Formula SAE, dreaming of motorsport: 54 teams and 1,600 students on track

While things get serious in Monza, 1,600 university students from 53 of the world’s top polytechnics and universities have gathered here in Varano de’ Melegari for a unique event.

It’s called Formula SAE, born back in 1981 at the initiative of the Society of Automotive Engineers—hence the name. The Italian round has been held since 2005 and is organized by Anfia, the National Association of the Automotive Industry supply chain. The common denominator is passion; the single dream is to one day work in motorsport, even if only as a fairing washer or waste disposal attendant.

The most prestigious class is 1EV for electric cars, with 24 teams at the start, but there are also internal combustion cars in class 1CV with 12 teams, and a driverless autonomous class with 5 teams. There is also a category that includes presentation-only prototypes. Dallara will award the car with the best balance of cost and performance, Ferrari will recognize the best team for efficiency and performance, while Marelli will crown the winners in classes 1EV and 1CV. Needless to say, industry interest in what these young people are doing in their boxes—trying to mimic those of real races—is sky-high.

In the paddock are Santo Ficili, CEO of Alfa Romeo and Maserati, and Eng. Giampaolo Dallara, whose factory is just a stone’s throw from here. “It’s a well-rounded competition that involves both performance and technology, but it’s a real race,” Gianmarco Giorda, Anfia’s general director, tells us. “As an automotive supply chain, we are undergoing profound change; the revision of the Green Deal is still being defined by the EU, but in the meantime the Chinese have taken significant market shares from us. We are here because we want to look further ahead than they do and maintain Italy’s leadership.”

Among the most competitive teams are those from the Motor Valley. Unipr is presenting a new car: “The main difference compared to the one from two years ago,” team aerodynamicist Bruno Borlenghi tells us, “is that the new car has four-wheel drive with a single electric motor on each wheel. Power is 80 kW as per regulations. We have four drivers, and between those of us here and the rest back home, the team is about eighty people. The goal is the podium.”

The Unimore team, representing the Enzo Ferrari Department of Modena, is more measured in its approach. “We have a long tradition in these competitions,” coordinator Prof. Valerio Mangeruga explains to us, “our cars have led these categories with internal combustion engines, and then with electric ones. Here we are presenting a driverless prototype. It’s not so much about performance as it is about precision entering and exiting the cones. It’s a new challenge for us. Not an easy one.”

The races are on Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 6, followed by the final awards ceremony on the main straight. The best prize may come a few years from now, as happened to Lorenzo Lacitignola, who came here as a student with Polito and now works as an engineer at Dallara. “Always believe, never surrender,” he tells us as he says goodbye in the cafeteria.

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