This year also saw the introduction of the IPG Automotive webtools which allowed competitors to work collaboratively upon their models and seamlessly share information by storing vehicle information within a centralised database. Prototypes could then be built with the click of a button for optimisation within CarMaker – a feature which many teams will find useful in the coming season! Each team was required to configure a virtual prototype by choosing from various aero and gear-ratio packages, as well as defining characteristics such as suspension kinematics. The top performing teams were those who identified the optimal combination to provide the best event times across all three events – compromising between the lateral and longitudinal demands of the Acceleration and Skid Pad events respectively. Although a full aero package may have slightly hindered acceleration performance, the two top teams sought this as a trading-off worth taking. Likewise, both opted for a close ratio gearbox which suited the nippy straights of the FSUK Autocross circuit, and the two fastest times were within 0.3 seconds of each other!

In the end it was HKUST (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) that provided a consistent performance across all 3 events, narrowly beating IIT Bombay (Indian Institute of Technology Bombay) by 238 points to 234. An all-round stiffer suspension set up seemed to favour HKUST in the bends, however softer springs at the rear allowed IIT Bombay to put the power down on the straights and thus win the Acceleration Event. All teams managed to improve the performance of the default model, proving their knowledge of vehicle dynamics and learn about automotive simulation in the process! We would like to thank all the teams for participating and hope all thoroughly enjoyed the competition, and we look forward to racing again with you next season!

Overall Results:

1st -  HKUST EVRG from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

2nd - IIT Bombay Racing from the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay

3rd -  HW Racing from the Herriot Watt University

Best Acceleration Result:

IIT Bombay (4.127s)

Best Skid Pad Result:

HKUST (22.92s)

Best Sprint Result

HKUST (67.729s)

As a proud partner of the Formula Student Competition this year IPG Automotive attended the event at Silverstone Race Circuit, providing demonstrations of the CarMaker software capabilities and explaining how we support students to meet their goals. We were delighted to meet so many passionate team members who were excited to hear about how effective virtual testing can be for finding opportunities to improve vehicle performance.

More about how we support the success of students in the Formula Student Competition