IIT Bombay Racing - Pioneering India's Electric College Racing Circuit

Nestled in the heart of Mumbai is Powai, a buzzing neighborhood of high-rise buildings, corporate hubs and the prestigious IIT Bombay. IIT Bombay is a name synonymous with a lot of people not only in India but globally too. This prestigious institute has been at the forefront of engineering, science in India and is the most esteemed destination for any aspiring student who wants to venture into the world of engineering. IIT Bombay is a place reserved for the best of the best! It’s not surprising that their college racing team IIT Bombay Racing is India’s best electric Formula Student team, read on as we tell you more about them!

   

   IIT Bombay Racing was founded in 2007 by a group of like-minded engineering students who shared a few things in common – passion for cars, motorsport and wanting to apply theoretical studies into practice by designing, developing, building and competitively racing a car! IIT Bombay Racing made its debut in the world of Formula Student at Formula Student Michigan in 2008, and there has been no looking back since. IIT Bombay Racing originally started off as a combustion team participating in various domestic and international race competitions. The year 2012 was a turning point for Team IIT Bombay and marked an important landmark as they switched from combustion racing to electric racing. IIT Bombay Racing was the first college racing team from India to go electric, hence pioneering the field and sparking an electric revolution in the college motorsport domain of India. Electric mobility has seen an increase in awareness, adaption and a steady rise in demand globally ever since the beginning of the previous decade. The need and demand for an alternative to fossil fuels to power our cars across the globe has never been higher…with an aim to ‘Revolutionize Electric Mobility In India Focusing On Sustainable Technologies and Innovation’ Team IIT Bombay Racing is playing a very crucial part in India’s electric revolution by inspiring, preparing young engineers to enter the EV field. 

    The team comprises of 70 members who come from various streams of engineering, sciences at IIT Bombay. The team members are divided into 3 divisions – Electrical (Powertrain, Low Voltage Safety, Electronic Differential, Data Acquisition), Mechanical (Chassis, Aerodynamics, System Integration, Vehicle Dynamics, Powertrain) and Organizational (Marketing, Media, Operations, Events, Web and Creatives). Being a student of IIT Bombay is not easy…the studies, examinations, competition is as demanding as it gets! The fast-paced, high energy and highly dynamic nature of a race team is a very demanding environment to perform in too. The team members of IIT Bombay Racing make the art of balancing studies and being a part of India’s best electric racing team at the same time look very easy. Only bonafide students of IIT Bombay can be a part of the IIT Bombay Racing team. Recruitments for new members begin from the end of the 1^st year (freshers). A series of tests and multiple interviews later a new member is inducted into the team and assigned a department to work under basis the test results. Team IIT Bombay has a very good and efficient way of mentoring, training new inductees into the team. Team leaders and seniors play a very crucial role in training, guiding their juniors who will one day lead the team, this creates a very good bond among team members and in return leads to better productivity and success.

    IIT Bombay Racing participates in Formula Student competitions across the world. Formula Student is a student engineering competition held annually across various countries in the world, this competition challenges participating college teams to design, build, test and race a formula-style race car. Formula Student has played a very important part in getting the best out of students and a very good proving ground for the best of engineering talent to compete against each other. Being India’s first college racing team to venture into electric racing, Team IIT Bombay is also the most successful electric racing team from our country to participate in Formula Student events globally. IIT Bombay Racing primarily participates at Formula Student UK competition which is held at the world-renowned Silverstone Circuit in the UK. Formula Student UK sees participation from over 120+ universities and colleges from across the globe every year. Having produced 7 electric race cars over the past 7 years, Team IIT Bombay has seen a lot of success in Formula Student. 

   At the Formula Student UK 2019 competition stood overall 4^th amongst all-electric racing teams, 3^rd amongst all-electric teams in the sprint event. The car responsible for this electrifying performance is the EVoK. The EVoK weighs 241 kgs has a top speed of 163 km/hr and can do a 0-100 km/hr time in a lightning-quick 3.1 seconds! Some other salient features of the car are a first of its kind in India 3D printed titanium uprights, battery box made from carbon fiber and Kevlar using a resin infusion which ensures minimal weight while matching standard requirements. IIT Bombay Racing has won the Formula Student award 5 times in a row…this award is given to only 8 out of 120+ teams participating at Formula Student UK. Being a college racing team, the members of IIT Bombay Racing is responsible for raising funds through sponsorship in order to receive the funds required to participate in various competitions. Industry leaders such as NRB Bearings – India’s best manufacturer of bearings has been the title sponsor for the team since 2010 and has been playing a very critical role in the team’s development.

  

  The success story of IIT Bombay Racing is a testament to the determination, passion and tireless effort of Indian students for whom the sky is the limit. India has at its disposal a large youth population with an unlimited potential all set to take on the word and eager to contribute towards making our country proud. Indian college racing teams such as IIT Bombay Racing are the flagbearers, leaders of the Indian youth brigade making a mark on the global scale and at the same time inspiring countless others! AutoGuru India is proud to be associated with IIT Bombay Racing and we are poised to inform you of everything you would want to know about them!