Lightened and Relaunched: DIAN Racing Unveils Its 2019 New Car
On the afternoon of July 30, DIAN Racing held its annual car launch at the “Technology, Art, Humanities” exhibition hall of the School of Automotive Studies at Tongji University. Representatives from relevant university departments and the School of Automotive Studies, team advisors, and student team members attended the launch. The event also welcomed representatives from over 40 sponsors, including Volkswagen (China) and Porsche, to witness the debut of DIAN Racing’s new car.
At the launch, DIAN Racing presented its all-new electric formula racing car for the 2019 season – DRe19. The car continues the team’s signature red-and-white color scheme, with a more rugged and imposing overall styling. The red-and-gray stripes on the streamlined monocoque create a more aggressive visual effect, underscoring the team’s ambition to win on the track. After nine months of design, manufacturing, and assembly, DRe19 stays true to the DRe series’ design philosophy of “faster, more stable, lighter” and incorporates a series of technical upgrades. In the drivetrain, the electrical system and vehicle control algorithms for the four-motor drive have been further improved, enhancing the car’s four-wheel-drive handling. For lightweight design, the team adopted lighter aluminum motors and a lighter controller, while also applying topology optimization to the monocoque and various connectors to further reduce the overall vehicle mass without compromising body strength. Optimization of the aerodynamic package has increased DRe19’s downforce by 20% compared to its predecessor, further improving stability. Upgrades in technologies such as brake energy recovery significantly enhance the car’s energy efficiency. Additionally, the independently designed wheel-side reducer will take DRe19’s on-track performance to a new level.
As a key technical solution for reducing vehicle energy consumption and environmental pollution, pure electric vehicles have become the trend in the automotive industry. Developing electric formula racing cars not only promotes the environmental concept of new energy vehicles but also cultivates talent for the advancement of vehicle electrification. It is precisely the shared commitment to environmental protection and energy efficiency that brings DIAN Racing members together. Today, more than 100 students from various colleges across Jiading Campus, primarily from the School of Automotive Studies, have joined the DIAN Racing family. The cross-disciplinary integration and collision of ideas continuously enhance DIAN Racing’s innovative capabilities. While translating technical advantages into leading results on the track, the team is also steadily expanding its social influence. As of this year, over 70 renowned companies have been listed as DIAN Racing sponsors, contributing through funding, material support, or technical exchange in various ways to the student electric formula competition, collectively driving the trend of vehicle electrification.
DIAN Racing was founded in 2013 and is a key student innovation team in the field of new energy at the School of Automotive Studies. The team is technically guided by Professor Zhang Tong’s team from the school, and is independently operated and developed by students, promoting technological innovation. With innovation as its soul, DIAN Racing holds multiple pioneering records in the student electric formula field: the first Chinese team to adopt a dual-motor setup, the first to adopt a four-wheel-motor configuration, and the first to achieve a battery status monitoring system with a precision of 1mV per cell, among others. Multiple independently developed innovations, including the BMS, have helped the team win the Design Report championship for two consecutive years in the Formula Student China competition. After just six years of development, DIAN Racing has become a student team with outstanding innovation capabilities and a mature project management system. At the same time, the involvement of many renowned companies has made the team an important platform for school-enterprise cooperation and talent cultivation. Team members not only gain hands-on experience by applying textbook knowledge to engineering, but also have the opportunity to learn from top industry experts, discussing technical challenges and sharing innovative ideas.
The 2019 Student Formula Japan and Formula Student Electric China will kick off in August and November this year, respectively, where DIAN Racing will represent Tongji University on both domestic and international stages.