FSG on Ice

The Formula Student Executive Committee announces FSG on Ice to cope with the strong demand for the FSG competition at the Hockenheimring. Currently, 78 teams have registered for the regular FSG event with 41 teams still on the waiting list. In order to compensate the waiting teams for this inconvenience they will get priority registering for FSG on Ice.

Facilities at the Hockenheimring are stretched to their limits as it comes to hosting both FSG and FSE at the same time. For the 2010 event FSG will host 96 teams, including FSE teams, which corresponds to more than 2000 students attending the event. Increasing this number is out of the question. First of all there would simply be not enough time for all teams to complete all parts of the event. And secondly it would be no longer possible to guarantee the safety of all participants.

At the same time, the organisation would like to present formula student teams with a new challenge, pushing the boundaries of their knowledge even further. Racing on ice was identified as the ideal candidate. It will force participating teams to design their cars such that they will function in extreme cold. Also the teams’ knowledge on vehicle handling will be challenged, if only because of the different type of tyres needed.

Last weekend a delegation of the FSG Executive Committee went to Ristijärvi in Finland. The goal of this visit was to investigate the possibility to use  Ristijärvi as a possible event site and to have a look at the practical implications of a Formula Student Event on ice. This has been a very constructive weekend.

For now the number of starting grids for FSG on Ice is set on 20 teams. Depending on the experiences with the first FSE this summer, the number of starting grids might be increased by an additional 10 slots for FSE vehicles. The first FSG on Ice will be held from 24 till 27 March 2011. The decision for a final location has not been made yet, but will be made known shortly. 

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