Monash Motorsport from Australia has claimed victory at Formula Student 2018, the student racing car event run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers that celebrated its 20th year of the competition. The team saw off competition from 129 student teams from over 30 countries at Silverstone this weekend, while Oxford Brookes University took the runner up place.
Formula Student challenges university teams from across the world to design, build and race a single-seater racing car. The cars are then judged on their speed, acceleration and endurance, while the teams are tested on their design, costing and business presentation skills.
This year has marked the first time that there was a driverless element to the competition, FS-AI, with some teams being tasked with developing a cost-effective software package to enable an autonomous car to make its own decisions and improve its own performance. The new aspect of the competition ensures that FS continues to support industry by addressing the skills gap and providing mechanical engineering students with the opportunity for real-world experience of integrated electronics, software and systems engineering.
The new autonomous car was unveiled during the event’s opening ceremony, led by Ross Brawn OBE, hon FIMechE, Formula One Managing Director of Motorsports and Formula Student Patron. He was joined by representatives of the companies involved in the creation of the car: Hypermotive, DJ Racecars, Street Drone and the government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.
Additionally, Team AUJ from the National University of Sciences and Technology in Pakistan has also fielded the first all-female team at the UK competition. The team transported their car nearly 4,000 miles by air freight and in recognition of these efforts were awarded the Spirit of FS award to a standing ovation of over 2000 competitors.
