Seventeen Final Year students of the Delhi College of Engineering are racing against time to finish building a car for the Formula Student Race at Leicester, UK, from July 4 to July 7.
This is the first time that Indian students will participate in the race against teams of 70 universities from all over the world. ‘‘This is the only event for us. Racing is our passion,’’ said Arpit Gupta, who heads the team.
From axles to the engine, the ‘‘dream project’’ has cost them more than Rs 7 lakh in a year. And every penny of that money came from their pockets. Parents and friends helped them after a search for sponsors failed.
Now after a year of research, the team is ready for the race. Out of the 17, only four will actually race. ‘‘Anybody among us can take the wheels on the race track,’’ said Himanshu Jain, a member of the team.
Racing ahead of competition isn’t the only objective in Formula Student. It’s a test for engineering students to design and build a small single seater-racing car on their own. The actual racing comes later, and involves student teams which are the world’s best.
The formula car being designed by the 17 engineering students is powered by a Yamaha YZFR6 600 cc engine with a 120-BHP torque at 12500 RPM.
Arpit said that as far as the competition is concerned, they aren’t behind anyone in the 600 cc category. The only drawback is that their competitors may have done lot of research on the durability of their machines on the racing track.
The students now have four days to complete the car and ship it to the UK. The final test of the formula car would be done at Proving Ground where the event will be held.
Busy painting the car, Anu Choudhary refused to comment where they will stand in the whole event, but hoped that their participation will inspire other people to follow them.