6/13/2018

On the morning of Saturday 9 June, the 15th anniversary event of the Firenze Race Team was held, or rather, 15 years since the first Class 1 competition held in 2003 in Leicester, England. Numerous participants attended the event, including members of the Team from the year of its foundation, teaching staff from our University’s various Engineering and even Economics courses, and some of the sponsors.

Early in the morning, the current Team members gathered at the Morgagni Campus for the preparations. In an organised manner, they set up the entrance for the guest reception and registration table, the hall of the classroom entrance, and finally the Auditorium for the presentation, after which the guests began to arrive. Taking the guests into the Auditorium, the event began with thanks from Professor Capitani, current Faculty and project manager since the foundation, and *Professor Ferrara, who has always followed the progress of the engine in our cars. They told us how and why the two professors, urged on by Daniele Rosti and Tommaso Iacomelli, former engineering students, initiated this activity.

Next, Daniele Rosti’s speech was about why two students were interested in Formula Student, a speech that focused on their passion and dedication to their studies. Daniele also paid tribute to one of the team’s very first sponsors, present at the event, Raffaele Tampolli, as he was the first to teach a group of students how to work with machinery to make components, and the know-how has been passed down to this day. The applause was endless for him. After a brief introduction, the current Team Leader, on this occasion in the role of facilitator, called all team leaders from 2002 to the present day on stage, in a so-called *‘round table’ interview to achieve an informal atmosphere and to involve the audience as much as possible. From left to right: Alessandro Dell’Uomo, Lamberto Morrocchi, Caterina Lotti, Leandro Ronchi, Francesco Ristori, Pierluigi Tozzi, Amedeo Tesi, Tommaso Iacomelli, Tommaso Innocenti, Claudio Annicchiarico, Andrea Massini, Daniele Rosti.

The questions covered the personal experiences of each Team Leader, their relationship with all their colleagues, the workshop and “living” in the workshop; and again, what Formula Student meant and how they advise us to approach it in order to continue to improve and grow. There was no shortage of questions to the former Faculty Advisor who has followed the team over the past few years. The funniest moments? Anecdotes from these years, memories surfaced and laughter invaded the Auditorium; suggestions from the audience… and more laughter. Finally, the scene shifted to us, who presented the work done on the Autonomous Guide, the progress made and the goals we have set for this project. The chat continued over the buffet, where it was easier to talk to our predecessors face-to-face. It was an exciting day and one that made us rediscover the roots and tradition of this team, of the efforts that have been made over all these years, both by us students and by the professors that the university has invested and is investing in us. Their experiences, their difficulties will be ours, but we know that support between former colleagues will never be lacking.

We would like to thank all the participants and those who could not come, but still conveyed their enthusiasm. Finally, we would also like to thank Meccanica 42 S.r.l for contributing to the success of the event! From here you can access the photos and relive the moments of the event with us!