Imperial Racing

Today we took IC06 to Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground, she runs, stops & steers very much like a car should. This is testimony to the hard work the team have all put in throughout the course of the year so far, and I’m sure it makes you very proud to have had a hand in the making of it – well done!

Not all of you may be aware but the past few days have been very much make or break for IC06, and so a very special thanks must go out to those involved in the marathon build over the last 72 hours; Adam Seward, Felix Prettejohn, Alex Desneufbourgs, Sam Hutchinson, Alec Georgala, Sam Alcock and Alex Gregory. If it were not for the determination and commitment of these individuals this message would read with an entirely different tone.

So well done all, have a good Easter break, good luck to all for the exams, and we look forward to continuing the development of IC06 with you after exams.

Following the completion of the engine testing and preliminary mapping the team is about to move into the final stage of our preparation for the competition in July.

Over this weekend and next week the car will stripped to allow the bracketing to be welded to the chassis for the addition of the final subassemblies to the car now their manufacture is near complete.

This moves the team into the vehicle testing stage of development where the all of the final design iterations are tested together on the car and while the car itself will be tested dynamically on the track.

Our first test day is provisionally to be on Wednesday 27^th March where the car will have its first outing, until then the team will be assembling the car and testing on the dynamometer in preparation for this.

Well done to all the DMT groups for their hard work and dedication to get the car ready so early on in the year allowing us fair testing time to be competitive at the competition.

Imperial Racing is proud to announce  a  partnership with BP and Castrol, its premium lubricants brand. They have chosen to provide financial and technical support to the Imperial Racing programme, for which we are very grateful. We welcome the expertise of Castrol who have agreed to help Imperial Racing with lubrication for the vehicle by offering advice and a range of lubricants to test.

The partnership further strengthens the relationships between BP and Imperial College.

Rawlinson & Hunter Chartered Accountants and Imperial Racing have formed a partnership bringing financial aid to the team and numerous contacts throughout the motorsport industry. Rawlinson & Hunter has been heavily involved in motorsport since the firm’s inception in 1933. In that time, they have had the privilege of acting for teams, team principals, drivers, motorsport associations and many others connected with the industry.

We are very grateful for their continuing support and hope that the partnership can be maintained for teams in the years to come.

Nine Imperial 4^th year Mech Eng undergraduates including three members of Imperial Racing attended the Formula Student Learn to Win event hosted by the IMechE at their offices on Birdcage Walk.

The event attracted over 180 students from 21 different universities all planning to take part in FS event at Silverstone next July.  As well as the London universities there were representatives from Cardiff, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Paris and even a team from Turkey.

The day was divided into two parts.  The morning was dedicated to presentations from industry experts and officials from the Formula Student organisation.  The experts covered two technical topics relevant to the design of a competitive car, powertrain selection and the effective use of composites.  The powertrain topic provided very useful guidance, plus notice of rule changes for 2012 which will place greater emphasis on fuel economy.  The composite discussion highlighted many of the problems ME teams have experienced in the past, of note the difficulties in producing quality patterns and moulds.  The FS officials’ presentation provided valuable guidance on what is required to score well in the design, costing and business reports and presentations.

The afternoon was arranged into 13 separate workshops each providing access to 2 or 3 experts or FS officials, where individuals could seek advice or guidance on specific aspects of their car design or competition entry.  The atmosphere was very dynamic with small groups extracting valuable information on everything from Sustainability to Scrutineering and multiple technical subjects.  Many of the workshop experts were also ex-FS entrants themselves so their advice was based on experiences, even if sometimes not always welcomed.

All of the presentations were recorded and a DVD will be produced and distributed to all attending universities.  It is anticipated that viewings will be arranged so that all ME3 students starting out on FS projects will take advantage of the recordings.

Over 2,000 students and 107 teams from 23 countries took part in the 13th Formula Student 2010 competition held at Silverstone from 15 to 18 July. This year’s competition attracted a record number of entries for all categories. David Coulthard the former Formula 1 ace and current BBC pundit was among the numerous celebrity visitors which also included Ross Brawn, the Patron of Formula Student and principal of the Mercedes GP Petronas F1 team and Bob Bell the managing director of Renault F1.

Imperial Racing returned to Silverstone following a disappointing experience in 2009 and determined to make a substantially better showing this year. The car, IC06, was entered in the design category,Class 2, which involved giving presentations on such issues as the actual design, costing and business development to a panel of expert judges. The team presented a substantially developed vehicle and their hard work was rewarded as IC06 finished in fourth place overall, second out of the petrol powered cars – an excellent outcome given the really tough level of competition.

Following this excellent result, Imperial Racing are pushing on with plans to enter Class 1 and race in all dynamic events in July 2011.

The team took part in Class 2 at Formula Student this July. We finished 2nd of the petrol cars and 4th overall. The team shall be building on this for next year with the aim of completing a car by December for full testing. Full details to follow!

Below are new pictures including our new chassis!

IC06 chassis is well on it’s way to completion and should be home in time for the end of exams ready for component ‘hanging’ to take place. Below are 2 pics of the chassis.