The eighth edition of Formula Bharat – India’s Formula Student Competition – was held at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore from January 19 to 24, 2024. Twenty-six Combustion teams and 31 Electric teams from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal participated to take home the winning trophy. 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. At present, Formula Bharat is the only Formula Student competition in South Asia that is recognized in the FS World Rankings.
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. 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 Red Bull Formula one racing car display at the event site which resulted in increase of footfall.
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.
The winners of the Formula Bharat 2024 competition were announced during the Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, January 24. Vishwaracers from Vishwakarma Institute of Information Technology was crowned the overall event winner of the combustion category this season, followed by Team Maverick of the PVG’s College of Engineering and Technology & G. K. Pate (Wani) Institute of Management in second place, Team Fateh of the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology in third place. The overall event winner of the electric category was IIT Bombay Racing from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, followed by Raftar Formula Racing Electric from Indian Institute of Technology Madras in second place, Team Kratos Racing Electric from the Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering 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 2024 platform was sponsored by the following organizations who believe in the platform’s mission: MathWorks, Epsilon Advanced Materials, HARMAN Automotive, River, DigiKey, Zuken, Exponent Energy, Brose, Baaz Bikes, Bosch Global Software Technologies – BGSW, Ansys, IG Drones, EFEV Charging Solutions Pvt Ltd, and Coexlion. The Formula Bharat 2024 competition was also supported by 400 volunteers from all over the world, many who are Formula Student alumni themselves.
