Less weight, more reliability - that's how the Arrabona Racing Team (ART), celebrating its tenth anniversary, describes this year's car. The Formula Student team from Széchenyi István University presented its new car at a rollout event, which could help the team to return to the top of the standings after learning from last season's experiences.

For the first time in its history, the Arrabona Racing Team presented its latest developments in the building of the Science & Innovation Park of Széchenyi István University in Győr, unveiling its eleventh vehicle to the public since its foundation in 2014. A special short film was also shown to the participants on the occasion of the tenth anniversary. In it, the team's leaders recalled the successes and challenges of each period, going back to the founders, stressing that it has been all about the same thing since the beginning: learning while racing, as part of a close-knit community.

The Science & Innovation Park in Győr was the first venue for the Arrabona Racing Team rollout event (Photo: András Adorján)

Dr Gábor Dogossy, Dean of the Audi Hungaria Faculty of Vehicle Engineering, underlined in his welcome speech that the members of the student teams have outstanding practical knowledge. "Designing and building a vehicle is not self-explanatory, so if you can compete in a Formula Student race, you've already won. This becomes an experience that is positively valued by employers," he said.

According to Dr. Gábor Dogossy, Dean of Audi Hungaria Faculty of Vehicle Engineering, the most important contribution to the successful operation of the Faculty is made by the student competition teams, in addition to the teaching staff and the excellent infrastructure. (Photo: András Adorján)

Dr Dániel Feszty, representing Audi Hungaria, confirmed that the industry needs exactly the kind of professionals that are active in the student racing teams, because in addition to theoretical knowledge, they also acquire skills during the construction of the car that couldn’t be acquired in the classroom. "Formula Student is the best workshop in engineering education. Over the last five years, we have recruited dozens of Arrabona Racing Team and SZEngine Team staff to our R&D department, which shows the pedigree of the students who are trained here," he said.

Audi Hungaria and Arrabona Racing Team share a passion for motorsport, which is why the company is happy to support this project, underlined Dr Dániel Feszty (Photo: András Adorján)

Regarding this season, team manager Szilárd Bariska announced that the team has registered for the most prestigious races, so as last year, the team will participate in the Austrian event in Spielberg, the Hungarian event at ZalaZone and the Croatian event at Bugatti’s test track.

Imre Tóth and Márton Marschall, Design Managers of ART and SZEngine teams, and János Kun, moderator of the panel discussion (Photo: András Adorján)

"Last year, we built a car that was very different from the previous ones, experimenting with several new solutions, and which at the time still had a number of teething problems. These have now been corrected. We kept the design and the shape, and the changes were made to focus on reliability and weight reductions," says Imre Tóth, Design Manager. He added that last year they ran into an issue regarding production-technology when building the self-supporting carbon composite body, the so-called monocoque, however, these issues have been dealt with for the upcoming races.

"We have redesigned and optimised many components. We also used 3D printed components to achieve the highest strength with the lowest weight where it was possible. Most importantly, we have modified our cooling system, replacing the previous two-sidepod design with a single-sidepod design that slims the car and still provides adequate protection. We have introduced eFuse technology in our electronics system to eliminate problems caused by overcurrent, so that a fan failure can no longer cause the car to be inoperable," he explains.

This year's ART_11 car will also be powered by a SZEngine power unit. As for the engine, Márton Marschall, Design Manager of the SZEngine Team student team, said that last year's successful engine had been improved, which is capable of relatively high power output with low weight. "This year we have fitted our engine with a 4.1 litre airbox, which can supply more air to the system at high revs, giving us extra horsepower," Márton Marschall explained.

Team leader Szilárd Bariska and Design Manager Imre Tóth with the ART_11 after the unveiling. (Photo: András Adorján)

The Arrabona Racing Team (Photo: András Adorján)

As mentioned, the team will race in Austria for the first time this year at the end of July, but until then the car will undergo many hours of testing to perfect it and to fine-tune it. Everything is therefore in place for the team to return to the top of Formula Student series after 2022, when it will compete in Europe's most prestigious races.

After the presentation, everyone was able to see the team's car (Photos: András Adorján)