University Challenge

The entry might have been down for this year’s Formula Student UK extravaganza but the level of innovation was as high as ever. Racecar was at Silverstone to witness all the action

- Josh Kruse

The first Formula Student winner of the UK competition, which was celebrating its 20th edition this year, was crowned after Cardiff University narrowly beat the University of Birmingham. The team from Wales overcame an initial scare, when it failed to make the design final, to achieve strong scores in the cost and presentation events while topping the Sprint dynamic event with a maximum score of 150 points.

Yet while that was welcome, there was a different atmosphere surrounding the 2017 edition, and it was noticeable when walking into the paddock for the first time how many empty garages there were compared to 2016. The paddock was decidedly empty by comparison to previous highly successful years. There was good reason for this, though, as Formula Student UK was hit this year courtesy of the incompatible non-SAE approved rules adopted by Formula Student Germany (see box out). This, coupled with the fact that other Formula Student events, FS East and FS Italy, were running simultaneously, and FS Netherlands run on the same week, meant that European team entries dropped significantly.

At the beginning of the season, the proposed rules of the German and UK events differed too greatly and teams were left with a choice of which competition to contest, as the modifications required to compete in both were too great and costly for some teams. Germany later amended its rules making it easier for teams to compete in both, but this came too late for some who didn’t have the budget to make the necessary changes and register for both competitions. There was also a handful of teams who didn’t return after disagreeing with disqualifications handed out at the conclusion of the 2016 UK Formula Student event.