UoP Racing Team is the first and longest running Greek Formula Student team located in University of Patras. Founded in 2002 and supported throughout the years by the Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems & Automation, UoP Racing team members design, develop and manufacture high-performance racecars that compete in the Formula Student series around the globe, alongside hundreds of teams from all over the world.
The team's ethos
Background and origins The idea was born in 2000 when a few students from the Mechanical Engineering & Aeronautics department of the University of Patras decided to build a single-seater racecar and participate in the worldwide competitions of Formula Student. At that time their experience came only from books and their resources were limited. However, under the support of the Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems & Automation, as well as the guidance of professor George Chryssolouris, they managed to gather a team and build their first -of many- single-seater formula style racecar.
Philosophy and education The main goal of the team is education and working in the team gives students a great opportunity to gain a lot of experience and qualifications. The students that participate in the team are mainly students from the Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics department of the University of Patras. However, since 2013 the team includes students from other departments, such as Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Economics and Business Administration. The members are divided in several modules/sub-teams, with each module having one leader who coordinates all members. Since 2014 the team operates under a new philosophy of resource efficiency. Design and materials are assessed in a way which factors in environmentally friendliness and also price to performance ratio. This led to the adoption of an “out of the box” thinking, which can lead to the creation of innovative ideas and novel manufacturing approaches that are foreign in areas with established technologies. This mentality precisely defines the FSAE/FS competitions.
History
UoP Racing team has been competing officially from 2002 in the aforementioned competitions, and has already built its own history, designing and manufacturing 10 single-seater racecars as of 2024. Highlights include an overall Class 1 win (FS Czech 2014) and winning two times in Class 2 (FS 2003 and 2006), gaining the first position in all events, as well as the special design prize provided by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). In addition, UoP Racing is one of the few Formula Student teams that has won the 1st place in a particular event (Cost & Manufacturing) in back to back competitions (Formula SAE Italy 2016 and Formula Student Czech Republic 2016).
UoP1 (Year: 2002-2004)
As stated before, 2002 was the starting point of UoP Racing and subsequently the Formula Student programme in Greek universities. Seven students of the department of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics at the University of Patras had the idea to build a racecar and take part in Formula Student competitions. The concept was then completely unknown in Greece, and the resources available were really limited. UoP1 was way ahead of its time, featuring an (in-house built) hybrid composite monocoque chassis, with a removable subframe, 10” wheels to minimize unsprung mass and inertia, and a 4-cylinder Yamaha engine. The team went on to win the IMechE Design award and conquered the first place in the overall scoreboard of the Class 2 in FSUK (the only European competition back in the day, held in the Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome) in 2003 and was the first ever Greek entry in Class 1 in 2004. Reliability issues prevented the team to score high, but the experience gained from the competitions was of utmost importance for the evolution and future potential of the team. Since 2014, UoP1 has found a new home in the Hellenic Motor Museum as part of the permanent exhibition "Made by Hellas", to serve as a reminder of how it all began.
UoP2 (Year: 2005-2007) Aiming for the continuation of the project in the University of Patras, a brand new team of nine students participated in the 2005 FS Competition for the first time, as a Class 3 entry, presenting a new design solution for the next FS car to be manufactured. Simpler, cheaper and more straightforward solutions were adopted throughout the development of the car, using a steel tubular spaceframe and directly actuated dampers. UoP2 also marked the beginning of the single cylinder engine era for the team. All of the changes led to a more advanced and lighter car than UoP1.
UoP2Evo (Year: 2008-2009) UoP2Evo is an almost complete upgrade of the UoP2. Using the same basic components, the chassis was redesigned to improve stiffness. At the same time, changes to almost all subsystems led to a further reduction of its total weight. Track was increased for stability, while dampers actuation was changed to pushrod. Moreover, a completely new, lighter and higher quality bodywork was built. The car participated successfully in all the events of the competitions UoP Racing took part in, which again helped the team gain valuable experience for development of future cars.
UoP3 (Year: 2009-2010) An alternative way of manufacturing came up during the designing process of UoP3. The changes applied would bring a major innovation in team's history. A new frame was constructed from carbon fiber monocoque which became a key ingredient for UoP racing. The car being lightweight was a top priority and that led to a change in the engine used, as the team switched from a Yamaha XT600E (3AJ) to a Yamaha WR450. The third generation of the team, which consisted of 12 students, gathered all the feedback and experience from the design and construction of the two previous cars and aimed high. The racecar competed only in the FSAE Michigan competition of that year and proved significantly lighter than its predecessors. As of November 2016, UoP3 remains the lightest racecar of UoP Racing, weighing 175 kilos.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
