After many days and nights of hard work, the time has come: The Formula Student team "HSNR Racing" of the Hochschule Niederrhein has presented its new racing car RS-23c to the public. With this car the team will again compete with other university teams in the international racing series Formula Student. Many familiar faces came to the big party in the main auditorium of the Krefeld South Campus. In addition to proud parents and team sponsors, numerous alumni had also found their way to Krefeld to be present at the unveiling of the new racing car.
Although most of the car's components are based on last year's model, the RS-23c has been optimized. The focus of this year's work was on the reliability of the car. To increase this, only a few low-risk improvements were made to the car. In terms of aerodynamics, the car now features the Drag Reduction System (DRS), which is also used in Formula 1. The DRS system is a movable rear wing that reduces the car's drag. On a straight line, the car can thus achieve a higher final speed. In addition, care has been taken to ensure that the electronics installed in the car are safer in terms of failures. Despite the new parts, it was again possible to keep the weight of the car as low as possible this year.
In addition to the pressure of developing a new car, the team has had to face another challenge. In his address, team leader Frederic Schiwan stressed that the team had first had to find its way again after the two pandemic years, during which the number of members was greatly reduced. Among the new team members is Professor Dr. Julia Kessler, who took over as project leader from Professor Michael Heber at the end of last year. "This team has brought an incredible amount of courage, discipline, ambition, but also, in the final analysis, cohesion. That's why it makes me very proud to be part of this team," says Kessler.
This year's racing calendar includes participation at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria (July 22-27, 2023) and at the Hockenheimring in Germany (August 14-20, 2023).
In the international Formula Student racing series, around 600 university teams worldwide compete for pole position with their self-developed and constructed vehicles. It's all about acceleration, speed, endurance, cornering, manufacturing or even economic aspects such as a business plan.
