Published on: 2026-07-28
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
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The student engineering racing team of Polytech “LenSportMash” participated in the international competition “Formula Student — Russia 2026” at the Igora Drive racetrack. In the main race of the season, the team presented the new racing car Cinque e mezzo, achieved the best results in the static disciplines, and secured 3rd place in the overall standings.
“Formula Student” is an international engineering competition in which student teams design racing cars over the course of a year. Each summer, the completed racing car must be presented to a jury, passing several tests and inspections, defending not only the design but also the project’s business plan and the product cost report.
The main goal of the competition is the development of engineering thinking, gaining practical experience in the full development cycle, and training specialists for the automotive and mechanical engineering industries. Today, “Formula Student” takes place in more than 22 countries, including Russia.
This year at “Igora Drive,” teams from leading universities of Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Togliatti, Ufa, and Yekaterinburg met, as well as participants from Turkey and China.
The competition program includes two main areas: static and dynamic disciplines. During the static disciplines (Cost Report, Design Event, and Business Plan Presentation), teams justify the cost of manufacturing the car and its components, present the design of the race car and engineering solutions, as well as demonstrate the commercial development concept of the project.
The dynamic part of the competition includes several stages: acceleration, completing the “figure eight” track, sprint, and endurance race. Before the start of the dynamic runs, each car undergoes a mandatory technical inspection. Experts check the design’s compliance with regulations and safety requirements, carry out a mechanical inspection, perform a tilt test, check the effectiveness of the braking system, and also assess the feasibility of safely evacuating the driver from the cockpit.
In the static part of the competition, “LenSportMash” showed the following results:
- business plan presentation — 3rd place;
- special nomination from the company “Lanit” — 3rd place;
- cost report — 2nd place;
- structure protection — 1st place.
High scores from the judges in the static disciplines made an important contribution to the team’s overall result: by winning this part of the competition, “LenSportMash” secured the bronze medal in the overall standings of “Formula Student Russia — 2026”.
“It’s really great to see that the ‘Formula Student’ project brings together engineering enthusiasts from different universities and countries. Working in real racing pits at the ‘Igora Drive’ racetrack allowed us to feel the atmosphere of major motorsport and realize the significance of what we are doing. It was especially memorable how united our team worked: behind this are sleepless nights, preparation for static disciplines, and each participant’s readiness to jump in and solve emerging problems at any moment. The most emotional moment was, of course, the car’s launch, which turned out to be so swift that it took our breath away. We gained important experience, saw what still needs work, and already understand the direction in which we will develop the car further.” — said Yaroslav Pleshanov, chassis department engineer.
“The results of this competition were the best for our current team lineup. We successfully passed the technical inspection, but unfortunately, the final stage of the check was not counted. During the preparation of the car, we encountered several serious malfunctions: for example, after the first attempt at the Brake Test, the tripod of the left half-shaft broke down, but the team fixed the breakdown in just one hour and on the next attempt brought the car back onto the track. We are especially pleased with the results of the static disciplines, the title of the best team in this category, and third place overall.” — said team captain Kirill Anikeev.
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The “LenSportMash” team (formerly Polytech North Capital Motorsport) is part of the ecosystem of the Student Design Bureau “System Engineering” at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. The team has existed since 2014 and has been participating regularly in competitions in Russia and European countries for 12 years. During this time, the project has become an important platform for training young specialists, where students have the opportunity to apply knowledge in practice: from designing individual components to assembling a full-fledged racing car.
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