The Road Arrow Formula Student team will run a Formula 1 circuit for the 3rd time! After Silverstone in Great Britain, 2012 and the Red Bull Ring, 2014, this will be the third time the Serbian team takes part in a competition that rallies the world’s most prestigious teams from the whole world, on tracks where the fastest cars in the world race. It is the most demanding competition in Europe, held in Germany, on the Hockenheimring circuit.
In 1939, Mercedes-Benz built the track in Hockenheim and was used to test their cars. It was named after the nearby village, Hockenheim. It was 4.8 miles long and was characterized by two longitudinal routes. The development of the circuit was interrupted by the Second World War. After the war, Nürburgring was the circuit used for racing, but at the request of pilots in 1977 the Formula 1 returns to Hockenheim. The reason was poor security at the Nürburgring circuit, where Niki Lauda was involved in a fire the previous year. One to remember will be the race from 1982 in Hockenheim. Nelson Piquet then filled journalistic columns, because after contact with Eliseo Salazar they had a physical altercation. This conflict will remain in the history of motorsport as one of the most unusual attempts to solve a disagreement between two professional drivers. The Hockenheim circuit was once famous for its dangerous bends and ridiculous speeds that were accomplished on it, but that was torn down in 2002 after almost 2km of track that went straight through the woods was taken out and replaced with 6 new bends.
The old configuration with long straight sections and various demanding elements had caused countless accidents and even several tragedies since the mid-20s of the last century when the trail was built. The new, 4.57km long track is nowhere near as exciting as it has 16 bends but still retained the famous section with the stadium stands for fans at the very end and the designers added a very long and quick bend number 5 that was named the Parabolica, after the orginal legendary bend with the same name on the Moza route in Italy.
Of course, Formula Student competitions are much safer for drivers, as they are all students, who are involved in the design and construction of the vehicle before they drive it. The engineering approach is most important when it comes to Formula Student races, as the vehicles are the work of students applying all the theoretical knowledge they have gained at University, but the adrenaline does not wear off when you find yourself toe-to-toe against some of the fastest student formulas in the world and attempt to achieve a good result.
From the 8th to the 13th August, the Formula Student Germany competition will take place in Hockenheim, with 65 teams from the world will compete in Class C (combustion), 35 electric teams and 15 cars from the new Driverless Class. For the first time, Serbia had its representative at this competition. The colors of our country, the city of Belgrade and the University of Belgrade will be defended by the Road Arrow team, with their sixth vehcicle.
We are waiting for the Formula 1 track and we will follow the events from the Czech Republic, which is on the way to Germany. From the 1st to the 5th August, Autodrom Most will host Road Arrow for the third time, where we expect 36 university teams. For more interesting facts, follow us on social media where we will post updates and results from competition!