Two years ago, seven mechanical engineers at The University of Aberdeen started a Formula Student team, TAU Racing was born. The first year, the seven members setup a successful team structure and began design of the major areas and components of the car.
After attending FS2008 as spectators, and seeing the level of professionalism of the competing teams, gave the team the boost and drive required to really set the project in motion. The team grew to fifteen, gaining a wider skill and experience set but with a fresh burst of enthusiasm and younger team members to provide continuity. Construction of the car began in October 2008, on the same day that the steel for the chassis arrived. Since that day, the fabrication and manufacturing team spent every spare minute between lectures, in the workshop getting the car finished for our May 2009 deadline to begin testing of the car.
The ethos of TAU09 was to produce a simple, reliable car that would be capable of completing all the dynamic events in FS2009. This same ethos however did not do us any favours in the design event, only being awarded 7 points.
Despite being told by the judges that we were over weight and under powered, we knew that the car handled well and would not experience any mechanical failures during the event.
I hope the design judges take a more practical look at what can be designed and created by newcomers, and that comparison to experienced teams with triple our manpower and funding does not make for a level playing field! I also hope that new teams will enter the event now that it has been shown that even a car with minimal optimisation and little funding can finish in the top 30.
The team would like to thank everyone who made us feel welcome and lent us spares and tools. Special thanks to Lancaster for the use of the pillar drill, Strathclyde for begin incredibly helpful and the use of their lockwire, without which we wouldn’t have been able to compete, Delft, Cologne and Stuttgart for being incredibly friendly and Kiel for the M14 washers!
To end on a quote from the design judges; “Hoping economy will be good is not adequate, need proof,” need I say any more.
The Results of first competition at 2009 Formula Student Silverstone:
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