Formula Student Germany 2017

New year, new race: in this year’s Formula Student Germany (FSG), 115 teams from 24 countries competed against each other on the Hockenheimring motor racing circuit. But before things got serious in the student design competition, the teams sponsored by IAV were invited to put their prototypes to the acid (tire) test during the 9th IAV Race Days.

The traditional test drives and trial judging took place on July 14 and 15 at IAV’s operation in Saxony and Jahnsdorf aerodrome for the ninth time. On the aerodrome’s taxiway, it meant: umbrellas up! But neither the highly motivated teams nor the guests let the persistent rain get the better of them.

Christian Willenberg, FSG’s main contact person at IAV, took it calmly: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong tires. The rain was even a big advantage. The teams were able to test their vehicles under competition conditions – because for the Skid Pad category, the track has to be wet anyway.”

The doors were open at Hockenheimring motor racing circuit from August 8 to 13. Awaited particularly eagerly were the designs from the Driverless Group which made its debut this year.

The familiar Combustion and Electric groups competed in the Acceleration (acceleration from standing start), Skid Pad (figure-of-eight course) und Autocross (handling course) driving disciplines. Alongside the Acceleration and Skid Pad driving disciplines, the Driverless contestants had to face the Track Drive & Efficiency discipline. In a race covering ten laps, the focus here was on the amount of energy used in relation to total time. Besides the driving disciplines, the teams had to present flawless business concepts to an expert adjudicating panel – business plan, costs and technical design.

The group winners of this year’s Formula Student: Esslingen University of Applied Sciences (Combustion), Stuttgart University (Electric) and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich (Driverless).

Many participants and visitors were attracted to the FSG Forum where IAV presented an Audi R8. A seven-post test rig model from IAV’s TRE subsidiary also demonstrated how to enhance driving dynamic performance. Converted into a driving simulator, a Formula Student vehicle from the HTW Motorsport team from HTW Berlin University of Applied Sciences conjured a competitive mood.

This year too, the design competition provided a wonderful opportunity for bringing committed and motivated students from prestigious universities together with future-proof businesses. IAV took advantage of the occasion to talk with emerging talent and present itself as an attractive employer.

Combustion Group

• FaSTTUBe (Berlin University of Technology) – 4th
• HTW Motorsport (HTW Berlin University) – 22nd
• UMD Racing (OvGU Magdeburg University) – 49th

Electric Group

• GreenTeam (Stuttgart University) – 1st
• municHMotorsport (Munich University of Applied Sciences) – 10th
• Elbflorace (Dresden University of Technology) – 14th
• Lions Racing Team (Braunschweig University of Technology) – 22nd
• HorsePower Hannover (Hanover University) – 24th
• WHIZ Racing Team (WHIZ Zwickau University) – 25th

Driverless Group

• GreenTeam (Stuttgart University) – 4th
• municHMotorsport (Munich University of Applied Sciences) – 5th
• HorsePower Hannover (Hanover University) – 6th