WHAT IS VIRTUAL FORMULA?

We are pleased to announce the 2023 edition of Virtual Formula, VI-grade's contest built upon the rules and regulations of the Formula SAE and Formula Student competitions.

Thanks to a new regulatory change, more engineering students from around the world are eligible to participate in the 2023 Virtual Formula. Prestigious technical sponsors Automobili Lamborghini, Bugatti Rimac and Multimatic Inc. are lending their support in this important student engineering endeavor, and thus, encouraging young engineers to sharpen their virtual design skillset.

Virtual Formula is a free-of-charge event which gives participating teams access to VI-Motorsport, VI-grade’s state-of-the-art motorsport simulation software. All teams will also receive a DESKTOP Simulator software license including VI-DriveSim and VI-GraphSim for real-time vehicle simulation and comprehensive driving simulator control..

In order to fully support all different vehicle configurations, and line up with the rules and regulations of the Formula Student events, this year's competition will feature three different categories: two reserved for teams with a physical vehicle (one for internal combustion and one for electric drivetrain) and one additional dedicated to teams without a physical vehicle.

RULES AND REGULATIONS

The Optimization Category provides teams without a physical prototype with an electric vehicle model from VI-grade. The competition consists of an offline phase, aimed to improve and fine-tune the model’s performance, and an online race event, during which the teams will then compete against each other using their own desktop simulator.

The Digital-Twin category also comprises an offline and online phase. Teams will create a digital twin of their 2023 Formula Student race car in VI-Motorsport. As in the Optimization category, the performance of each team’s own vehicle model (internal combustion & EV) is optimized in a dedicated offline phase.

The Digital-Twin category also features a technical review phase in between the offline and the online phase. During this technical review, teams have the unique opportunity to present their design decisions directly to the technical sponsors. Once the technical review phase is complete, teams will competitively race their VI-Motorsport vehicle models in an online event, utilizing their own desktop simulator.

The winning teams in each category (Optimization, Digital-Twin EV & Digital-Twin IC) who score the best lap time during the online race will win the competition and will be awarded with either a hardware upgrade of their desktop simulator, or an all-expenses paid trip to one of VI-grade’s worldwide SimCenters.

DIGITAL TWIN CATEGORY RULES&REGULATIONS

OPTIMIZATION CATEGORY RULES&REGULATIONS

REGISTER TO 2023 VIRTUAL FORMULA

REASONS TO PARTICIPATE

To learn vehicle dynamics software used by leading motorsport teams and automotive OEMs
To improve your vehicle design in a virtual environment for real results at the next Formula SAE and Formula Student events
To join the VI-grade network of vehicle specialists and software developers
To add important competences to your resume for your future career in the automotive industry
To learn how to use a Driving Simulator for your Formula SAE and Formula Student related activities

VIRTUAL VISIT OF OUR SIMCENTERS

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

The Virtual Formula is open to all Formula SAE / Formula Student participating teams who own all components needed to put together a desktop driving simulator.

Each participating team will receive 5 node-locked VI-Motorsport license and 1 node-locked VI-grade DESKTOP Simulator software package (including VI-DriveSim and VI-GraphSim) license.

Below the technical specifications of the driving simulator components needed to join the Virtual Formula 2023 competition.

A gaming steering wheel/pedals assembly compatible with VI-grade solution that is either
- Logitech G920
- Fanatec CSW2.5 / DD1 / DD2
Desktop PC with gaming specs
- CPU
  - 4 cores minimum - 6 cores recommended
  - AMD 3000 series or higher
  - Intel Core i5 / i7 / i9 - 7th to 11th Gen
- GPU
  - Nvidia GTX 1080 minimum
  - Nvidia RTX 2000 / 3000 series recommended

DATES TO REMEMBER

The Virtual Formula 2023 competition schedule is as follows:

Registration deadline -> Extended to Jan 31st, 2023
Delivery of offline results -> March 15th, 2023
Ranking of offline results -> March 30th, 2023
Announcement of schedule of presentations to technical committee -> March 30th, 2023
Online competition on the driving simulators -> April 15th, 2023
Winner announcement -> May 11th 2023 @ VI-grade's 2023 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit

VIRTUAL FORMULA YOUTUBE CHANNEL (FOR INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS)

VIRTUAL FORMULA BILIBILI CHANNEL (FOR CHINESE PARTICIPANTS)