On June 15, 2023, the "Race-Ing. Team" from Fachhochschule Dortmund presented this year's race car with pride and anticipation. The "Rhino Two" is lighter than its predecessor - and more modern, safer and better in almost every respect.
Before the team pulled the red cloth off the new "Rhino Two" and presented the car to the public for the first time, they gave an overview of the technical innovations compared to the "Rhino One" from 2022. And they are quite something: the teams were able to reduce the weight of almost all of the vehicle's individual components, improve properties and make connections easier to maintain.
The latter will be important at the racing events in the summer, as the inspectors often demand modifications that the teams have to implement under great time pressure.
When the red cloth flew, it revealed an automotive beauty: orange racing stripes suggesting streamlines and white lettering above elegant curves on a paintwork as black as if it had already outrun the light.
The visitors examined the car for a long time and had the team members explain the details to them. The monocoque, the body, now weighs seven kilos less - a 25 percent saving. Numerous details have been improved in the chassis and steering system. The wiring harness - that is the entirety of all cable connections - weighs only half as much at around three kilos.
The "Business" team is a separate subgroup. It includes the organization of the team and all events, financing, sponsoring, recruiting and design. One of the team's ideas for this year: potential sponsors can drive the "Rhino Two" on a closed-off track while a Formula 1 racetrack, such as the Hockenheimring, is shown to them using VR goggles.
The team will take the "Rhino Two" to its first track just one week after the rollout: from June 22 to 25 at the "VDI Racecamp" test event at the "LaSiSe" in Selm. In July and August, the team will take part in three official, international racing events for student teams: at the Assen TT Circuit in the Netherlands, at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg in Austria and finally at the largest and best-known event, the "Student Formula Germany" at the Hockenheimring.
These races are not just about lap times. At least as important are the "static events", which are included in the overall standings and in which, for example, the fictitious but fully developed business plan of each team is assessed. In 2022, 96 student racing teams with well over 2000 students from all over the world took part in the races.
If the "Rhino Two" passes the demanding tests and examinations there, it would be the first racing car from Fachhochschule Dortmund since 2015 to iron over the track against the international competition.