Bologna Airport will provide the University of Bologna’s racing team with a large paved space on the airside, allowing the university team to conduct track tests of the new electric Formula Student prototype.
A new important collaboration between Bologna Marconi Airport and Unibo Motorsport, the University of Bologna’s racing team, has begun. This collaboration will allow the team to conduct fundamental tests on the airport’s aprons for Nemesi, the MotoStudent Electric prototype and current World Champion, and Athena, the new electric car currently being validated in preparation for the Formula Student competitions coming up this summer.
For Athena, four test days are already scheduled in July, involving about twenty team members who have all undergone the necessary safety training. The test days will begin on Saturday, July 6, and continue the following weekend with two days on Friday, July 12, and Saturday, July 13, concluding with the final test of the month on Thursday, July 18.
These test days will be of utmost importance in preparing for the upcoming competitions, as the student team will travel to Spielberg just two days later to participate in the first competition of the season: the Formula Student Austria, at the prestigious RedBull Ring circuit, from July 21 to 25. Just one week later, they will head to the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona to participate in Formula Student Spain from August 1 to 7. Finally, the season will conclude with the “home” race from September 4 to 8 at the Varano De’ Melegari circuit, taking part in Formula SAE Italy.
The spaces provided by Bologna Airport will allow the team to fine-tune the performance of the vehicles designed and built by the students in a safe and professional environment, which is essential for achieving new milestones in international competitions. In particular, the reliability and efficiency of the vehicle will be tested in an Endurance trial, where the vehicle will complete multiple laps of a circuit until reaching a total of 22 km. At the end of this test, it will be important to verify the car’s efficiency, that is, how much battery was consumed during the test. Other critical validations will include the vehicle’s maneuverability and steering capability, for the Skidpad test, which involves a figure-eight shaped circuit.
The value of this collaboration goes beyond mere logistical support: it represents the strong connection and support between local businesses and the university racing team. Bologna Marconi Airport thus confirms its commitment to supporting local entities, significantly contributing to the development and success of local excellence. UniBo Motorsport is entirely a student-run entity: it is a team of about 300 students who divide the work and cooperate as if within a company. They strive each year to produce three racing prototypes: an electric motorcycle, an electric car, and a hybrid car, handling all aspects from technical and engineering to organizational and managerial. For this reason, the team comprises students from various faculties, ranging from different types of engineering to economics, sociology, and communication.
