The Season of FEST14

An Overview of the Season

The year 2014 is again of significant importance for FS Team Tallinn. Last year, the decision was made to build an electric-powered formula car for the first time, which already reached the first competition in Hungary in the same season. As you may remember, the races did not go very successfully – we had to be disqualified from the endurance race, which is essentially the most complex and important of the dynamic disciplines. The problem was overheating of the accumulator and the explosion of battery elements. This season, just a year later, we achieved our first overall victory. But now, let’s go step by step.

The new members brought a fresh wave of motivation, and work on the electric race car continued. After nearly six months of work, FEST14 was ready. The frame was complete, and most of the suspension components were attached. More than a month of active scrambling followed (including dealing with customs regarding the batteries!), and the car was finally drivable on April 27. And with that, another very important milestone was behind us. Now came the testing period and preparation for the races and the competition season came closer and closer. 

The first competition was in our home country, Estonia. It was our honor to organize the Baltic Open, and we decided to hold it in Põltsamaa. The Baltic Open was very interesting. In total, there were just under 20 cars participating in the races, but the enjoyment of driving was multiplied many times over. In addition to the usual driving disciplines, there was also a reaction time-dependent acceleration and a super slalom. Estonia was represented by a whopping four formula cars. We won the reaction time acceleration and the second sprint, where the track elements were chosen by participating teams. Both wins were brought home by FEST14. However, the endurance race was not finished because rainwater got into where it shouldn’t have and the car stopped on the track. The veterans with FEST10 won the overall victory! 

The first official competition was in Austria. The competitions were tough. Very tough. The biggest problem at technical inspections was TSAL, which is a flashing light specific to electric cars that indicates when the powertrain is energized. It was not visible from all sides according to the rules. We solved the situation with transparent wing end-plates made of plexiglass, but that solution did not satisfy the judges. In the end, we had to lower the rear wing significantly.

Once the technical inspection was finally over, everything else went smoothly. We completed the static events and driving tests, and it can be said that the biggest surprise awaited us at the awards ceremony. We received the 2nd place award for energy efficiency! We had turned down the power significantly for the endurance race, just to make sure we would make it to the end, and therefore a large part of the battery capacity remained unused. We also received the 3rd place trophy for the skid pad time, which measures cornering ability. Overall, we came in 5th place. Not bad! Not bad at all…

The next competition was in Hungary. The technical inspection went better, we were allowed on track with the transparent wing endplates, which meant significantly better aerodynamics than in Austria. The static events and driving tests went relatively well, but not the endurance race. The beginning was promising. Based on what we had learned in Austria, we increased the power and the car was literally flying on the track – the fastest electric car in the endurance race. The driver change worked like clockwork, the car was back on the track, and after a few laps, it was taken off again. DNF. The TSAL did not work. Since this is important safety equipment, we were not allowed to continue the race. It left a bitter taste in our mouths, but there was no time for tears – the next competition was waiting.

The final destination was Italy. Now it was our last chance to prove the capabilities of our electric Formula car. Everything went very well from the beginning: static events were exemplary, we made it to the finals at the design event and business plan presentation. The driving areas went smoothly – in autocross, or the qualifying race, we were the fastest electric car. The award ceremony brought another surprise. We received a special award for the safe design that protects the driver. But the most important achievement was the overall victory in the electric Formula category! Yes, champions in Italy at the official Formula SAE competition.

In summary, it can be said that the FEST14 season has been extremely successful. Our first overall victory with an electric Formula car already in its second year of competition!

FEST14 Results

FS Austria

  • Cost: 6. Place
  • Business Plan: 5. Place
  • Engineering design: 9. Place
  • Acceleration: 10. Place
  • Skidpad: 3. Place
  • Autocross: 8. Place
  • Endurance: 6. Place
  • Efficiency: 2. Place
  • Overall: 5. Place

FS Italy

  • Cost: 9. Place
  • Business Plan: 2. Place
  • Engineering design: 3. Place
  • Acceleration: 2. Place
  • Skidpad: 4. Place
  • Autocross: 1. Place
  • Endurance: 1. Place
  • Efficiency: 6. Place
  • Overall: 1. Place

FS Hungary

  • Cost: 17. Place
  • Business Plan: 7. Place
  • Engineering design: 13. Place
  • Acceleration: 8. Place
  • Skidpad: 12. Place
  • Autocross: 7. Place
  • Endurance: 22. Place
  • Efficiency: 7. Place
  • Overall: 17. Place

Technical Stats

Weight

257 kg

Top speed

>150 km/h

Acceleration

3,6 s

Engine

Yasa-750

Length x width x height

3008 x 1400 x 1100 mm

Track width front/ back

1210mm / 1167 mm

Powertrain

Chain transmission, Drexler differential

Suspension

Independent coil suspension with double wishbones

Tires

7,5/20 -10 Hoosier

Frame

Frame welded from CrMo tubes

Cover

Spatial 5-piece carbon composite shell, carbon aramid composite bottom plate

Year

2014

Gallery

Some moments are meant to be captured, so that we could have something to look back to. Here are some of our most memorable moments from season 13/14.

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