September - October Newsletter
Welcome to the latest edition of the RTBR newsletter. A new era has dawned on Relentless Team Bath Racing! Introducing RTBR12 – the latest incarnation of the University of Bath Formula Student team. Firstly, we would like to wish a fond farewell to RTBR11 and we will be looking back on their successes along with what they took away from the experience of representing one of Britain’s top Formula Student teams. We will
RTBR11 After 18 months and 3 FSAE events across 2 continents RTBR11 have officially stepped down from the helm of Team Bath Racing. RTBR11 began their competitive career at the Silverstone Formula Student event in 2010 with immediate success by winning the Class 2 design competition. A highly motivated team backed by several new sponsors (taking the name Relentless Team Bath Racing) they took over the reins from TBR10 with a brand new design philosophy of “design it simple, design it light, build it early”. This, after 9 months of hard work, culminated in the creation of the lightest car Bath has ever produced weighing in at an incredible 155kg. The past year also saw the team travel to the USA for the first time to compete in the FSAE California event in preparation for Silverstone. Far from using it as a practice run, RTBR11 competed from the start and finished an impressive 5th overall, collecting 3rd place in the Honda R&D Americas Engineering Design Award. Using this as a stepping stone the team brought the car back to the UK and entered Silverstone as one of the favourites. The success continued as the biggest student motorsport event in the world got underway with the team picking up the biggest haul of trophies any Bath team has ever won, adding 1st place in the costing event and a runner-up in the design event to the collection from California. However, fortune was not with RTBR on the final day. Going into the endurance placed in top 6 teams (out of over 90 cleared for entry) the heavens opened 5 minutes before RTBR11 was due out. The resulting track conditions effectively wiped out any chance of a competitive time. To add insult to injury, in an effort to gain more time the car was pushed hard and due to an unforeseen problem arising
also be introducing the new team, sharing our achievements to date and getting you up to speed with the new project – there’s nearly 9 months of design work to tell you about! To do this you will notice that there has been some slight tweaking to the format of our newsletter. The newsletter is now twice the length and will, in future editions have updates from each of our department managers. This is to give a more detailed overview of the design process whilst hopefully making it easier to see how the team is progressing in each area.
in the engine oil cooler the engine temperature spiked and the Aprilia V-twin failed on lap 16 of 22. A final place of 16th was an exceptional achievement when taking into account the DNF (0 points) in one of the highest weighted scoring rounds of the competition. The disappointment written all over the faces of both RTBR11 and RTBR12 that day tells the ultimate story; that 16th was not enough. The team did not just expect better, we all expected to win. Refusing to let the disappointment affect them and fixing the problem with the oil cooler, the team took to the road one last time to compete at Formula Student Germany. With much higher budgets and much larger teams the Hockenheim ring event was always going to be difficult but the trophies kept coming with RTBR winning the Business event. 3 laps from the end of the endurance RTBR11 were flying. Then disaster struck as a washer failed, slamming the throttle shut and ending the endurance event, leaving the team in 23rd place overall. It was a disappointing end and one that did not do justice to the car, the team or the effort that everybody in RTBR11 put into this project. We in RTBR12 hope to learn from the problems encountered and come back stronger this year. From everybody involved in RTBR12 we wish the RTBR11 team all the best for the future and thank them for their help and support.
TBR12
We began our journey into competitive motorsport back in February and first revealed our plans for the new Bath car at Silverstone in the Class 2 & 2A event.
And so to your new team. We will begin by introducing you to the key members:
Following on from the RTBR11 philosophy of building light, we developed a car that won us not only 1st place overall but also 1st place in the Business and Design competitions and runner-up in the Costing event.
Will Snyder – Project Manager Charlie Duncan – Business Manager Matt Rudling – Finance Manager Graham Iles – Powertrain Manager James McGarley – Chassis Manager Rich Wilcox – Build Manager George Digby Fryer – Marketing Manager These guys will be giving you updates on each section of the project in the coming months and are the core members making the team tick.
RTBR has never been complacent however and those plans have been in a state of continuous development ever since. The team remains committed to keeping the core elements of the Class winning design and the car currently in development contains the same philosophy in every inch of its structure. The Aprilia V-twin engine used in RTBR11 will again be utilised, however a year of data and experience will enable us to optimise and improve upon the previous design. A steel chromoly space frame chassis will be optimised for minimum weight. Every component on the car is to be scrutinised and optimised for ultimate performance in readiness for the coming season’s events.
Build Room Update Before building work commences on RTBR12, the Build Room is in the process of an overhaul. The team has been hard at work during the summer to clear out the clutter, clean the cobwebs out and give the room a much needed layout change. Adding to this, new non-slip flooring has been laid and new tool benches and cabinets for the build and test areas have been purchased to ensure that everything we need is right at our fingertips, in a clean and efficient engineering space. For the latest updates on how the Build Room is progressing visit our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/TeamBathRacing ) or follow us on Twitter (@TeamBathRacing).
IMechE
‘Learn to Win’
Relentless Team Bath Racing has attended the IMechE Formula Student “Learn to Win” event this October. The event was thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated by the delegation that attended. The knowledge that was collected has been shared throughout the team and is already being put to use. We would like to say a big thank you to the IMechE for organising the event, which focussed on teaching business management techniques of a successful Formula Student team, as well as the competition judges and organisers for their extremely useful feedback and advice.
So as you can see the new car is well underway and we will update you in the coming months with our progress and any notable news and events that come our way. Remember to check in with our Facebook and Twitter pages to keep up to date with all of the latest goings-on or you can visit us on our website at www.teambathracing.com for more information on the team. Alternatively, you can email us with any questions you may have at racing@bath.ac.uk and we will do our best to answer you as quickly as possible.
Thank you for your continued support. Here’s to a new beginning! RTBR12