RS Designspark Article/ GCU Racing
After another year intense year of Formula Student for GCU Racing, we are pleased to look back on another productive year for the team. With ambitious goals set for both design and results, GCU Racing are proud to finish of the year in the position we are in.
GCUR-002
This year marked the first year where the team attempted to fully design and build it a car. With learnings taken from last year's design judging and scrutineering, a low-budget yet innovative design brief was put together.
Frame
This years frame was fully redesigned, with better integration to the suspension system the major change in the front end of the car. At the rear a dramatic reduction of tubes was attempted to reduce the weight. With the aim for less tubes at the rear, an aluminium rear bulkhead was implemented to tie everything together at the rear. This year's frame was also designed to be larger to allow for easier integration of different systems.
Engine
For this year the powertrain was improved both in power and reliability. With the displacement increased to 636cc with an increased bore and custom-designed pistons to suit our application giving an increase in both power and torque. Along with custom-designed camshafts reducing valve overlap within the cylinder head preventing power dips in the mid range. The reliability is increased with a custom dry sump system including sump pan and scavenge pump to ensure that the engine avoids oil starvation regardless of the lateral G forces seen or harsh environments encountered on the track.
Suspension
This years suspension system was much improved, with better geometry and a fully modular system installed. It also featured the introduction of heave springs at the front and rear of the car. A roadmap for the introduction of bladed anti-roll bars has also been left for the future.
Electrical
Building a race car is no small task, defiantly when it comes to the electrical systems, precision, quality, and reliability are crucial. That is why we used RS Components for our parts.
Instead of using the standard loom that came with our engine, we decided to create a custom wiring loom tailored to our specific needs. With high-quality wiring and connectors from RS Components, we crafted an electrical system that is both efficient and race-ready.
Our telemetry system was another area of substantial improvement this year that would not have been possible without the range of parts that RS offers. The system allows other parts of our team to really know how each system is performing.
Results
Overall the team finished 48th in FS Class. With an unfinished car, and a focus remaining on getting the car done instead of extra preparation for static events, we are not disappointed with the result. We were able to improve however by multiple places in every static event attempted, improving 16 places in Cost compared to last year.
Next Year
Although at first glance this year may look disappointing, we are in an excellent place moving into 2025. This year's car will serve as a platform for GCUR-003, with a lot of this year's car recommended to be carried over to next year. Our major engine improvements, front section of our frame and many other areas will feature on GCUR-003. Allowing for a quicker build period to allow the team to get extensive testing in before FS2025.
This year the team comprised of 60 students from across a wide range of courses at GCU, the team hopes to expand next year and make further progression towards data collection for an A.I. attempt in the future.
The team would like to thank all of it’s sponsors, supporters and anyone else who was a part of our journey this year. We hope to do everyone proud next year and get on track at Silverstone.
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