BME Motorsport

About Our Team

BME Motorsport is a team built up and operated by enthusiastic university undergraduates. The team designs and builds a single-seater, formula style racecar and competes in the Formula Student Constructor’s Championship since 2018. It is a complex project that involves design, manufacturing, test, racing and last but not at least, management. It helps participating students to use theory in practice, and develop their technical knowledge and problem-solving skills. Our main goal is to achieve better results year after year by competing in the international field of Formula Student.

Formula Student is Europe's most prestigious international engineering competition, where teams of over 200 university from 30 countries compete in designing and racing formula-style racecars. In addition to the technical side, the competition also requires expertise in the economic field, as a full business plan has to be developed and the necessary financial background for the project to be presented.

The heart of the competition is a race car, designed, built, assembled, operated and raced by team members.

Within the international competitions, teams from different universities can compare their knowledge in dynamic and static events. The dynamic part consists of Acceleration, Skidpad, Autocross, Efficiency and Endurance events, while the static part consists of Business Plan Presentation, Cost & Manufacturing, and Engineering Desing events.

Our Story

BME Motorsport was established at the end of 2018 with only 8 members at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics with the purpose of giving every young and talented university student engaged in motorsports, a chance to learn and gain experience by participating in the team. At the moment our team consists of over 70 dedicated and enthusiastic students with various educational background, studying engineering, economic or marketing majors. These students develop by setting aside their free time and working up to 80 hours a week to achieve their dreams. Since the start of the team, it has been operating within the legal framework of the MŰGÉP Foundation.

The tasks of our team not only consists of design, supply and manufacturing but it also includes management, logistics and economic problems so we perform the tasks that await us in a real working environment. In addition to the theoretical knowledge acquired at the university, the students working in the team gain invaluable practical experience.

Achievements

The 2022 season was the first to showcase the outstanding capabilities of the car and the team. We finished 2nd on the Formula Student podium and 3rd in the subsequent Adriatic race.

After 2022, a number of key team members left to join renowned companies such as Hyundai and Toyota, which is why it was crucial to build a new team base. For this reason, we paid particular attention to recruitment.

The 2023 season has already been completed with new members. This is how we started to build the hybrid system. Our team is the first Formula Student team in Hungary to develop a hybrid powertrain.

As this was the first season we entered with a hybrid system, we still have a long way to go to find out how it works. In terms of race results, although we haven't made any progress, we don't see this as a failure, but rather as another opportunity to improve.

In terms of points and placings in the races so far, BME Motorsport has become one of the most successful Formula Student teams in Hungary after its 5th full season of competition, beating many teams that have been around for much longer.

Our Goal with PCBWay

The significant presence of self-designed electronic components in our car underscores our unwavering commitment to innovation and high-performance standards. These custom-designed components cover a wide range of critical systems, including the telemetry module, LCD screen driver board for the driver, steering wheel PCB with different ECU modes, as well as shift and clutch paddle controls and CAN Nodes responsible for transmitting sensor data via the CAN bus. Additionally, we have designed vital components such as the BSPD (brake system plausibility device), PDM (power distribution module) capable of handling high currents, several control PCBs, and the BMS (battery management system) for the hybrid battery. As a result, most of the PCBs are interconnected via the CAN bus, reflecting their interconnectedness in our car's operation.

The reliability of these components is of paramount importance, as they are integral to the functioning of our vehicle. High currents, reaching up to 30 amperes, are encountered by various control PCBs and the PDM. To ensure their robust performance, these components are rigorously designed to operate effectively even in high-temperature environments. This level of reliability is essential for successfully competing in the demanding 22-kilometer endurance event, where our vehicle must maintain full functionality. When designing logic PCBs with microcontrollers, particularly those from the STM32 family, we aim for 4 to 6 layer PCBs with separate ground and power planes. This approach is crucial in delivering the stability and performance required to meet the challenges of high currents and extreme temperatures, ultimately allowing us to compete and perform at our best.

Every year, new PCBs are designed, as well as revising and remanufacturing old designs. Our operation usually require 10-25 PCBs per season, including self-designed evaluation boards and test equipments, in addition to those built into our car.

Telemetry

Our completely self-designed telemetry module collect every frame from the CAN bus, and forwards it the trackside crew. through our server and cellular network, or directly via a telemetry base station. Live telemetry is used by our race engineer to develops way to optimize the operation of the car in the dynamic events. The hearth of the in-car module is an STM32H7 microcontroller.

BMS

A self-designed BMS is used to monitor the hybrid battery during operation, charging and storage. It measures cell voltages and temperatures, as well as the battery current using Hall-effect current sensor ICs. The monitored parameters are transmitted to the CAN bus, which can be evaluated in real-time using telemetry.

Display

A graphical LCD screen is the driver's main source of information, in addition to radio communication with the race engineer. The display shows various parameters of the car according to the actual dynamic event. The content of the display can also be changed using buttons on the steering wheel.