Dear friends, dear supporters and dear fans! We are back with a new update from the competition period of the EDGE14.
Arrival, set-up and scrutineering
On July 22nd TU Wien Racing went to Styria to the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. The early departure from Vienna gave us enough time to set up all tents at the campsite near the Ring. Afterwards the EDGE14 was unloaded in order to make the last preparations before the first check-ups at the campsite. The next day the pre-inspection, driver egress and accumulator Scrutineering followed. During the pre-inspection the tires are checked. The driver egress is a safety check where each of our six drivers has to jump out of the car in under five seconds. This is the only way they will ultimately be allowed to participate in the event as drivers. Finally, our battery was put under the microscope and we were able to complete this scrutineering without any problems.
Moving into the pits
Together with the other 54 teams, we moved into the pits at the Ring on Monday, two days after our arrival. As soon as we arrived there, the next scrutineering sessions followed in the electrical and mechanical areas. These provided the safety framework and checked every component that isimportant for the smooth functioning of the vehicle and the safety of our drivers. Only by passing these scrutineerings were we allowed to participate in the disciplines on the race track.
Statics and technical scrutineering
Tuesday was filled with more checks around the car. These included the rain test, brake test, tilt test, weighing of the race car and the noise test. On the one hand, the car was tested for its water resistance and braking ability. On the other hand, a tilt test was conducted to see if the car met the rollover stability regulations and how much it weighed.
While part of our team was busy with these technical inspections, other team members were preparing for the static disciplines. First thing in the morning was the business plan presentation, with which we qualified for the final. The following day, after an exciting final, we were able to successfully complete this category with the 2nd place. In addition, the cost report and the engineering design were presented. In the engineering design we were able to score again in the final and got in 3rd place.
Dynamic competitions
After the successful completion of all checks we went to the race track on Wednesday, where the dynamic disciplines Skidpad and Acceleration were already waiting for us. Despite all the work, we were not spared any Formula Student challenges at this event, and so in the first laps of the first discipline we encountered problems in the inverter. This led to the fact that we participated in the Skidpad and Acceleration, but the times were not sufficient for a placement. In the third dynamic discipline, autocross, we unfortunately could not set a fast lap. Since the problem was too big to be solved completely on site, we did not participate in the other dynamic discipline, Endurance, at this event.
Overall
After a full week, full of joy, intensive work, teamwork, and also frustration, we are happy about our successes in the static disciplines and are eager and motivated to fix the problems we encountered in order to prove our skills and the performance of our EDGE14 at the next events FS East, FS Germany and FS Alpe Adria.
Merten Precision Technology
Light metal parts in highest precision and with the finest surfaces. A race car needs that too. This season, the highly trained employees at Merten Präzisionstechnik supported us primarily with the production of the highly complex wheel carriers. CNC milled and turned parts quickly find their way from the other end of Vienna to our workshop and finally to the EDGE. Precision at the highest level!
Bis dahin!
Euer TU Wien Racing