NEWSLETTER September 2015
TEAM BATH RACING HEADS TO
Newsletter
STATICS “To be able to bring our car to somewhere as picturesque as the Red Bull Ring is incredible it’s unlike any other racetrack we attend. The quality of teams here is extremely high too, making our mission of finishing as high as possible extremely difficult. But being able to pass Scrutineering without any problems really helped build confidence for the final two days. Tom Stevens Business Manager, TBR15
teambathracing.com
@teambathracing
/teambathracing
/teambathr
September 2015 The Red Bull Ring in Austria is a regular competition for Team Bath Racing to attend, often providing a great deal of success. 2015 proved to be no exception to this, with the team racking up another high scoring finish in the beautiful surroundings of Spielberg. The week began in an identical fashion to that of other Formula Student competitions, with the first two days being assigned to the Scrutineering of the car and the Static Events. Monday morning saw the team’s Business Presentation, where a fictional business proposition is presented to a panel of possible investors, which gave the team their first points with a 6th place overall. Alongside
the business presentation, the car itself was taken into Scrutineering, for a range of technical inspections. This lasted the entire day, with the judges taking an extensive look at all areas of the car to guarantee it meets with the Formula Student rules and more importantly, is safe for the team to race. Monday afternoon was then used for the Design competition, where the team scored extremely well and were awarded 4th place. Tuesday then saw the continuation of the Scrutineering process, with the Fuel, Tilt, Noise and Brake tests all being completed without issue. This meant the car was given the all clear to compete in the Dynamic events that were to
follow on Wednesday and Thursday. The day was also used to present the team’s real world costing for the car, where TBR were given 10th place. This left Team Bath Racing in an excellent position after two days, ensuring the team was able to fully attack the Dynamic events that remained.
Newsletter
DYNAMICS
The Skid Pad has proven to be a particularly strong event for Team Bath Racing in Austria, with TBR14 claiming a 3rd place in 2014. Two extremely good runs by TBR15 left the team at the top of the time sheet, with a best time of 5.065 seconds. By the end of the morning, the team finished in 3rd place, emulating the success of the 2014 team by picking up more silverware! Following the success of the Skid Pad event, TBR15 moved on to the Acceleration, typically the weakest event for the newly turbocharged car.
An 8th place finish for the team secured some valuable dynamic points, keeping pressure on the two highest ranked combustion cars at FSA, St端ttgart and GFR. The afternoon then saw the running of the Sprint event, a single lap of the Endurance track, with the two three teams setting blistering laps of 56 seconds. This left the fight for 4th extremely tight, with five teams hovering around the 1 minute mark, including TBR. An eventual 7th position scored Team Bath Racing plenty of points and gave a good slot for the
teambathracing.com
@teambathracing
/teambathracing
/teambathr
Sunday Endurance event. The final day of competition at Formula Student Austria saw Team Bath Racing competing late on in the afternoon in the Endurance event. Under the sweltering Austrian sun, the car managed to complete the event without any problems, scoring a 4th place in the Endurance and an 8th place in the resulting Efficiency event. This gave Team Bath Racing a final position of 5th - another extemely good finish for the 2015 team!
September 2015
“Driving TBR15 at the Red Bull Ring was a very unique experience. The heat, change in altitude and very twisty track layout presented very challenging driving conditions. It was however, a joy to power up the hills using the immense torque and make full use of the aerodynamic downforce through the high-speed corners. Although the car was put through these seriously demanding track conditions, TBR15 performed without a flaw.� Kevin Johnson Endurance Driver, TBR15
Newsletter
STATICS “Spanish scrutineering was fully passed on the first day of the competition, allowing us to concentrate on the remaining Static events and the preparation for the Dynamic events of day 3. This is a testament to the hard work of the team in preparing the car to a high standard, helped by the experience gained from the British and Austrian competitions.� Michael Graham Setup Engineer, TBR15
teambathracing.com
@teambathracing
/teambathracing
/teambathr
September 2015
After two longs weeks of travelling from the scenic Red Bull Ring, the team arrived at the equally iconic Circuit De Catalunya, another home to a Formula 1 world championship race. This was Team Bath Racing’s first ever visit to Barcelona for Formula Student Spain, and marked the final competition for TBR15. Having already competed at 2 events prior to Spain, the team were well rehearsed in the Scrutineering process and the car was in top competition spec, allowing the team to complete all of the Scrutineering on the first day of competition. This gave the team a huge advantage over previous competitions, in that it allowed for the morning of
the second day of competing to focus solely on testing. This allowed all drivers the opportunity to get behind the wheel of TBR15, for some last minute practice and setup fine-tuning. The team also completed the three static events on the Thursday and Friday, picking up a 10th place in the Business Event, 13th place in the Real-World Costing and a 5th position for the Design event. Although not finishing with positions as high as other events, the extremely competitive nature of Formula Student Spain meant that the team actually achieved the highest Business Presentation of the three 2015 events, with similarly good scores in Cost-
ing and Design. Known for being a ‘party’ event, the evenings in Spain did not disappoint, with a cultural sharing dinner on the Friday night. Here teams were asked to cook a meal symbolic of their home country, to be shared with all the other teams in attendance. TBR produced a delicious bangers and mash meal for everyone to enjoy, whilst other offerings included paella, a smoked herring and accompanying spicy tomato vodka drink and even a full hog roast. After a full day of testing and a night of excellent food, the team entered Saturday with hopes high and the end in sight.
Newsletter
DYNAMICS “At the beginning of the year we had very high expectations for TBR15, but to see those expectations become reality is so satisfying. Finishing all three of the endurance events was a fantastic achievement for us and I’m extremely proud to now be a member of Team Bath Racing’s most successful team. “ Tom Peirson-Smith Project Manager, TBR15
teambathracing.com
@teambathracing
/teambathracing
/teambathr
September 2015 After the success of the first two days of Formula Student Spain, the team was in the perfect position to attack the Dynamic events. Beginning with the Skid Pad event, a solid banker time was set by our first driver, which was later improved on to give an overall 9th position. An identical result was achieved with the Acceleration event, again using a banker run followed by a more aggressive approach to achieve a 9th place. There was also a great deal of drama during the closing stages of the acceleration, with
eMotorsports Cologne suffering a huge crash and smashing their car into the pit wall during one of their runs. Fortunately, the driver of the car was unharmed, but a huge amount of effort was required by the team to get their car up and running again. After an extremely impressive amount of work (including borrowing a damper from Team Bath Racing), the team was able to get their car running again to compete in the final Endurance event, demonstrating the superb sprit of Formula Student! After the morning Dynamic events of Saturday, the Sprint
event was competed in the afternoon. Laid out over the first corner at the Circuit de Catalunya, the Sprint event was completed in 1:03, giving the team a 7th place finish, with a very tightly pact top 10. The team then took part in the Sunday Endurance event in the early afternoon, completing the course in 28:46 and securing 5th place, alongside a 4th place in the Efficiency event. This gave the team an overall 6th place at Formula Student Spain and capped off a superb season of competing for Team Bath Racing.
Newsletter
September 2015
teambathracing.com
@teambathracing
/teambathracing
/teambathr