"One of the new features of this year's car is a new monocoque chassis."

The automotive team of the School Tecnun eRacing takes stock of the work done during the first semester in which "they have made progress in all fields of project", and are already focused on fill in his car to try to compete this summer in the Formula Student, "if the pandemic status finally allows it," as stated by team member Laura Lopez Conde.

What have been the main developments of the first semester?

During the first semester progress has been made in all areas of project. At the technical level, the final CAD of the entire vehicle has been completed, and the manufacturing of most of the vehicle's parts has started. At the concept level, at the beginning of semester the objectives for the season were defined, both at the single-seater and team level. In addition, the department de Business has formalized many collaborations with our sponsors, which bring us closer and closer to our final goal . Finally, this semester has been able to test the 2019 car twice, which has allowed us to extract data and information to improve the designs of the new TeR 21.

What are the technical specifications of this year's car? 

It is a single-seater with electric propulsion by means of two independent motors controlled with a Torque Vectoring logic, which allow a maximum power of up to 80 kW or 107CV, with a total capacity of the battery system of 6.5 kWh. Thanks in part to a new monocoque chassis, one of this year's major improvements, the new TeR reduces its weight by 20 kilograms, standing at a kerb weight of 275 kilograms with driver. Accompanying the new monocoque is a completely redesigned double wishbone suspension with subject push actuation, which will extract maximum performance from the new 16-inch Hoosier R25B tires. All this is accompanied by the most powerful aerodynamic package ever carried by a single-seater designed at this university.

Is the way you are organizing yourselves similar to other years?

This year, changes have been made to the departmental structure to better adapt to the team's internal management processes. From the previous department of organization, two new Departments appear, the department of Business (in charge of the management of sponsors and the External Communications of the team) and the department of Operations (in charge of the logistics of the team and the management of costs and suppliers). On the other hand, the Race Engineering department has been created, with the intention of focusing our efforts even more on scoring points in the dynamic tests, and making the most of the time on the track.

What financial aid technical or material has been provided by sponsors?

As in other years, we count on important collaborations that make possible the project. Among them, we always highlight the support of Alunid, who provides us with aluminum honeycomb for the manufacture of the car; Polistmodel, who financial aid with the wooden model of the monocoque and the AIC, who supports us financially and technically. We also received a lot of support and financial aid from companies such as Optimus3D, Gurit, Bahco, Pixel Sistemas, Vector Iberia, Irizar, Ansyso Siemens.

Have you gained any new sponsors in recent months?

Being aware of the status that we have lived and continue to live these months, the team has not had an easy time looking for new collaborations. However, this season we have been fortunate to be able to start collaborating with many new companies, such as Denatekwho supports us in the machining of the parts and Tecci, who has manufactured the plates for this year's single-seater. We will also receive this season new financial aid from many other companies such as EFT Systems, EMRAX or Haas. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support.

What are your objectives for the second semester?

The team has a clear goal this second semester: to accumulate kilometers. Our idea is to have the prototype ready for the month of March, which allows us 4 months of testing before competition, to accumulate a minimum of 150 kilometers with the single-seater. The kilometers will allow us to know the car in detail, which in turn will allow us to optimize it and improve it for future designs. In addition, the team intends to take advantage of the months before competition to start developing the new team for the following season, as well as the future single-seater that will replace the TeR21.

Pandemic permitting, do you plan to participate in any competitions this summer?

The team's intention is to participate in two competitions this year, one of them in Montmeló, Barcelona, and the other in Europe, which will be decided once the team knows the dates and conditions of the different competitions and we can make a decision as a team.