WHAT IS VIRTUAL FORMULA:

The Virtual Formula competition is built upon the rules and regulations of the popular Formula SAE and Formula Student. The competition, now at its 10th edition, is based on the usage of VI-Motorsport, VI-grade’s interactive simulation environment for motorsport vehicle modeling and dynamic analysis. All registered teams will be granted access to a complete state-of-the-art racing simulation software to find the best set-up for their car.

The participating teams will be challenged to optimize the performance of a virtual Formula Student racecar, minimizing the lap time during a set of SAE compliant dynamic events. The competition will be won by the team that will score the overall best ranking on the given circuit.

In order to fully support all different vehicle configurations, and line up with the rules and regulations of the Formula Student events, this year's edition will feature once again two different competitions, one reserved for combustion engines and one dedicated to electric drivetrain.

The team results will be evaluated by a technical committee formed by vehicle dynamicists. The winning team will be awarded with a complete software package including multiple user access to the VI-Motorsport technology. Additional prizes will be announced soon. 

REASONS TO PARTICIPATE TO THE COMPETITION:

  • To learn vehicle dynamics software used by leading motorsport teams and automotive OEMs
  • To get in touch with vehicle dynamicists from sponsoring companies
  • To improve your vehicle design in a virtual environment for real results at the next FSAE event
  • To join the VI-grade network of vehicle specialists and software developers
  • ?To add important competences to your resume for your future career in the automotive industry

LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO OTHER PARTICIPANTS... 

  1. John Logan, Class of 2014. University of Michigan and FSAE MRacing Technical Director, graduated and went onto Penske Racing as a vehicle dynamics engineer.
  2. Noah Wheeler from California Polytechnic State University in San Louis Obispo, 2017 Virtual Formula participant, 2nd year in FSAE as Team Manager and Testing Lead is also a Mechanical Engineering Intern at Divergent 3D.
  3. Eric Laroche, Virtual Formula contestant, from University of Maryland’s TERP’s Formula SAE team, won the Red Bull Challenge, moved to the UK and went on to Multimatic Europe as a Vehicle Dynamics engineer today.

TECHNICAL SPONSOR: MASERATI



We are very delighted to announce Maserati as our technical sponsor for the 2019 edition of Virtual Formula! The two winning teams will have the opportunity to visit VI-grade’s dynamic driving simulator at the Maserati site in Modena, Italy. A unique experience that will give students the possibility to test a state-of-the-art advanced driving simulator used by many OEMs, suppliers and motorsport teams to develop and fine tune their cars. What a great way to bridge the gap between university and industry! 

JOIN OUR FACEBOOK PAGE!

We have created a Facebook page dedicated to our Virtual Formula initiative. Please make sure to "like" the page in order to receive regular updates about the competition and to share questions and comments with other participating teams. 

RECAP OF THE 2018 EDITION

The 2018 edition of the Virtual Formula, with the participation of more than 100 teams from all over the world, was won by UniNa Corse - Squadra Corse "Federico II" (IC) (internal combustion) and Strohm und Söhne e.V. - Noris Motorsport (electric vehicle). The teams were officially awarded during a ceremony which took place in occasion of the 2018 VI-grade Users Conference.



Addtionally, the leaders of the two Virtual Formula 2018 winning teams were invited on Nov 19th, 2018 at VI-grade’s SimCenter in Udine, Italy where they could drive a virtual Lamborghini vehicle model (based on VI-CarRealTime) on VI-grade’s DiM Dynamic Driving Simulator, equipped with a cockpit manufactured starting from a real Lamborghini Huracan. An experience which they will not easily forget and that gave them the possibility to test an advanced driving simulator used by many OEMs and suppliers and motorsport teams to develop and fine tune their cars. 

DATES TO REMEMBER:

  • Registration is CLOSED! -> More than 100 participants from all over the world registered to the competition!
  • Beginning of the competition and delivery of licenses to all registered teams -> January 21st, 2019
  • Introductory Webinars -> starting from February 11th, 2019 (dates and times to be found in the Webinar Plan available at this link - Please note that dates and times are subject to change and will be progressively confirmed per e-mail to all registered participants)
  • Q&A Webinars  -> starting from February 19th, 2019 (dates and times available at this link - Please note that dates and times are subject to change and will be progressively confirmed per e-mail to all registered participants)
    • YouTube channel for VF2018 webinar recordings can be found at this link 
  • Deadline for delivery of results -> March 30th, 2019
  • Winner announcement-> mid of April 2019
  • Winner participation at our 2019 International Conference: May 13th-15th, 2019 (more info about the event at this link)