We’ve come to the end of another Formula Student season, and what a year it’s been! In the last three months or so, USM12 has gone from a bare chassis on our jigging table to a seasoned competition veteran, and the team has demonstrated its ability to compete at the highest level on an international stage.

USM12 Launch

USM’s 12th car, USM12, was officially launched on Thursday 28th June in the McCance Building at an event attended by sponsors, staff, family and friends. The event was a huge success, introduced by a series of videos created by team member David Wilkinson which documented the effort put in by the whole team in the year leading up to launch.

The unveiling of USM12 was the first time many team members had the opportunity to step back and admire their own work, and the results drew a fantastic response from the assembled guests. USM12’s plastic bodywork, minimalist design and

standard of workmanship proved to be the biggest talking points, setting the precedent for the coming competitions.

Competition Prep

Launch night may have marked the culmination of a hectic build phase, but there was still a considerable amount of work to be done before USM12 was ready to compete. Ewart Engineering treated our chassis to a full professional powdercoat before USM12 headed off to the the rolling road for some intensive engine mapping. After a busy two weeks of system tests and shakedowns, the car and team were finally ready for Silverstone.

Silverstone 2012

The weeks and months leading up to the Formula Student UK competition in July tend to rush by in a blur of sleepless nights and ready meals, but all that effort was brought into sharp focus when USM arrived at a soggy Silverstone on July 11th. Joined by 131 other teams from

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University of Strathclyde Motorsport Formula Student

USM 2011/12 Newsletter Issue 3

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34 countries all over the world, USM were there to compete in the biggest student motorsport event in the world.

The atmosphere was electric, as were some of the cars - 2012 marks the first year of direct competition between combustion and electric vehicles, raising the bar by an extra notch. As the air filled with the scream of Formula 1 V8s ripping round the track at as part of a test day, USM were soon hard at work in the pit garage making the final preparations for Scrutineering.

Tech, Chassis and Safety inspections were all completed by mid-Thursday afternoon, with USM12 weighing in at a lithe 204kg, a testament to the work done by the team during design and build in ensuring all systems were capable of maximum functionality for minimum weight. Next up was the Tilt Test, proving the absence of any leaks under lateral load, and Noise, with our Honda CBR600RR putting out a polite 105.8dB.

With five out of six Scrutineering stickers in position on the car's nose, the team were sorted for Friday, and headed for the local 24hr McDonalds in search of warmth, ice-cream and mains power, all equally necessary for Static event preparation.

Brake Test was successfully completed on Friday morning along with the Business event,

closely followed by Design and Cost & Sustainability. USM achieved fantastic 7th and 12th positions in Cost and Design respectively, with both sets of judges impressed by the balance struck between cost and performance and the consideration given to sustainability in terms of material and process selection.

Saturday kicked off the first of the dynamic events and saw USM place a respectable 21st and 25th in Acceleration and Skidpad. USM's third run in the afternoon's Sprint event was cut short due to a broken shifter, and the astonishing lap times produced by the top teams meant USM joined the bulk of the field in equal 29th place.

A slowish time in Sprint equated to an earlyish slot in the Endurance running order, and USM headed out on track at 11am on Sunday morning. USM12 coped superbly in the baking heat, and our drivers brought the car home safely in 25th place, consuming a frugal four litres of fuel in the process.

USM were delighted to finish a fantastic event with 20th place overall, placing us 6th out of the 50 UK teams competing and top of the Scottish contingent.

Hockenheim 2012

Formula Student Germany is widely acknowledged as the

world's most prestigious and closely contested Formula Student event, and the 2012 edition raised the bar even higher, featuring the winning cars from the previous seven FS competitions and the most competitive field in Formula Student/FSAE history.

USM arrived on a sunny German Tuesday morning after a 900mile, 22hr drive to discover our fourth-fastest time on the Scrutineering quiz had earned us a 9am appointment with the DEKRA scrutineers. After unloading the van in 22 minutes flat, another record time, USM12 was prepped and cleaned before the team headed tentwards for some much-needed sleep.

The team's first full day in Germany was spent in pursuit of the all-important Tech Inspection, Tilt, Noise and Brake Test stickers, finishing with three out of four and a whispered 104dB reading at Noise, 6dB below the limit and the lowest recorded all weekend. Brake Test was passed early on Thursday morning and USM12 was off to the practice area in search of some driver seat time. After a few sessions to scrub in a new set of Hoosiers, the focus shifted to intensive preparation for Friday's Static events.

Friday morning saw a well-dressed but noticeably under-ironed USM turn up at Bay 10B for Engineering Design and Cost Analysis judging, accompanied by an unusually shiny USM12. Two

hours of talking and a cheesy group photo later and it was Skid Pad time.

Since we'd left all the rain back home in Glasgow, the German organisers decided to arrange their own to level the playing field, resulting in some spectacular Wet Pad photos as USM12 took to its native weather conditions. A well-received Business Presentation rounded off the first day of competitive events and cleared the way for USM to get stuck into the sponsor stands for some freebie-hunting.

Saturday morning's Acceleration runs really kicked off the weekend's Dynamic events, with a few electric cars setting ridiculous times to the sound of squealing tyres and very little else. USM completed all four runs on Hockenheim's main straight before returning to the pits to set up for the afternoon's Autocross.

Autocross offered the first chance for the team to see how USM12 would really perform on the new extended 1.3km FSG course, and the times improved with every run as the drivers got to grips with the car and circuit. An already successful day was further brightened by the news that USM had scored somewhere within the top five places in the Cost Analysis event.

As with any Formula Student, everything comes down to the Endurance event on the Sunday - www.formulastudent.strath.ac.uk

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all the work, all the preparation, all the training invested over an entire year are put to the test on track. FSG2012 was no different - after USM's 100m heartbreak in 2011, the tension of Enduro was stepped up another few notches. Once again, USM12 and both drivers delivered precisely what was required - lap times kept getting quicker and quicker, and the car ran absolutely flawlessly.

The roars of celebration as the car crossed the finish line 22km later were an indication of how important a second successful Enduro finish was to the team, topped off by the news that USM12 had sipped just 2.6litres of petrol over the full race distance, an amount which turned out to be the lowest of any car that day. At last, the team were free to enjoy the rest of what turned out to be a spectacular Endurance event, with the world's top teams showing what they could (and couldn't) do out on track.

The awards ceremony and exuberant after-party is always a highlight, furnished as it is with finest German beer served in FSG2012 tankards and packed to the rafters with 3500 sweaty engineers, but this year provided even more cause for jumping up and down and shouting. The heady blend of shock and elation as Strathclyde were announced as overall Cost Analysis winners lasted for the mad victory sprint

to the stage to collect our first trophy for six years, a considerable amount of cheering, and long into the slightly blurry MAHLE Party and subsequent campsite festivities.

24th overall and 3rd of the UK teams was our final ranking, an absolutely fantastic result, especially given the standard of competition and challenges faced.

USM12 Round-Up

Formula Student Germany 2012 was an incredible event and served as evidence that USM really are capable of competeting at the highest level on an international stage.

The team would like to thank all our partners and sponsors for providing us with this opportunity, those senior team members who have contributed so much and are now moving on to Life After Formula Student, and everyone who has in any way helped or supported the team throughout what has been a challenging but ultimately very successful season.

To Woody, Jock and Eddie, we wish you all the best. To all our sponsors, we thank you for your help and support, without which we wouldn’t be in this position. To everyone else who has helped out or cheered us on, your encouragement is everything.

To all those wondering what 2013 will bring, watch this space…