Our final competition of the season took place between August 14 and 21, 2023, at the Formula Student Germany event held at the Hockenheimring. Similar to our home competition, Formula Student East, Zoe once again had the opportunity to compete in both manual and autonomous modes. Fueled by the success we achieved at the Hungaroring, we arrived in Germany with high hopes and enthusiasm, but over the course of the week our team had to overcome several unexpected challenges.
On Day 0, August 13, the competing members of our team travelled to Germany. After the long drive, we settled into the campsite assigned to us and spent the rest of the day resting and preparing for the demanding week ahead.
On Monday, following registration, our team had limited access to move into the pit area, as only seven members per team were allowed inside that day. After setting up, we began the Accumulator and Mechanical Scrutineering processes, which we were unfortunately unable to complete.
On Tuesday, we successfully finished all scrutineering tasks that had been started the previous day. Driver Egress also took place, which our drivers completed with ease. We began Electrical Scrutineering as well, but—similarly to the prior tests—we couldn't complete it on our first attempt. The day ended with the opening ceremony, where organizers officially welcomed all participating teams.
On the third day, after finally passing Electrical Scrutineering, the Dynamic Scrutineering tests began, including Tilt and Rain. We had also planned to complete the Brake Test, but a minor issue caused it to be postponed. Meanwhile, the static events also began, with the Business Plan presentation kicking off the series.
Thursday turned out to be an extremely intense day, packed with events awaiting completion. After fixing the previously encountered issue, we passed the Brake Test, followed by a successful EBS (Emergency Brake System) test. The static events continued with the Engineering Design, and Cost and Manufacturing categories. With scrutineering and required tests out of the way, our first dynamic event took place: the Autonomous Skidpad. On the first attempt, Zoe unfortunately knocked down several cones. It was later discovered that the track had been set up incorrectly, giving us the chance to restart—but the second run still wasn’t much better. Seizing our final opportunity, we tried once more, and on the third attempt Zoe successfully completed the course.
Friday morning began in the practice area as preparation for the dynamic events ahead. First came the manual Skidpad, where we managed to set a solid time. During the autonomous Acceleration run, however, Zoe collided with the timing system immediately after launching, breaking the front right wing. Our team worked tirelessly to repair the damage, finishing the fix in about four hours. The final event of the day was the autonomous Autocross, where Zoe navigated beautifully between the cones until, after the last corner, a malfunction forced her off the track, leaving us without a timed result.
Wrapping up the autonomous events, we achieved a historic milestone for the BME Formula Racing Team: for the first time in our team’s history, we completed Trackdrive in an official competition—and with an excellent time. The manual Autocross also took place on this day, which we successfully completed as well.
By Sunday, only one event remained: Endurance. After walking the track, we lined up at the start and completed our final challenge of the season. Unfortunately, during the post-race inspection, we were disqualified due to a technical issue. With all events finished, the rest of the day was spent packing up the pit area and attending the closing ceremony.
Formula Student Germany is one of the most competitive events in the FS world, with countless teams participating at the Hockenheimring every year—and 2023 was no exception. This makes us especially proud of our achievements, the most notable being our third place in Trackdrive. In the manual category, we finished fourth place in Skidpad, while our eighth place in manual Autocross remains one of our proudest results. Before that run, a suspension part broke, which we repaired as quickly as possible, completed a rapid scrutineering check, and immediately headed back to the track. This shows that no matter how thorough our preparations are, each competition brings unforeseen challenges requiring immense effort to overcome.
However, the Formula Student community is truly one of a kind—whenever a team encounters difficulties, others are always ready to help. Our goal is to keep improving and contribute to helping others improve as well. Although our 2022–23 season concluded with Formula Student Germany, we are far from done. We are already working full throttle to return even stronger next year and stand on as many podiums as possible.