JOIN USDelhi’s only Formula1 student team, Team Defianz, is roaring its way to glory. This group of 12 racing enthusiasts from the Delhi Technological University (DTU) recently participated in IMechE Formula Student – the world’s largest annual motorsport competition for students at the Silverstone Circuit in UK.
And now they are ready to blaze a trail at the Kari Motor Speedway, Tamil Nadu, where the Indian edition of the Formula Student event is being held for the very first time. Metrolife decided to catch up with these budding Narain Karthikeyans and Karun Chandoks from Delhi.
DTU has had a Formula racing team since 2004. In fact, the first team was formed solely for the purpose of participating in the prestigious IMechE Formula Student event. Since then, new students are inducted every year; they build a single-seater racing car, train themselves with the help of ‘experienced seniors’ and relevant portals and join in the overseas event. Hundred teams hailing from countries in Europe, America, Middle-East and Asia are a part of the event.
“The challenge lies not only in making the car but also making it through bureaucratic procedures and diplomatic hurdles,” says Ayush Garg, a final year mechanical engineering student and member of Team Defianz.
“Building a sports car is difficult and expensive. Expertise is hard to get. Each part has to be imported and costs hundreds of dollars, if not thousands. It takes months to construct a functional competitive sports car, especially when your team is small. Our budget is barely Rs 10 lakh when teams, like that of Germany, spend over Rs 10 crore to build their vehicle,” he said.
“Then there are the visa troubles, thanks to which we couldn’t make it to UK last year,” Garg rued.
However, inspite of the roadblocks, Team Defianz has done exceptionally well for itself. Their sports car, this time, recorded an acceleration of 0-100 km/hr in less than five seconds (a superbike takes up to 10 seconds) with a CBR 600 cc F41 engine, fire proof open cockpit, double wishbone, disc brakes on all four tyres, an environment-friendly steel-frame and various essential safety measures.
Rohan Pandey, another exhilarated Team Defianz racer, informed us, “We scored very well in the Cost and Design rounds, 30/100 and 40/100 respectively. We were praised for having constructed a sports car of this quality at such low cost and with minimum carbon footprint. Our design was probably the best among all Asian teams. All the judges, ranging from top notch officials of Rolls Royce and Ferrari to Williams F1 team had a good word for us. The only disappointing round was Dynamics which we couldn’t get through.”
Irrespective, Team Defianz has made its mark again and the students are reaping the benefits of all the hard work put in. “All the final year student members have received placements from top notch automobile companies already, some impressed by the stint at Silverstone Circuit, UK, alone. The juniors are now preparing for the Kari Motor Speedway event,” says Ayush, “Hopefully, we will do even better at this one.”More power to Team Defianz!