SILVERSTONED

Clicks from the 2009 Formula Student held at Silverstone ,U.K.

PIT

Auto Expo                   

Silverstone

TEAM 09

Launch

Interactive sessions

Thodi masti ho jaye

On the track and after hours

GUESS WHO? 

SALZGITTER MANIPAL

"A mind that is stretched by a new experience, can never go back to its old dimensions" .

Manipal University realized that student experience has to be channelized, only then can you expect positive results. The university officials sat down with the team in beginning of the 2010 season and chalked down a layout. The aim was to build a workshop equipped with state of the art facilities.

Dyno Testing at FM Workshop

Formula Manipal shifted into its new workshop in late November 2009. Its was previously called PG material science lab, but was used lately to store old and discarded furniture. The team had learnt a lot from their previous international visits about workshop setup. Tool shelves, cabinets and notice boards were placed. The constant support from Planning and Construction dept. was necessary  in shaping the workshop to its present looks.

FM 13 Team working on the car

Considering everything apart; "Salzgitter Manipal" was awaiting  its latest member . Installed  towards the end of 2009 season and seated quietly in the rear of the workshop on a rock solid foundation was a powerful DYNO which was essential in Engine tuning and enhancing engine performance. The Engine guys were delighted. With new tool shelves and Senator tool box ,the no. 13 spanner was finally safe. So the suspension guys shifted their focus to M4, M5 and M6 allen keys. They made special request to electronics for putting barbed electric wires around the allen set.

T
he university bought the team "high quality, comfortable and cosy" mats to sleep after work in the workshop. How thoughtful!!
The university constantly supported Formula Manipal in its upbringing and improvement. Special thanks to the professors, without their support and help the new workshop would have been a dream.

Video shoot at FM workshop, 2009

It was not only the workshop that was getting organized, but so was the team.The importance of various aspects of classification and work distribution were a few things learnt by the team. The concept of Risk Management was applied since beginning of the 2010 season.

The work structure of the team changed and with a brand new workplace, the responsibility of its maintenance and neatness was looked upon by the team. Proper documentation and maintenance of team database was started. Financial records were now to be maintained at regular basis.

It was a fresh start of the FORMULA MANIPAL CULTURE  

STEP UP

"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure”

 A lesson well learnt after a successful participation at Italy in 2008. Formula Manipal was the news on campus. Everyone talking of the team and its achievements. The university was proud of the team. Unfortunately, FM had very little time to collect the appreciations that were pouring in. With the clocking ticking really fast, the team was to get all set for their next challenge - Silverstone, UK. Recruitments were conducted in the TV room of 9^th block, new subsystem heads appointed and a project plan was phased out for the 2009 season, after all making a race is not a half hours job.

"She's my baby"- Nishant Jain ( Engine Head)

Engine guys in the workshop

Reducing manufacturing time and effort was the major concern and the University boffins did agree with us.  Therefore FM09 got its skunk works in the Automobile polytechnic workshop (now the automobile workshop).Later did the team learnt that much of the space was preoccupied hydraulic jacks and huge drilling machines for FM, this was all secondary. Sootron ke mutabik (According to our sources), the no. 13 spanner, which the suspension guys guarded with their lives; topped the charts of the major issues the team had tackle.I feel that, Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear, UK) would have had lesser issues while choosing the best 4 wheels for her 17 year old daughter. All he asked for ,was a bouncy castle with wipers.

Launch of FM09

The team’s main focus was car completion and it’s testing. Initials designed were quick to come and the errors were rectified faster.  As university funds came in, major equipments were purchased. The team specifically loved the new welding machine and everyone tried their hands on it, though only 2 of them mastered this art. Chassis fabrication began in full swing followed by the other subsystems bolting their parts soon, one by one. The goal was to be reliable and cost efficient .FM 09 had all the past experience taken into account and no stone was left unturned. Performance was to speak.

Since FM 08 gave results as it promised , the sponsors were delighted and many of them agreed to continue with our journey of building a race car. Formula Manipal also showcased their talent and interact with industry giants at the Bangalore Auto Expo where FM just got more glamorous. 

  Pneumatic gear shifting; Sleek side pods ; sexier, curvy and khatarnaak looks made FM09 the perfect eye catcher in the campus. 

In 2009, Formula Manipal was "10th most cost efficient car" out of the 88 visiting teams at Silverstone, UK

At the Auto Expo

  

THE FORMULA

"This article is for those who dared to go against the flow living their dream, igniting a new culture and leaving a legacy behind."

After months of waging war against countless entrance exams, you are finally here at Manipal University. you are imagining what your life will going to be throughout and after four years. You risk out from the crowd with high hopes but the passion gradually disappears as you learn to fall flat. That's when you waste time in getting frustrated and cursing the college.

But somewhere behind those close doors and massively heavy books were 15 focused undergrads; keen to cross the line and start a project. A project, analogous to calling you infant son Jesus; you had to be thoroughly sure that he would grow up to some one special and not a "Burglar ".

You could be forgiven to assume that they would have settled for cushy MNC jobs and swirled around the campus for rest of their college life but the fact is though; they didn't.


With their dream as the sole inspiration, they risked themselves for a project that demanded numerous man hours, strict time limits and team work. Lack of funds and resources posed yet another challenge as sponsors weren't easy to convince. The only solutions was to manufacture the parts themselves to save cost. Manufacturing and related processes were done miles away from Manipal and travelling was as tedious as climbing the Everest with your slippers on. At college, they battled sleepless nights, attendance shortage and academic pressure. For them, it was now or never.


In September 2007, the team rolled out FM08, Manipal University's first Formula Student car, slamming away all the critics and paving way for future laurels. Formula Manipal gave a new dimension to education at Manipal and soon became the trademark of the University.

Building it was difficult , but driving it was manic. The driver could almost punch through the cockpit and the car had its own tantrums  which were thrown at regular intervals. Besides all this, it had enough power to blow off the marshals off the track and therefore i can't even contemplate how it would have felt to tame it. i can surely try:


" Sweat dripping from the balaclava onto his forehead as the heat from the monster sitting behind him radiates through the firewall. His mind is a jumble of flashbacks and thoughts. It really should be, he was after all sitting  in a light weight single seat racing machine that powers upto 12000 RPM ,just like that. His eyes fixed on the marshals cuz its not a regular hatchback.
He's scared because there are around 150 nuts and bolts screwed in close by people who never repaired a bicycle, his legs always on the brakes. No one wants to get hurt.

But inside the helmet, he is calm wearing the biggest smile since he had taken this attempt to go beyond the limits and do the impossible. It's been a long journey, but they were there on the tracks for their first ever FSAE event.

 This was their day, this was their car

Formula Manipal was awarded " the farthest traveled team award" at FS Italy 2008,  for a brilliant first year performance.