The seventh edition of Formula Bharat – India’s Formula Student Competition – was held at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore from January 19 to 24, 2023. A total of 53 engineering student teams (1500+ students) from across India registered for the Formula Bharat 2023 competition. As outlined in the competition rules, each team was required to design and fabricate a life-size formula-style vehicle that best met the goals and objectives outlined in the competition rules, whether they were competing in the combustion or electric vehicle categories. During the six-day competition, a jury of representatives from the motorsport, automotive, and supplier industries assessed the teams and their vehicles based on engineering design, overall cost, marketability, and dynamic performance. The judging of the static events have been taking place virtually since October 2022 and they ended with the presentations delivered by the finalists at the competition on-site. At present, Formula Bharat is the only Formula Student competition in South Asia that is recognized in the FS World Rankings.
After a one-year hiatus, this season of Formula Bharat was hosted at full capacity with a range of activities on track. A number of technical and recruitment-driven presentations were delivered by the competition’s sponsors during the course of the event. These presentations led to lively discussions in which the students contributed many interesting ideas and questions. A Faculty Advisor Meet was also hosted as faculty members’ advice and support are crucial to the teams’ success at the competition. Footfall was up at the competition site as the event was open to visitors. Additionally, guided tours provided visitors and new teams with an opportunity to learn about the history of Formula Student and the concept behind the competition. A notable mention was the students who arrived from Bangladesh with the goal of participating in this Indian competition next season.
As the automotive industry evolves, cookie-cut engineers with exceptional grades are no longer in demand. Formula Bharat is a proven platform for hiring talented engineering graduates with practical engineering skills and the significant increase in recruitment drives observed on-site this season was a testament to the kind of calibre the industry has been looking to recruit. Recruiters on-site included Brose India, Godrej & Boyce, EFEV Charging Solutions Pvt. Ltd (E-Fill), and Numeros Motors.
The winners of the Formula Bharat 2023 competition were announced during the Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, January 24. Veloce Racing from Vishwakarma Institute of Technology was crowned the overall event winner of the combustion category this season, followed by Team Stallions of the Institute of Technology of Nirma University in second place, Team Maverick of the PVG’s College of Engineering and Technology & G. K. Pate (Wani) Institute of Management in third place and STES Racing of Sinhgad College of Engineering in fourth place. The overall event winner of the electric category was STES Stallion Motorsport Electric from Smt. Kashibai Navale College of Engineering, followed by Team Kratos Racing Electric from Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering in second place, Raftar Formula Racing Electric from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in third place and Team Octane Racing Electric of the College of Engineering Pune in fourth place.
The Formula Bharat competition is hosted by Curiosum Tech Private Limited based in Mumbai. The company’s vision is to Build Better Engineers and its 2023 platform was sponsored by the following organizations who believe in the platform’s mission: HARMAN Automotive, Mathworks, Zuken India Private Limited, Exponent Energy, Ather Energy, Brose, Bosch Global Software Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Fabheads, Ansys, EFEV Charging Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (E-Fill), Micelio Mobility Private Limited, Numeros Motors, MTS Italy, Coexlion Private Limited, and Altair. The Formula Bharat 2023 competition was also supported by 250 volunteers from all over the world, many who are Formula Student alumni themselves.
For more information on the competition and on how you can participate, visit: www.formulabharat.com
