One of the world's best racing cars comes from Coburg

The most successful season in team history: CAT-Racing, the Formula Student Team of Coburg University of Applied Sciences, clinched three podium finishes last season with the C-18 Ozelot racing car. About ten years after entering the competition, the students have firmly established themselves among the world's best. They received support from main sponsor Brose, among others, who provided technical know-how as well as financial resources.

The Formula Student is an international design contest in which students compete each year with an independently developed and manufactured racing car. The disciplines are diverse: In acceleration and circuit races, both time and fuel consumption count. In addition, the teams present their design and development work and their marketing strategy.

The Coburg automobile team "CAT-Racing" has been taking part in the competition as a project of the Coburg University of Applied Sciences since 2007. In the four races of the 2018 season on world-famous tracks in Hungary, Austria, Germany and Spain, the students won one silver cup and two bronze cups in the overall classification. Most important was the third place at the Hockenheimring, where the team met a particularly strong field of participants from all over the world. With this record result, CAT-Racing made a leap in the 600-team world ranking and climbed from 17th place to 4th place.

"The great results of the last season would not have been possible without the support of many companies from the region", says Marco Illein, team leader of CAT-Racing. Among the sponsors are KAPP Niles, Waldrich Coburg, Kaeser Kompressoren, Gustav Voit, Zuken or the Economic Development Corporation of the City of Coburg. Main sponsor Brose is also a technical sparring partner. The automotive supplier provides its technology expertise from computer simulation to laser welding. CAT-Racing can also use the company's measurement laboratory and crash test facility. "The performance of the team, which has held its own against competition from much larger faculties, impresses us again and again," confirms Thomas Spangler, Chief Technology Officer of the Brose Group. "For ten years now we have been sharing our passion for automobiles with the CAT Racing team. This way we promote talents who may someday develop innovations for our international family business." The cooperation gives students good access to internships and working student jobs. Several former team members have thus found employment with the supplier.

CAT-Racing is currently developing the racing car for the next season. Four racing events are also waiting for the C-19 in summer - this means six weeks of pure motorsport for the team on race tracks all over Europe. Before that, the successful racing car from last year can prove itself once again: at the team's first overseas race in Michigan, USA. In order to realize the "Project Michigan", the students are looking for further supporters. After all, the race-enthusiastic students also want to intervene in the fight for the podium places in America.