The Role of a Driver

Written by Rasmus Søvik Photo by Helge Bergo

What does it mean to be a driver for Revolve NTNU? Basically it means that you get to drive the coolest car ever built. It also means changing your lifestyle, routines, habits and so on. What we look for in a driver is dedication and commitment. We only have less than 8 months to become the best. That is why we need those who really motivated and want to become the best professional athletes that they can become.

After getting elected to the driver role, you have to start your training right away. Unfortunately, we don’t have a car ready to drive yet, which means training will start in the simulator. Here drivers can drive to routes and courses similiar to the Formula Student events. The drivers get to train their reflexes, path calculation, speed and movement of the car. Our drivers use much of their spare time here, when they’re not working on other parts of the project. In addition to the simulator, the drivers use the Go-kart course at Fossegrenda a lot. This is different from the simulator, as they here get first hand experience of how a car works. They get to test out different paths and see how gravity and other forces reacts to the kart. This is a crucial part of the work drivers do to become the best. They also use a lot of their time on physical workout, like going to the gym. We are actually so lucky that we have worked with “Olympiatoppen” in Norway to create a workout program specific for drivers. This helps us even further, so that we as a team can deliver the best conditions to our drivers. Along with theoretical courses, this is what the driver training consists of - until the cars are ready to drive of course!

As well as doing all of this, there are some expectations required of the drivers. A driver should attend the whole testing period and all competitions. This is a lot and that is the reason why it is important to have good health and mental health. When having all of this checked off, the competition and testing will go much easier. To meet all these expectations, it is important to be motivated, or it won’t work. It might sound very strict, but it is all a necessary. Besides, it is a once in a lifetime experience to drive a car built by 81 students in front of an audience of thousand of people. Just imagine: Driving the fastest 0-100 km/t you have ever done. Making a turn with over 936 N in downforce, while the G are pushing you around with 1600 Nm in torque vectoring. You will most likely never get the opportunity to do something similar again.