This year, the Imperial Racing Green Formula Student team attempted to build a full car to take to competition for the first time since 2016.
The car produced, while not fully functional, looked complete and placed 48th out of 81 teams due to strong performances in the Design, Costing and Business events. The Class 2 team, made up mostly of first and second year students, placed 12th out of 37 teams, which bodes well for the future talent in the team.
"In the month leading up to competition the team had a number of hugely committed members who came in every day, using every hour of the Student Teaching Workshop time, followed by time until college closed each night trying to get as much of the car built as possible", says Will Foster, this year's Formula Student team principal.
"The team is currently on a steep upward gradient, helped in part by the additional funding received over the last couple of years, but also the surge of interest and talent joining the team. Students find it very enjoyable, and learn about real life project work in a way that is difficult to match."
The Formula Student competition asks student teams to produce a prototype for a single-seat race car for autocross or sprint racing, and present it to a hypothetical manufacturing firm. The car must be low in cost, easy to maintain, and reliable, with high performance in terms of its acceleration, braking, and handling qualities. You can read the full results of the 2019 Formula Student competition on the IMechE website.
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Reporter
Nadia Barbu
Department of Mechanical Engineering
