Raftar Formula Racing Team, IIT Madras | "The stakes are high. The environment is intense." | Ep. 15

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

February 28, 2025

Duration

1h 3m

Channel

Best Place To Build

Watch on YouTube

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📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

In this episode of The Best Place to Build Podcast, we dive deep into the high-octane world of student formula racing with the extraordinary team from Raftar Formula Racing at IIT Madras. Join us as Team Captain Aryan Varma, aerodynamics lead- Ankith Suresh, and powertrain specialist- Divyaratna take us behind the scenes of one of India's most impressive student engineering projects. 🔧 What You'll Learn:

• The origins of Raftar Formula Racing, founded in 2012 as the first competition team from CFI (Centre For Innovation)
• How the team transitioned from combustion vehicles to electric during the COVID pandemic
• Inside look at Formula SAE competitions in India (Formula Bharat) and globally
• The team's impressive achievements, including winning the 2020 national championship and being the first Indian team to win a dynamic event at an international competition (Italy, 2017)
• The organizational structure: chassis division (vehicle dynamics, aerodynamics, frames and composites), powertrain division (battery pack, electrical systems)
• How they recruit 20-30 students annually into their 40-member team across various engineering disciplines

💼 Why This Matters:

• Hear how working on Raftar operates like a startup - pitching ideas, raising funds, building and testing products
• Discover the "CFI mafia" - a network of startups founded by former CFI club members
• Learn how the team collaborates with industry giants: creating a new category of tires with MRF and designing test benches for electric powertrains with Daimler
• Understand why companies eagerly hire Raftar team members for both technical roles and positions outside their specific fields
• This episode showcases how practical engineering experience transforms students into industry-ready professionals and entrepreneurs. The passion, technical expertise, and teamwork displayed by the Raftar Formula Racing team exemplify why IIT Madras is truly the best place to build.

Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to the Fastest Electric Autonomous Vehicle 00:51 Welcome to IIT Madras: The Best Place to Build 01:25 Meet the Raftaar Formula Racing Team 02:00 Understanding Student Formula Racing 03:09 Competitions and Achievements 06:04 Why Join a Student Racing Team? 09:39 Designing and Manufacturing the Race Car 11:15 Team Structure and Faculty Support 15:31 Sponsorships and Funding 20:32 Organizational Structure of Raftaar Formula Racing 29:42 Achievements and Legacy of Team Raftaar 33:33 Iconic Black Green Livery 34:21 Consistent Performance and Championships 35:09 Shift to Electric Vehicles 36:23 Challenges of International Competitions 40:17 CFI Teams and Their Projects 43:08 Balancing Academics and Team Work 49:01 Engineering Failures & Resilience 52:00 Driver Selection & Racing Experience 57:00 Race Strategy & Competition Events 01:00:39 Future Ambitions and Sponsorships 01:03:22 Conclusion and Farewell References: FSAE - https://www.fsaeonline.com/ Centre for Innovation (CFI) - https://cfi.iitm.ac.in/ Prabhu Rajgopal - https://www.linkedin.com/in/prabhu-rajagopal-041ab74/ Satyanarayanan Seshadri - https://www.linkedin.com/in/satyaseshadri/ Nandhini K S - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nandhini-k-s-71777748/ Seshan Rammohan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/seshanrammohan/ Karthick Athmanathan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karthick-athmanathan-b5a958a/ Shankar Ram - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shankar-ram-coimbatore-subramanian-041523112/ Vasu Guruswamy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vasu-guruswamy-0b80802/ Swapnil Jain - https://www.linkedin.com/in/swapnil-jain-431ba14b/ Tarun Mehta - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarunsmehta/ Arun Vinayak - https://www.linkedin.com/in/arun-vinayak-71a5b973/?originalSubdomain=in Ather - https://www.atherenergy.com/ Exponent Energy - https://www.exponent.energy/ To know more about what makes IIT Madras- the Best Place to Build- hit https://www.bestplacetobuild.com/

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Divyaratna

  guest

• Aryan Varma

  guest

• Ankith Suresh

  guest

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Best Place To Build, featuring Divyaratna and Aryan Varma, Raftar Formula Racing Team, IIT Madras | "The stakes are high. The environment is intense." | Ep. 15 explores IIT Madras Raftaar team builds EV racecars, eyes autonomy supremacy Raftaar Formula Racing is one of IIT Madras’ oldest CFI competition teams, building a full prototype race car each year for Formula Student / FSAE-style competitions in India (Formula Bharat) and abroad (notably Formula Student Germany).

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