The NIO 333 Formula E team has commenced testing the world’s most complex type of electric racing car after several months of design and R&D at its Silverstone Park base.
The FIA designed Gen3 Formula E car marks the third era of the all-electric street racing category and will come into use for the 2022/23 FIA Formula E World Championship season beginning in December.
333 Racing is a motorsport brand hailing from Shanghai, China, with owners Li Sheng Sports and Gusto Engineering at the management helm.
It is about to celebrate the first anniversary inside its 12,401 sq ft property at Silverstone Park which houses its race team and is packed with innovation in race car design, engineering and sustainability.
Taking centre stage is a ‘mission control’ room. This houses a remote team of up to six technical staff who are connected live by intercom when the team is in action at venues around the world.
Adjacent to this is a powerful ‘driver in the loop’ (DIL) simulator with its high-tech engineering development system, which the team’s Chief Operating Officer Russell O’Hagan describes being “a world away from any gaming simulator”.
He explained:
“What we’re doing requires huge levels of internet feed, really powerful signals.
We have 35 people here in all so the building is very IT-heavy.
“It’s pretty intense with a complex simulator to run so you can imagine the size of the server!”
In addition, 333 Racing’s building comprises three custom-built race bays for the team to fettle its race and test cars, workshops for sub-assembly (grinding and build), composites (repairs and customisation) and machining (including 3D printer, lathe and milling machine). A stylish board room, main reception area and office space complete the fit-out.
“We have our own vehicle performance group (VPG) which focuses on many areas such as suspension and chassis design,” continued Russell.
The main skill sets are in our design department, in race engineering and in controls and electronics.
“Some of the most critical areas are how the car moves, brakes and regenerates energy – Formula E cars are highly complex machines so controls and energy management are probably the biggest departments.
“Race technicians also play a key role in terms of car build and servicing optimisation.
He continued:
“NIO 333 isn’t just an entrant in Formula E – under our parent company Brilliant in Excellence (BIE UK Ltd) we are also a manufacturer of componentry and pretty much everything on our cars that sits behind the drivers is unique by us
“This includes the powertrain, the invertor and motor, the crash structure and the rear suspension. All the design and build of those is done here at Silverstone Park.
“But it’s much more than just the cars that make the team tick – our finance, HR, marketing, and commercial activities are all here, too.”
