Elefant Racing Update: FR22 Thor Rollout

As we have recently welcomed the Elefant team’s new FR22 car named Thor, we were all looking forward to the long-awaited rollout! On April 26, it finally happened, and the guys from Elefant Racing shared their first-hand experience of this event with our team!

With each new year of Formula Student, there are new goals and obstacles to overcome. How have our partners from Elefant Racing handled it??

FR 22 Thor: Ready, Set, Go!

I feel very pleased to share with you the second driverless vehicle rollout as part of the long-term, successful collaboration between the teams of Elefant Racing and Label Your Data. We asked the guys to share their feelings and general impressions of this year’s race car rollout. And here’s what we learned from them so far!??

— How was the first testing of the race car? Did everything go smoothly??

We are extremely proud that we were able to introduce our new race car by the end of April, the earliest date in the history of Elefant Racing so far. What’s even more impressive is the fact that we performed the first test before the actual rollout. Our new race car FR22 Thor managed to drive without any major issues, which is a great success for our team!

Even though the aero package was not yet installed at that time, we were able to drive on a fully discharged battery. This means that there were no critical incidents in FR22 Thor. However, the first tests are going very smoothly so far, but we can reach the maximum speed only in a few weeks. Only then can we be sure that everything works properly.

— How did you prepare for the FR22 Thor rollout?

The rollout of FR22 Thor was a resounding success for our entire team at Elefant Racing. A total of 100 spectators came on Tuesday evening to see our new race car for the first time. There were numerous sponsors, university professors, and invited guests among them. Moreover, a highlight of this year’s rollout was the early date of the event, actually about a month earlier than most other teams. This gives us the essential opportunity to perform more test miles and more time to ensure the reliability of our driverless vehicle.?

Honestly, it was a tough nut to crack, especially the night before the rollout. The lights in the hall often went out after 3 AM because there was so much work to be done. Some of our team members even spent the night in the workshop to get all the work done in time. Nevertheless, every joint effort was well worth it, and FR22 Thor was fully prepared a few hours before it was introduced to the public.?

However, there is still much work to be done in the coming weeks, especially with the integration of VD (vehicle dynamics) and driverless components.

Mapping Out the Future Contests at FS 2022

Since last year, not only the race car has been improved. Our partners from Elefant Racing have raised the bar for the goals and contests in 2022. Let’s see what goals the Elefant team has this year and which countries they are ready to conquer!?

— What countries are you planning to visit as part of FS 2022, and what events are you involved in??

For the first time this year, we are looking forward to participating in not just three, but as many as four events. We have successfully passed the qualification quizzes for all events, which gives us a competitive edge, considering that there were only 60 places for 300 applicants.

In 2022, we want to go first to the FSN in Assen, Netherlands, and then to the FSA in Spielberg, Austria. Then, in August, we are having the Driverless Event in Hungary at the FSEast at the Hungaroring circuit. The last event is going to be the FSG at the Hockenheimring circuit in Germany, where we will race both with and without a driver.

Formula Student 2022: Setting a Stage for Thor’s Success?

Looks like our German partners at Elefant Racing are all set to break new ground and win over as many Formula Student contests as possible this year. We wish them luck, strength, and enough adrenaline to make the FR22 Thor the most powerful driverless invention in the FS history.

Make sure you stay tuned for all the updates from the Elefant team that I share with you here. Driving is always fun, but how much more fun can it get with a driverless system???