Filenews 2 July 2023 - by Marios Demetriou
"Your efforts and dedication deserve our admiration and appreciation, because you are examples of wonderful team spirit and we are very proud to have you as students at our university," said Frederick University Council President Natasha Fredericou speaking on Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at the presentation of the Formula single-seater race car and the team of students who built it "from scratch". as he underlined.
With this car, Frederick's FUF Racing Team will participate in the international Formula Student Racing Competition on 12-16 July 2023 in Italy.
On Tuesday, July 11, 12 student members of the team, along with their advisor professor Dr. Antonis Londo, depart for the Autodromo Riccardo Paletti circuit in the Italian city of Parma, where the competition will take place. It is the first Cypriot team at university level to build a single-seater Formula race car (with internal combustion engine, with gasoline) and the only one that will participate
in this competition for the third time. (From Cyprus, a team of students of the University of Cyprus will take part this year for the first time in the competition with a racing Formula of their own making).
As mentioned in "F", the international Formula Student competition invites universities from all over the world to create an organization with all the departments of a Formula Racing team: from designing and building a car, to finding sponsors, its business plan, designing the uniform, promoting the team. The prototype race car of each team participating in the competition, It is evaluated for its creativity, innovation and performance, whether it can go into production and whether smart or pioneering solutions are given to the various problems that arise.
As Professor Antonis Londos characteristically told us, "we are ready, we have nothing to envy from other groups and universities, even if they have a bigger budget than ours. The team simply needs to be able to deal with any problem at any time, because such competitions have contingencies that require immediate solutions."
Success lies in the journey...
"This car – said Natassa Fredericou speaking at the event held in Frederick's garden in Nicosia – represents the culmination of countless hours of design, prototype construction and refinement. It represents the synthesis of creativity and innovation of each part built with detailed care to achieve optimal performance. This car symbolizes our students' ambitious vision to push boundaries and explore new horizons. However, this path is not only about winning the competition. As the phrase we have adopted at our University, "the journey to my success", says, success lies in the journey, in the invaluable lessons that students will learn during this journey – the lessons of resilience, adaptability and collaboration.
The Formula Student competition provides a platform to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world challenges, allowing them to develop as personalities and as future professionals. We have no doubt that you will worthily represent Frederick University and our Cyprus. Dear members of the team, dear Anthony, I want you to know that the entire University community stands firmly by your side. We believe in your abilities and capabilities and whatever the final result in the competition, one thing is certain, that your unremitting dedication and passion have already stood out." The FUF Racing Team is one of the co-curricular activities offered by Frederick to students, through which they have the opportunity to apply in practice the theoretical knowledge they acquire in the courses and develop useful skills. It is added that the team's next goal is to build an electric single-seater race car and a new technology car powered by hydrogen.
Work until late at night
As Dr. Antonis Londos, professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Frederick School of Engineering, informed us, this is the fourth car built under his supervision in the laboratories of the University, entirely by students. At the launch event of the car, the professor referred to "the significant effort made by the members of the team", thanked Frederick "for its long-term support" and the sponsors of the team "so that we can worthily represent our University and our country in this very important competition in which good universities from all over the world participate. offering studies in various scientific disciplines and not only Engineering.
The car has to run, compete in terms of durability, but also show how well as a team we presented our car and find sponsors and companies that will support us financially to supposedly "sell" our car. Thank you very much to my students who work very hard, work long hours, until late at night if necessary, to achieve our goal and I believe that we have all the tools to do very well in this race.
We also have here the student from the Formula Student team of the University of Cyprus with whom we have a very good cooperation. And I must say that we are willing to cooperate on this issue with any other university in Cyprus. The struggle is a common one, of Cyprus. There we represent Cyprus and of course we want every team to reach as high as possible."
On behalf of the FUF Racing Team, Dimitris Koutsoukis, a student at the Department of Mechanical Engineering in Frederick and one of the team leaders, said at the event: "We are ready and expect to live this great experience and challenge. We go with the aim of the best possible result. We thank our University for supporting us and we look forward to honoring it accordingly." It is noted that the majority of the students of the team belong to the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering of Vehicles of the Polytechnic School of the University, but students of other Schools of the University interested in the field of racing cars, such as the School of Business Administration, the School of Arts, Communication and Cultural Studies and the School of Education and Social Sciences participate in the team.
Through Frederick's announcement, the team thanked its sponsors: Kapodistrias Automotive Parts, Thomason Machinery, Remedica LTD, Giallouros Industrial Supplies (GIS) Ltd, ETEK, Marselli Aluminium Cyprus, Michael Metals, Militos Trading Ltd, Cyprus Airways, Sopro Radiator Ltd Dimitris Protopapas, Sikkens, OASI Business Technicians Ltd, DMC Economides, GKN, Panagi Machine Shop, Motorace, Andreou Laser, Silver Star Insurance, Quaife, SP Skis Ltd, Archimides, RRS.
The construction and the racing program
As Professor Antonis Londos mentioned in our newspaper, "the Frederick University Formula Racing Team (FUF Racing Team) was created in March 2015 to represent Frederick in the global Formula Student Racing Competition in which teams from various universities participate. The goal of the student team – he continued – is to design, build and drive a reliable single-seater racing car. So far the team has participated in two world competitions held in Parma, Italy at the "Autodromo Riccardo Paletti" circuit in 2017 and 2018.
Our main goal is to create and develop an autonomous team with solid scientific and technological bases, for the construction and continuous optimization of a racing single-seater car. The students, in collaboration with their professors, with Cypriot companies, but also with other partners from Greece and abroad, have designed and built (from scratch) all parts of their own single-seater racing car.
During the students' involvement with the race car team, they deal with various design and construction issues, such as the construction of the tubular body, the suspension system, the steering, the braking system, the cooling circuit, the quick shift system, the driver's steering wheel, the driver's seat, the installation and programming of the electronic brain of the machine, The exterior body and aerodynamics, the protective covers, the ergonomics and finally the safety of the car and driving.
The participation of the students of the University in this institution gives them the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge in practice, to come into contact with professionals and companies, as well as to develop a spirit of cooperation and teamwork. In addition, they have the opportunity to highlight those skills related to money and human resources management that they will need in their future career as professional scientists.
According to the racing program, during the races each team competes in various categories, such as mechanical design, technical inspection, analysis of construction costs, presentation of the car, business planning, racing endurance of the car, driving in difficult conditions, acceleration race, fuel economy and finally the road race. The benefits of each student's participation in the competition are very great. On a global level, this competition has a very high profile and is well known. Through it, not only Frederick University is promoted, but also Cyprus. In addition, it can be a precursor to future collaborations between Frederick students and institutions abroad."
A student member of the FUF Racing Team
23-year-old Tonia Panayi is the first student in Cyprus to participate in a university team in the Formula Student competition and even as a driver – she is the fourth driver, along with students Michalis Michaelides, Andreas Thrasyvoulou and Nicolas Pozides who are the three main drivers of the team, as required by the competition. As the team's advisor professor Antonis Londos told "F", "out of the 80-90 teams participating in the competition, only 3-4 teams have a female driver. Yes – he added – a woman can contribute in this area as much as a man. For example, Tonia proved that she is a good driver and with her merit she joined the group of drivers. She became a guide, not because someone did her a favor, but because she proved that she can. And it's good to understand that the race car race is not just about men, but also about women, who can participate just as well, maybe better."
Tonia is also the only one of the three student members of the 19-member Frederick University Formula Racing Team attending the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University. She told us the following, in response to our relevant question: "From the first moment I was excited about the idea of building the single-seater car and it was with great pleasure that I participated in the project. Frederick University and our professor Mr. Londos give us the opportunity to collaborate with other students who share the same interests.
My personal experience is very positive, I had a great time and learned many things during the program, despite the difficulties. In the team we are all equal and equal members and in no way did I feel discriminated against, since I am the only woman who helps build the car. Every time decisions had to be made, all opinions were respected. Many hours of hard work, efforts and difficulties, led us to the final result and the completion of the construction.
Exciting for me was solving various technical problems that arose, as well as driving the car. Now everything is ready and we are optimistic for a good result for our team and Frederick University. We will do everything in our power to take first place!"
The FUF Racing Team with... Name and surname
The FUF Racing Team 2023 that departs next Tuesday for Italy includes Professor Dr. Antonis Londos, advisor of the team, Fotis Manelidis, graduate of Frederick, escort, responsible for programming the machine brain, and the following 11 students, whose ages range between 19 and 24 years: Marios Kyprianou (head of engineering), Dimitris Koutsoukis (team and marketing manager), Michalis Michaelides (body, aerodynamics and safety manager, driver), Tonia Panayi (gear change, brake system, wheels, tires, driver), Andreas Thrasyvoulou (power unit, engine, driver), Nikolas Pozidis (electronics, driver), Iordanis Kyriacou (suspension system), Aris Heracleous (bodywork, aerodynamics), Andreas Theodoridis (air intake, exhaust, Kyprianos Diogenous (body design, assembly with chassis), Kyriakos Andronikou (chassis design, body work and George Paterakis (public relations and social media). The FUF Racing Team includes 6 other students who will not go to Italy for the competition and which are Tatiana Sharpe, Christos Petrou, Anastasios Petrou, Christos Poulos, Maria Ioakimidou and Theodoros Demetriou.
