Dallara: “We always try to innovate, like in Formula SAE”

Also this year the Varano Racetrack is the home of Formula SAE Italia, the competition dedicated to university students from all over the world who want to unleash their imagination by developing new solutions to bring to the track through their vehicles. An event of international scope that attracts not only Italian universities, but also students from non-European countries, who challenge each other while learning in the heart of the Motor Valley.

An opportunity not only for boys and girls, but also for the companies that support the initiative. On the one hand, students can showcase their engineering ideas in front of big brands, while companies can discover new ideas and solutions, as well as find the engineers of the future.

Among the figures who believe in this project is Giampaolo Dallara, founder of the prestigious company that, among other things, has its own factory just a few kilometers from the Autodromo. The students put the fruits of their work made of dedication and passion on the track. Dallara is in fact one of the sponsors of the event and the engineer does not fail to make a trip to the circuit to discover, also together with his collaborators, the novelties brought by the boys, in search of the same innovation for which the Emilian company has distinguished itself over the years.

A topic that Eng. Dallara spoke about with Motorsport.com, explaining why Formula SAE is a key event for companies that, among the workshops scattered around the paddock, are trying not only to find new solutions, but also the engineers of the future to be ready for the challenges of the future in the world of motorsport and the automotive sector.

Over the years, you have had the opportunity to see this competition very closely. Dallara, which has its own factory also a few kilometers from the Varano circuit where the event is held, is one of the brands that strongly believes in this project, supporting the competition also in terms of sponsorship and awarding a prize. How have you seen this event grow over the years?

“The bar is always rising. Clearly, universities that approach this world for the first time experience difficulties, but there is always an evolution of technologies. You notice extremely interesting projects, you see great creativity, while the passion is the same as always, both in the newly arrived teams and in the more experienced teams. The passion has remained unchanged, but the maturity of the solutions and technologies is always greater”.

One of the main aspects of this is precisely to give students the opportunity to express their imagination in the projects they develop with passion and commitment. This year we have also seen very particular solutions.

“There is also the desire to show something different, to point out that we are not just looking at what others do, but we are trying to propose different technical solutions. The imagination and fantasy of the students emerges”.

Formula SAE in Italy involves not only many universities from our country, but also from other non-European countries, demonstrating the validity and importance of this competition. How important is it for a brand like Dallara to see and compare solutions that come from different markets? And how positive is it to see students who travel great distances to come to the heart of the Motor Valley where some of the most prestigious automotive brands are located, including Dallara?

“We are clearly interested in this competition, both for the growth of the movement in the automotive world, but also because there are many guys who come to work with us at Dallara from Formula SAE, every year we welcome new students. Here we can also find students who are specializing in specific skills and knowledge, such as the electrical and electronic part. So, this competition is increasingly complete, offering a great variety”.

Eng. Dallara often stops to talk and exchange ideas with the students in the paddock, sometimes even autographing the prototypes.

Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro

Here we have multiple classes, including combustion engine, electric and autonomous. Dallara covers many series in motorsports that cover all these aspects: from electric with Formula E, to hybrid in IndyCar, also passing through the driverless series in Saudi Arabia that uses a Super Formula chassis made by you.

“This competition is also interesting because we don’t know what the future of the automobile will be, but we must be ready to evaluate and know all the different possibilities, so that when the winning solution emerges, we are ready to have the right skills on those issues too. This is also why Formula SAE represents a great opportunity. The automotive world must think and reflect also on what it sees here: if most universities are pushing for electric cars, maybe in the future the technology will be different from the current one, but it is likely that this type of car will have a very important future”.

As we were saying, you are active in multiple series in the world of motorsport and automotive: combustion engines have specific needs that are different from those of electric motors, which then also need to be integrated into the chassis. For you too, therefore, Formula SAE represents an opportunity to compare and understand how students approach common problems, but with a different approach, freeing their imagination until they arrive at innovative solutions. Ideas that are born here in Formula SAE but that, perhaps, will one day arrive at Dallara, given that you often hire new students from this competition.

“Exactly. In fact, there are some of our employees who come here to Varano to try to understand how students think and see if there are different and innovative ideas. Clearly it is a great opportunity. We are open to trying to imagine what the change will be like and what the world of the future will be like: we must have our eyes open, because the only certain thing is that one day it will change. We do not yet know how, but we are sure that it will change. If we were shortsighted in looking only near us and not paying the right attention to what others are doing, we would risk being lost”.

It is a constant search for innovation looking to the present and, above all, to the future.

“Absolutely yes.”