09/27/2018
Formula Student Germany 2018: a great result for the teams and ETAS – congratulations to the winners!
This year’s Formula Student Germany competition took place in Hockenheim on August 6-12. Altogether 118 Teams from all over the world qualified for the competition. The Formula Student Germany is one of the most regarded engineering competitions in Europe and took place for the 13th time.
Before the official competition kicked off on Wednesday, August 8, we devoted nearly two days to set up our exhibition booth: The #ETASbluebox, a freight container especially converted for ETAS.
The competition consists of three categories, teams can enter Formula Student in: combustion engine, electric engine, and driverless - the latter was introduced in 2017. In each category, the teams compete in several static and dynamic disciplines, but before they can demonstrate their technical expertise in the dynamic disciplines on the track where they have to pass the “scrutineering” test. Here, experts check that the cars are safe to race in order to prevent any accidents on the track. In the static disciplines, teams present their business plans, cost report, and engineering design. Every year, ETAS gives the teams it sponsors the opportunity to present their business plans to selected ETAS judges for feedback on where they can make improvements.
The dynamic disciplines were kicked off on Friday, August 10, with the skid pad and acceleration tests. To demonstrate what their cars can do in terms of lateral acceleration, the teams complete a lap that resembles a figure of eight in the skid pad test. The acceleration tests serve to measure how fast the cars can pick up speed over a distance of 75 meters. In the breaks between disciplines, the teams had some time to hang out at our #ETASbluebox and refresh with coffee and cold drinks. The external chillout zone also proved very popular as a space for participants to take some time out in the shade away from the hustle and bustle of the track.
Saturday, August 11, saw the teams go head-to-head in the autocross discipline to qualify for the endurance test on Sunday, August 12. For the endurance test, the cars have to cover a distance of 22 kilometers to prove their reliability. Regrettably, a few of the electric race cars failed at this point; the hot weather was partly to blame. On Sunday evening, there was a clear sense of excitement as all the teams congregated to the final award ceremony.
We are proud to report that the winning teams in all three categories were teams that we have been sponsoring for years. In a double win, the AMZ Racing Team from Zurich took the top spots in the electric and driverless vehicle categories. And the “Rennteam Uni Stuttgart” finished first in the combustion category to take a “home win” to Stuttgart.
