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Three European rounds of the international Formula Student competition, technical challenges, and some notable successes. The past few months have brought the UWB eRacing Pilsen team plenty of valuable experience. The students represented their university in the Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland, with their greatest successes coming at the Słomczyn race circuit in Poland.

Although the competition in Poland was the Pilsen team’s final event of the season, it proved well worth the trip. The hard work of both the mechanical and electrical divisions was rewarded with 4th place out of 17 teams in Endurance. The team’s greatest achievement, however, was victory in the static Business Plan Presentation discipline, which assesses the team’s ability to turn a technical project into a convincing business proposition, as well as first place in the special non-scoring Egress discipline, which compared how quickly individual drivers could exit the race car in an emergency. These results helped the Pilsen team finish the season in 6th place overall.

“Our goal was to win at least one dynamic and one static discipline. We did not quite manage that, but we made major progress in motor control and cooling and collected a large amount of data for further development. We have also introduced remote communication with the car, allowing us to monitor data online directly while it is running,” said Martin Motyčka from the team’s electrical division, reflecting on the season. The students have already begun work on a new car for next year, which will feature a lighter, more compact traction inverter and a new traction battery. “Our goal for 2027 is clear: to build a faster and more reliable car and move another step closer to the world’s top teams,” added mechanical engineering student Vítězslav Plh.

The season was not without technical complications, however. The team encountered problems right from the opening event at Autodrom Most. Given the quality of the starting field, it is one of the most competitive Formula Student events in Europe. At the very beginning, however, the Pilsen team was delayed by technical inspections, which all teams must pass before being allowed onto the track. Following modifications and additional calculations, the students demonstrated that their design solution was sound, but they no longer had enough time to complete all the disciplines. A similar situation later occurred in Poland. Nevertheless, the team used the experience gained in Most to make further improvements to the car, including changes to the control of power delivered to the individual wheels.

The second event of the season, held at the legendary Hockenheimring in Germany, proceeded without any problems during technical inspection. The Pilsen team successfully completed all disciplines and finished 14th in Endurance. “Although we finished around the middle of the overall standings, given the quality of the field and the demanding nature of the German competition, this is one of our most valuable results of the season,” explained team captain Radek Povišer. Formula Student Germany is one of the most prestigious events in the entire series. This year, it brought together 79 teams and approximately 2,500 students.

The Pilsen university race car is developed and built by students from four UWB faculties: the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, the Faculty of Economics, and the Faculty of Applied Sciences. In addition to designing, manufacturing, and testing the car, the team must also handle budgeting, communication with partners, component production, logistics, team promotion, and the complete operational setup required for competitions. According to team captain Povišer, the opportunity to experience the entire process — from the first design concept to operating a real racing car — is one of the greatest benefits of the Formula Student project.