Day 2 – During the morning session we had the Design and Cost Presentation events. The technical inspection of the car began in the afternoon and we faced problems with play in the steering column. The team members repaired it and by evening we had passed the technical inspection and the tilt test.

Day 3 – The first day of dynamic events did not begin well for us, as the engine was too loud and we could not clear the noise test in the first attempt. The engine team worked upon a solution by modifying the exhaust system and by the time we cleared noise test we had missed the skid-pad event. Again we faced trouble as a brake line burst during the brake test; fortunately we were carrying spare brake lines and changed them immediately. We had a lot of help from the students of Einstein Motorsport, who helped us get our brake system in place. Late in the evening when we went out for our second attempt of the brake test, the driving chain came off! We spent the night repairing the brake system and adjusting the chain tensioning.

Day 4 – We passed the brake test after several persistent attempts in the morning. Unfortunately we passed brake test just as the Autocross Event was being closed and hence were not allowed to run. As a result we had the first slot in the endurance event. More drama as we were at the starting line during endurance, the engine refused to start! We took the car to the practice area, changed the spark plugs and the engine started. Finally we started endurance, but due to the modification in the exhaust system the engine was not producing enough power and our lap times were not so good. During driver change the marshalls found that there was too much compliance in the toe-arm and pulled us out for safety reasons. The team members were disappointed as we had expected a better result after all the hard-work and we had seen the car perform well during the test sessions in Graz. But this experience has motivated us further to be back next year with a better car!

So much were the judges impressed by our continuous and unrelenting effort, that the judges awarded our team with the “Most Motivated Team” Award for FS Austria 2010! Another highlight of our participation was a 4th Position in the Cost Event.

After the endurance event was the party and the team members enjoyed mingling with people from the foreign teams discussing everything from future FSAE cars to world politics! With the BBQ and beer, we got back good memories of Austria.

The team would like to thank our sponsors, our university and parents of team members who have supported and encouraged us throughout the year.

We are glad to welcome our new sponsors ATS, Delhi who are providing us with sensors for our Data Acquisition System. With the help of these sensors we will be able to set-up the suspension for maximum performance at the competition. Special thanks to Mr. Ramanathan for making this possible.

The car is now back in Manipal for some finishing touches and we prepare to ship the car next week for Graz, Austria where we will be testing for one week with Joanneum Racing Graz (http://www.joanneum-racing.at/cms/).

The team showed great teamwork over the last two weeks to complete the deadline of the rolling the chassis.Therefore there is no one single “Team  member of the month” for May. Over the next few weeks the bodywork and engine tuning will be completed and we’ll be ready to start testing. Wish us luck !