Successes on legendary tracks
Four years - that's how long the break in Silesian Greenpower in F24+ formula races lasted. Recently, a team of students from our University returned to the competition and in great style! The team finished first and second at the East Fortune Circuit in Scotland, and received a special Ford Award.
- It was a great joy, the new composition of our team took part in the races for the first time and it was an extraordinary experience - says prof. dr hab. eng. Andrzej Baier, coordinator of the Silesian Greenpower project. - Due to the pandemic break, we started for the first time in four years in the league. At that time, the students changed, and a new team was formed. The electric car competition has been organized by the Greenpower Education Trust since 1999.
The competition consists of ten races on different tracks, including a world final. Teams can take part in all, but only the best three results, including the final race, count for the overall standings.
Thanks to a student
Silesian Greenpower was founded in 2010. It was then that it took part in the racing series for the first time. The project was created thanks to Krzysztof Slósarczyk - a student of the Silesian University of Technology, who was an exchange student at Coventry University and worked for the Jaguar Land Rover automotive company. There he joined a team of young engineers involved in the design and construction of a light electric vehicle for the annual Greenpower Corporate Challenge race. When he returned to the country, he got his colleagues from the faculty interested with this sport. And so it began.
Initially, the team consisted of a couple of people from three faculties of the time: Mechanical Engineering, Energy and Environmental Engineering as well as Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science. In 2012, the team supervisor, on behalf of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, was prof. dr hab. Eng. Andrzej Baier. The supervisor from the Faculty of Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science was prof. Marian Błachuta.
- At the beginning, we took part in a one-off Corporate Challenge race, which we won in 2013 - says prof. Andrzej Baier. - Teams that do not participate in the F24+ league competitions take part in it. In the following years, we decided to take part in the next edition of the F24+ league. The last time we started in the league was in 2019. In the final standings of the league after the final we took third and fourth places. Then came the pandemic, during which we started only once, in 2020 in unclassified competitions.
This season, our team started the competition at the end of April at the Goodwood track in England, where it finished eleventh (SGR 2020 car) and fourteenth (Bullet III car). A few days later it was much better. At the East Fortune circuit in Scotland, our cars dominated the race, finishing first (SGR 2020) and second (Bullet III).
Silesian Greenpower takes part in F24+ races. This is a category in which the driver can be up to 26 years old. All cars are equipped with the same 240 W DC motors and the same 36 Ah batteries.
- Engineering technique, engine cooling, but above all aerodynamics are important - explains Prof. Andrzej Baier. - The car is kind of breaking through the air, so how the car is built has the greatest impact on the results of the competition. That's about sixty-seventy percent of the success. In addition, we have to comply with many regulations. The cars are rigorously checked. A relatively small person can sit in the car. Its construction means that the driver is only ten centimeters above the road, and it is driving at a speed of up to 70 km/h. Cars do not have any suspension springs, it shakes them a lot while driving. The driver in the middle is lying on his back, fastened with five-point belts. Just getting in and out of the car is not easy, but it has to be designed so that it can be done quickly and safely.
It's a team competition
The race lasts 60 minutes. The team that completes the most laps within that time wins.
- The basis of the competition is economical driving - continues prof. Andrzej Baier - For several years cars do not pit during the race - of course, if there is no need - so as not to lose precious minutes. Driver skills are important, but what counts here is teamwork, the contribution of each team member. And we are doing great as a team, sponsors appreciate our teamwork. We work all year round to improve cars. We have two inertia chassis dynamometers, we devote a lot of time to scientific research, electronic control. We only lack test tracks, which is why we use the ones in Kamień Śląski and Poznań. On a daily basis, we have virtual twins of our cars for test driving.
This series of races is also a great opportunity to test abilities and technical knowledge between teams from various universities and companies.
- For these young people, it is not only a passion, an opportunity to take part in races, but above all, a great opportunity to put their ideas on paper, perform and implement them in international competition - explains Prof. Andrzej Baier. - Students can see how they fare against the world's best. We have won technical awards many times - even for the best car. This year we received a special award from Ford - "Ford Engineering Award", for the telemetry system of our cars.
An amazing treat is also the opportunity to compete on the legendary Formula 1 tracks. Such is Goodwood, where the most famous car races in the world used to take place. East Fortune is the second longest motorbike circuit in Scotland. The competition was also held many times at the legendary Silverstone.
- This year we will start in June and this will be the end of the competition - announces prof. Andrzej Baier. - We need sponsors to take part in the finals, it is associated with high costs. We are constantly looking for them. In addition, we invite interested students from all departments to our team to experience an extraordinary adventure.
Photo: prof. dr hab. eng. Andrzej Baier
