Formula Student
Formula Student is a student engineering competition held annually in the UK. Student teams from around the world design, build, test, and race a small-scale formula style racing car. The cars are judged on a number of criteria as listed below. It is run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and uses the same rules as the original Formula SAE with supplementary regulations.
The 2012 Formula Student event will be held at Silverstone Circuit on July 2012.
Class definitions
There are three entry classes in Formula Student, designed to allow progressive learning.
Class 1
This is the class which is similar to the Formula SAE competition in which teams design, manufacture and race fully working cars built solely for the event, the car cannot be entered into Class 1 again after its first year, but can be entered into Class 1A.
Class 1A
This is an alternative fueled class where emphasis is placed on the environmental impact of racing. A car from the previous years Class 1 entry can be re-entered and re-engineered to allow the students to concentrate on the low carbon aspect
Class 2
This is a concept class for teams who may just have a design and possibly even a partly completed car.
Judging
The cars are judged by industry specialists on the following criteria:
Static Events
- Design (150), cost (100) and presentation judging (75)
- Technical and safety scrutineering
- Tilt test
- Brake and noise test
Dynamic Events
- Skid pan (Figure of 8) (50)
- 1 km sprint (150)
- 75m acceleration (75)
- 22 km endurance (300) and fuel economy (100)
The winner of the event is the team with the highest number of points out of a maximum of a 1000.
Venue
Silverstone
The event is held at the Silverstone circuit, with the dynamic events taking place on Luffield, Brooklands and the pit straight. The event has been held at the Silverstone circuit since 2007.
Bruntingthorpe
The event was held on the Go-Kart track at Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome between 2002 and 2006.
NEC Birmingham
The event was held for three years at the NEC Birmingham between 1999 and 2001.
MIRA
The first event was held at the Motor Industry Research Association proving ground in 1999.
Winners
Year | Location | Class 1 | Best UK team | Class 1a | Class 2 | Class 2a |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | Silverstone | University of Stuttgart | University of Hertfordshire | Delft University of Technology | University of Bath | University of Warwick |
Support
- Patron: Ross Brawn (team principal of Mercedes GP),
- Ambassador: The Rt Hon Lord Drayson of Kensington (Minister of Science)
Notable judges
- Carroll Smith
- Jon Hilton - Flybrid systems, ex Renault F1
- Andrew Deakin - Renault F1
- Chief Judge - Richard Folkson, ex Ford
- Neil Anderson
- Alex Hickson
- Dan Jones - Flybrid Systems
- Allan Staniforth
- David Gould - Gould Racing
- Claude Rouelle - OptimumG
- Pat Clarke
- Nick Vaughan
- Matt Wilkin - Brawn GP
- Ben Michell - Dunlop Tyres
See also
- Formula SAE
- Formula Student Germany
- Formula Student Hungary
- Formula Student Spain
- Formula SAE Australasia
- Formula SAE Brazil
- Formula SAE Italy
- Formula SAE West