Łukasz Horanin. The vehicle performed particularly well during the Acceleration event. It is a dynamic competition during which the acceleration of cars is measured. "Our car outclassed its competitors, achieving a time of 3.84 seconds in 75 metres, which promoted it to the second place,” say students from the Wroclaw team.
Polish cost-effectiveness
The Italian jury appreciated the Polish racing car for its reliability, strength and very low construction cost. Most parts of the car were constructed by students. The PWR Racing Team had an opportunity to present the project and costs of its construction during static events: Business Presentation, Cost Event and Design Event. “We are not resting on our laurels. We are looking forward to the next racing season, for which we have already managed to obtain financial aid from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. We were entitled to this aid as winners of the Generacja Przyszłości [Generation of the Future] program", say members of the racing team. Beata Jackowska, photo: archives of the PWR Racing Team
