Berkeley Formula Racing 2023 Car
I went into the 2022 season as a inexperienced new recruit and emerged from it a core member of the team. Although the 2022 competition didn't go as we'd hoped, it showed us that our car had enormous potential. Armed with knowledge and experience from competition and my Tesla internship, I went into the 2023 season ready to play a central role in the car's design and manufacturing.
From the very beginning of the design cycle, I oversaw and evaluated every design element on the car, from engine and exhaust mounting strategies to suspension setup changes to fundamental things like center of gravity. Given that B22 showed so much potential, we were hesitant to change much, but above all I pushed for maximizing reliability, serviceability, and ease of passing competition rules, even at the cost of raw theoretical performance. All of our point losses in 2022 stemmed from running out of time to work, not being slow, and I pushed that message along with the rest of leadership.
In the end, B23 delivered even more than what B22 was capable of. We breezed through technical inspection and sound testing and scored our team's best dynamic event result ever - 2nd in Autocross of 120 teams and 5th in efficiency. Unfortunately, about 200m from the finish line of the 22km endurance event (99.1% the way), the car stopped due to an electrical issue involving the fuel pump, spoiling what would've been a top 5 (or even top 3) finish. The 2023 season was still one to remember though, and as I exited the team I laid the groundwork for B24, the most most successful car in the team's history.
Early Design and Manufacturing
The start of the season (Fall '22) proved particularly challenging for me because I had to juggle my BFR obligations alongside a 55+ hour workweek at Tesla. Despite this, I still played a major part in both architectural and mechanical parts of the car's design. For example, B22 experienced a suspension upright failure, so I sat in calls with our suspension team for hours upon hours discussing possible load cases and how to simulate them. In the end, B23's upright design ended up being both lighter and stiffer than the last.
During manufacturing, I also helped put the car together whenever I could. Between suspension inserts, jigging elements, and random spacers and tools, I manually machined over 50 parts for the car and spent even more time wrenching on things than I did for B22.
Chassis jigging, from which there is no escape.
Camber compliance test results - B23 vs B22.
B23 on the day the engine first ran.
Testing and Execution
Once the car was built, the real grind of the season began. We may have addressed B22's most glaring issues, but as always, new problems showed up during testing. Spring of 2023 provided ample challenges, including several times the car straight up broke while running. Despite this, we were able to improve our reliability and complete several endurance runs on our own.
A failed suspension tab on the rear right corner during testing.
Farewell
Even though we got our hearts broken at competition, the final performance of B23 was a good one. In October 2023, we entered the SoCal Shootout mini competition in Riverside, CA. Despite extremely strong attendance (many top 20 teams from competition), we were able to dominate the event and take home the win. I parted ways with Berkeley Formula Racing afterwards to focus on my last semester of school, but I'll never forget the memories I made during my time on the team.
B23 racing at Adams Raceway in October, 2023.
