Momentum - March 2020 - 7

FEATURE

STUDENT
GENERATION

VICTORY AT LAST
The FPM19 of Formule Polytechnique Montreal
on the last corner of the Endurance track at
FSAE Lincoln, with Renaud Pepin at the wheel.

The first Formula SAE win of Polytechnique Montreal: why keeping it
simple and being prepared was the key.

THE POLYTECHNIQUE MONTREAL team's win in
Lincoln, Neb., last year was the university's first victory
in a Formula SAE competition in more than 35 years of
competing. I was one of the two team captains in 20182019. If you had told us two years ago that we would
have a winning car in 2019, my guess is not many would
have believed you. Yet keeping the design simple (but
efficient and highly validated) and focusing on getting
everything ready (both the car and the team) got us
right on the top step.
The team at Poly was quite small, with at most around
15 people involved. Winning the competition in Lincoln
was extremely meaningful for us. It was awesome to see
everyone's hard work and dedication pay off. This year
was extremely satisfying, as it seemed to me that the
car we built in 2019 was the car we were dreaming of in
2018. We found the right way to do the job we wanted to
get done the year before.
The set goal for 2019 was to reach the top 10 at
Formula SAE Michigan. When we managed to get 7th
place overall, and to be so close to the top teams in the
Autocross and Endurance Events, it felt like the year was
already a success story for us. In the few previous years,

MOMENTUM

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the team had always done well in Lincoln, where one of the other 2019
Formula SAE competitions has been held. In 2016, the team placed 9th
overall, which was an incredible achievement at the time. In 2018, we
were on the podium for the very first time with a 3rd place overall, and
also reached Design Finals for the first time. The expectations were high
for 2019, and we were not disappointed.
Our strength in 2019 came from many aspects. First, adding
aerodynamics and perfecting an already well-thought-out concept
paid off on the lap times. Then, preparation and knowledge of our
vehicle gave us a great edge in all events. Finally, the benefits of having
a concept that evolved over many years was undoubted in terms of
reliability and ability to extensively test the car before competition.

AERODYNAMICS, FOR THE BEST AND THE WORST
This year was our first year running an aerodynamics package, and the
performance gap compared to last year was quite big in testing. The
previous car was already a very well performing machine, and we made
sure everything was sorted and that we did not skip steps before adding
aero to it. We knew the potential that a good aero package had, and we
really pushed all year long in order to make sure it would be on the car-
and stay on the car. The learning curve was quite steep: for many years,
the team did not have extensive knowledge of composite materials.

March 2020 7

2/17/20 11:10 AM

Momentum - March 2020

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