Tell us a bit about yourself and how many years you have been involved in Formula Student.
I'm an Industrial Design Engineer at Delft University of Technology. The first time I went to Formula Student UK was in 2011. Back then I was active at the ForZe Hydrogen team as driver and photographer, but unfortunately the car was not ready and wasn't suitable to drive.
In 2012 I was still at the Hydrogen team, but spoke a lot with team members at the DUT racing team; I made the switch later that year. In 2013 I was a full-time board member as Operations Manager and did the business presentation at the competition.
In 2014 I was just a guest and helped a bit with the business presentation, and I could enjoy everything from a different perspective. A year later I considered being a business judge, but ended up being a general volunteer.
Why do you think Formula Student is a valuable experience for young engineers?
It gives you the opportunity to work in a big team and actually build something. Usually you design something and never produce it. This brings all kinds of challenges with it; your part can be perfectly designed, but the production might be too expensive or impossible, and then your part has to fit with other parts on the car.
All departments of the team have to work together in order to make sure everything fits and is produced in time for the first competition. But it is even more than that. A team is also a business; you need to acquire sponsors and make sure your team stays together during the year, which isn't easy.
What has been the most memorable moment for you at Formula Student?
The tension during the awards ceremony in Germany in 2013 for the team. After a difficult weekend for our team, we were disqualified at the skidpad event and were sure that AMZ Zürich had won the event. They had a big problem at the autocross, but we were still convinced that we were in second place. In the end we won by just over eight points!
For me personally, my most memorable moment was standing in the business presentation finals at the same competition.
As a volunteer last year at Silverstone I really enjoyed talking about the competition to sponsors and visitors. And of course the game of flunkyball on the last evening between the Formula Student UK staff/officials and Team Bath was very nice. Unfortunately Team Bath cheated so we lost. Next time I would like a German team, or the Eindhoven team to be the referee please.
What has been your favourite Formula Student car of all time and why?
I'm obligated to say the DUT13 as of course, that was 'my' car, from my team. But to be honest I guess it is the TANKIA 2011, the TU Graz car. It had beautiful proportions and an awesome colour scheme with lots of naked carbon.
What do you think is the most difficult part of the competition?
To be consistent in all the different elements of the competition, both static and dynamic. This is key in being successful. In the static events I think the design engineering is the most difficult part, as it is easy to make mistakes and it can be quite hard to explain yourself. In the dynamic events the endurance is the most difficult by design, as it brings all aspects together and you are also dependent on external factors, such as the weather.
What makes you want to come back and volunteer at the event?
I was hooked on Formula Student from the start! The competition is awesome and to be around 3000 other students from all over the world only makes it better. During the day you can follow the competition and look at hundreds of different cars, before going to have fun in the evening on the campsite and play a game of flunkyball. As I have been involved in Formula Student for a few years I have met a lot of the people within the organisation, and I really like them a lot, so I want to be part of that team.
How do you imagine Formula Student looking in the future?
The competition will, in my view, become more and more professional. Teams will continue to innovate and as long as they have proper knowledge transfer systems in place, these teams will get better and more professional. I also hope the rules won't become too restrictive. Students should be able to come up with radical new ideas and solutions; in my view the rules should be primarily for safety reasons.
What is your biggest piece of advice for someone that is new to Formula Student?
Try to enjoy yourself and be sure to talk to other teams. Have fun on the campsite, although not too much!
You have responsibilities the next day! And don't hesitate to ask other teams for advice.
If your team is new to the competition I think it is important to 'keep it real'. Don’t go with fancy aero because you've seen other teams with massive aero packages and full carbon monocoques. Keep it simple and go on from there. Also, make sure that the information you gather is passed on to the team members for the next year.
Thank you, Lennert! We can’t wait to see you again at Silverstone in July. Bring on the Flunkyball rematch!
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