Another Formula SAE competition in Italy is finished. Sixth appearance on the track Riccardo Paletti proved to be one of the most successful.
Twenty members of the Tenfore Road Arrow team arrived in Varano de Melegari on July 10th. Day zero of the competition was all about vehicle preparation and preparation for static and dynamic disciplines.
The first day started in line for the technical inspection, which lasted until late afternoon, but patience paid off, as FSRA 2018 managed to get the approval of the judges only after the first review. After the technical inspection, we measured the mass of the vehicle, which we managed to reduce for another year, and this year’s vehicle weighs 227 kg. Tilt test followed, on which there were no problems, and then this successful series of tests was interrupted by the sign for the end of the competition day.
The next morning, the vehicle was put in line to finish the remaining tests, so team members could prepare for the static disciplines which followed that day. The first was the Cost Report, in which the Real Case Scenario was defended, and the judges congratulated the members on a great presentation. The next static discipline was Business Plan. Concerning the great efforts and work involved in the preparations, in which the Case Club of the Faculty of Organizational Sciences helped us, it is not a surprise that the judges were delighted with the performance of our members, which was then awarded with the 14th place in competition with 52 teams.
Design Event, the last in a series of static disciplines, was held with the support of team mentor, Prof. Dr. Marko Miloš. Also, on that day, representatives of Tenfore, the company’s general sponsor, joined us.
The third day of the competition was marked by dynamic disciplines. In addition to very good acceleration, we achieved the greatest success in Skid Pad, where our driver took the 6th place in overall placement. This is also a record result for our team! Although the day was very exciting, with lots of driving and adrenaline, everyone was waiting for the last day of the competition.
The endurance race, the toughest test for the car, took place on the fourth day. Some of the best teams have given up their participation in order to avoid the engine failure until next competition. Tension in the team was broken by the skill and talent of our drivers, who after 26 laps and 22 km, finally won the checkered flag! The vehicle proved to be fast and reliable, thus fulfilling one of the main objectives of this season.
The final rankings placed the Tenfore Road Arrow team in the 16th position, which once again proved that our engineers could stand side by side with representatives of the world’s top universities. As FSRA 2018 had a successful show off at the first competition in the season, the expectations for the next one are very high. The team has 10 days to prepare for the Formula Student Competition in the Czech Republic, and while we are eagerly waiting to get to the Autodrom Most, have a look how we spent our days in Italy.