Juli 27, 2022

FS Switzerland 2022

Last week was the FS Switzerland event in Dübendorf, which was the first race we attended with our 2022 car Akio. Because it was a tough but also exiting time for us, we do not want to withhold our achievements from you. We started the event last Wednesday with the attitude of not starting at any of the dynamic events due to several problems beforehand. After our first car inspections the next day, the FS Switzerland inspectors urged us to try and mend all our shortcomings, as they saw a good chance for us to pass the scrutineering inspections. Even though we knew it would be a ton of work, everybody of the team gave 110% to get our car through the scrutineering. Because everyone was working on the car, the preparations for the static events faded into the background. Either way, we managed to get the 8th place at the design presentation and 9th place for the business plan! (Out of 15 teams) This was a great success and showed us that we are capable of competing with much more experienced teams. The feedback they gave us was very valuable, as we can adjust documents and presentation in order to score even more points in the coming races. On Saturday we managed to pass 3 scrutineering inspections in a row, which got us the chance to ride our car on the track for the first time to do the brake test. As the last inspection holding us back from participating at the dynamic events, we already got much further than several other teams or than we ever thought we could get! As sad as it could be, our wishbones did not withstand the force during the break warm up which led to a failed brake test. After this much work the frustration was big. But still, the motivation of the team was unstoppable. Officials gave us time until Sunday afternoon to retry the brake test. The mechanics team decided to replace all wishbones, a near impossible task to do overnight, which again showed the dedication of the team. We manufactured and replaced all wishbones overnight, done in 8 hours. On Sunday we were in fact able to redo the brake test. After several attempts we had to give up because of different problems from mechanical and electrical sides. Sadly, we were not able to participate at the dynamic events. Nevertheless, we passed all technical inspections and competed in every static discipline. Passing all inspections is a huge achievement that newcomer teams like us rarely ever achieve! We also learned a lot of important stuff for the next races. And because we were able to drive the car for the brake test, we know what further points we must improve on our car. So overall an extremely successful event! No matter if operations, mechanic, electrics or driverless team, everybody showed full commitment. A big thanks to all participants which made this possible! Next stop is FS Germany, where scrutineers and judges are a lot more ruthless. The officials pointed that out to us, but we know what we need to improve on the car. We know that we have an actual chance to drive at FSG, so the coming month just got so much more crucial. Of course, vacation and time to relax is important too. But whenever you can, check in with your team leaders to get the car and team ready for the most prestigious event in Formula Student!