Assembling, planning, engineering, and racing: All of these are possible with the student motorsports team Mainfranken Racing e. V.
Published on 2 August 2023
When you think about motorsports, Formula 1 comes to mind. Many know the motorsports premium class from TV broadcasting. But not everyone is content just watching the race cars from their couches. THWS students can become active with the Mainfranken Racing Team and breathe motorsports air. The team can already look back on a long history: "Inspired by various international documents on Formula Student and born from the idea of individual student motorsports enthusiasts, the project started at THWS in 2006", says Julia Neubig, first chair of the team.
Formula Student – a student engineering competition
But what exactly is Formula Student? It is a competition in which student teams design and build a one-seated racing car. The teams have from October until August for planning and building the vehicle. The teams' vehicles then compete in various disciplines in different racing events. But not only the velocity on the given tracks is the decisive factor for the overall win. The so-called static disciplines also play an essential role. Among them are the presentation of the design and business plan but also a cost breakdown.
Before the actual competition starts, the teams must pass the technical inspection, the so-called scrutineering. Vehicles participating in the Formula Student Electric are tested for the safety of their electronics, and for general technology and safety. The vehicles also complete a static test called tilt table, a rain test, and a brake test. Only after passing all these tests successfully, the vehicles are allowed into the competition. "This is often a tense moment because it would be really annoying to fail. This would render all the preparations useless", says Julia Neubig, who has experienced some of the tests first-hand.
Winning with electric engine and without a driver
The THWS team is currently building the fourth vehicle with an electric motor and has big plans again for this season that are currently being implemented. For the second time, a monocoque is made from carbon fibre. A monocoque is a special construction that makes up the chassis and replaces the frame. This improves the vehicle's stability while reducing its mass. The manufacturing process, however, is very tedious and takes several months.
The switch from a combustion engine to an electric engine was not only due to ecological reasons: "The automotive industry is moving more and more towards renewable energies and e-mobility. This is of course also relevant to us", Julia Neubig explains. "Many of our team members are future engineers and will work in this field in their future careers. Thus, switching to electro was a must for us." The expectations towards the vehicle and the team's work are high. "We want driverless vehicles. This, however, is a major challenge," says the chairwoman. Implementing this new technology was not possible from one day to the next. "I am still confident," Julia Neubig emphasises.
A diverse team
Whoever thinks only motorsports fans or students with a technical background could become part of the team, is wrong. "We are happy about new members from any field. The main aspect is that people are keen on the project and the people, and have fun", says Neubig, who has mainly searched for sponsors in the current season. The team is, in fact, very diverse. Not only are there members from the rather obvious fields like mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, robotics, or mechatronics, but also from e-commerce, business administration, or media management.
The racing team currently has 40 active members. In addition to management, it has seven other sub-areas. These are Sponsoring & Marketing, Chassis, Drivetrain, Suspension, High Voltage, Low Voltage and Driverless. Julia Neubig, Alex Schwenke, Alexander Mölkner and Jannes Amthor make up the management team. The "Racing Stable" of the team is in the automotive engineering lab at the THWS location of Schweinfurt.
The involved students enthuse about the project in many ways. Alexander Mölkner, in charge of the team's finances, is particularly passionate about the development process. "Seeing how a blank sheet of paper from the start of the season is then turned into a finished vehicle at the end of the season, is simply amazing", the student of Mechanical Engineering says. For Max Böhm, in charge of the monocoque production in particular, teamwork is the decisive factor. The experiences, he has made in the course of the project would also benefit him in other areas: "You learn how to deal with stress as we only have a small time period from planning to production. You also get the chance to put the theory from your studies into practice."
Close collaboration with local companies
The association is funded by sponsors, who either contribute financial means or support the team with manufacturing individual parts. Among the main sponsors are Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG, Jopp Group, Geiss AG and Fertigungsgerätebau Adolf Steinbach GmbH & Co. KG. "Without the cooperation with local sponsors, it would not be possible to build a racing car. The companies support us with their expertise and can produce parts which we could not do without them", Julia Neubig says. Most sponsors are from the automotive industry. However, there are also sponsors like the beverage producer Karmeliter, who donates drinks, or the VR Bank Main-Rhön eG, that simply supports the project financially. In return, the logos of the sponsors are applied to chassis of the racing car
The schedule for next season
The team have until August to tinker on their vehicle. Then, the first race is due. This season, three competitions are on the agenda. The most important event takes place at Hockenheimring, where until 2019 the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Germany regularly took place. The team is eager to get to the very top: "We are aiming for a top 10 rank. Considering the 70 participating teams of the electronic class, that would be a huge success", Neubig explains. A realistic goal – after all, the pre-predecessor "MF 13" already achieved a similar rank in 2021. Another important station and just as prestigious a Formula 1 location is the Hungaroring in Hungary. Participation in a race in Czech is also planned. An exciting season awaits.
