Team philosophy

The DUT Racing Team for 2009-2010 consists of nearly 50 enthusiastic members who work together to produce a new, more fuel-efficient, better and faster car than the years before. Industrial designers, aerospace engineers, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, first year students, PhD’s, foreign and domestic they all work together on this project. This makes the DUT Racing team the largest and most varying team of the TU Delft and the competition.

Education

The main goal of the team is education. Every year many new students start on a year of Formula Student, most of them have no or very little experience in designing and building a race car. Even though, they are allowed and needed to design a part of the car in their first year. Therefore colleges and workshops are organized at the start of every season to teach the team vital knowledge and skills. Older members of the team will assist the newcomers during the year, assuring the quality of the work and further educating the new engineers. Most members indicate that their year, or years, was one of the most educating experiences of their study.

Teamwork

Building a car with 50 people, of which about 30 new students, and only one year of time, requires good teamwork. Cooperation is extremely important to ensure all parts are finished in time and fit with the other parts, there is no room for errors. Therefore the team also invests time and means in teambuilding activities. Regular kart-outings, team weekends and presence at ‘t Hok (the office) improve atmosphere and communication. All our efforts don’t go unnoticed by other teams and the organization of events, in the previous three years the team won the team spirit award three times.

Sustainable Engineering

A very important topic in science en society is sustainability. With the current change of environment everything should become increasingly efficient. The DUT Racing Team understands the importance of sustainability and therefore takes this aspect in consideration while designing the car. As a result, the most recent DUT Racing cars use bio-ethanol (E85) as fuel. And this pays of! During the events in Germany and the UK, our cars prove to be very fast, whilst being most fuel efficient as well. We use up to 14% less fuel compared to the number 2!

Overall, the DUT Racing Team is one of the top teams in the Formula Student competition. We educate top engineers, have a good team, show good sportsmanship, have a leading role in sustainable racing and win at important events!