The first overall win on “home ground:” With its “KIT 16e” electric racing car, the KA-RaceIng students’ team of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) won the Formula Student Germany last weekend (August 12 – 14, 2016). The competition at the Hockenheimring comprised eight categories. 39 teams of students from all over the world took part.
“We are very happy. For us, the race at the Hockenheimring is the most important competition of the season!,” says Joseph Suppanz, organization manager of the KA-RaceIng team. We have been among the top teams for a long time. Our first overall win in this ‘home game’ is great.”
In the 2016 Formula Student Germany, the teams competed in eight categories. The KIT 16e racing car won two different driving disciplines: In “AutoX”, the racetrack consists of straight sections, hairpin curves, chicanes, and slalom sections. “SkidPad”, also called “figure 8 racing,” is about lateral acceleration. In addition, the car reached second places in the endurance test and in energy efficiency. Moreover, good rankings in static disciplines outside of the racetrack, such as in the presentation of the business plan and the design, contributed to the success. In the overall ranking, the KIT team was followed by the teams of TU Delft and Stuttgart University.
In the Formula Student international design competition, students from all over the world compete with self-designed racing cars: One racing car with a combustion engine in Formula Student Combustion and one electrically driven racing car in the Formula Student Electric. For many years now, KIT students of a variety of disciplines have been working in a team of meanwhile 80 persons to design and test two new racing cars every year and to participate in international competitions with them.
In close partnership with society, KIT develops solutions for urgent challenges – from climate change, energy transition and sustainable use of natural resources to artificial intelligence, sovereignty and an aging population. As The University in the Helmholtz Association, KIT unites scientific excellence from insight to application-driven research under one roof – and is thus in a unique position to drive this transformation. As a University of Excellence, KIT offers its more than 10,000 employees and 22,800 students outstanding opportunities to shape a sustainable and resilient future. KIT – Science for Impact.