The 6th FST: NTUST Successfully Completes Endurance Race, Elevating Technical Standards and Strengthening Industry-Academia Synergies in Automotive Engineering

Editor | PR Chloe Hsiao

Issued by | Formula Student Taiwan Association

2026.07.06

The 6th Formula Student Taiwan(FST) has officially concluded at the MAXXIS Proving Ground in Yunlin. Since its inception in 2021, the number of Taiwanese student racing teams has grown steadily, establishing a strong foundation within the Asian Formula Student community. In addition to intensified technical competition, this year's event made tangible progress in integrating resources across industry, government, and academia, as well as furthering international connectivity. For the second consecutive year, Mr. Toshiaki Nakanishi, an inspector from Formula Student Japan (JSAE), was invited to Taiwan, further reinforcing the event's technical scrutineering standards.

▲Group photo of the this years's FST

Empowered by Industry-Academia Resources to Build a Professional Testing Environment

The stable progress of the competition relies heavily on the deep engagement of both industry and academia. This year’s event was guided by esteemed organizations, including the SAE International Taipei Section, the Cheng Kung Mechanical Educational Foundation, and the Ministry of Education’s Project for Experimenting and Constructing New Engineering Education Methods. In his opening remarks, SAE Secretary-General Deng highlighted that FST operates under rigorous, high-standard competition regulations. Against the backdrop of rapid advancements in AI and semiconductor technologies, academic investment in advanced vehicle engineering will provide positive momentum for the long-term growth of the domestic automotive industry.

From the corporate sector, long-term partners continue to inject vital resources into the event, including the Yen Tching-Ling Industrial Development Foundation, Cheng Shin Rubber (MAXXIS), Zenitron, the Ti-Ho Foundation, Tiger-Tech, Chroma ATE, and TECO Electric & Machinery.

▲Group photo of guiding organizations and corporate sponsors at the opening ceremony.

Associate Vice President Chen of Cheng Shin Rubber noted that racecar engineering presents profound challenges, and the company is pleased to provide professional testing facilities and resources to support the competition's growth. He added that Cheng Shin plans to extend its technical collaboration with student racing teams to develop specialized tire specifications, helping them fully demonstrate their capabilities in upcoming events. Furthermore, Tiger-Tech, Zenitron, and SAE hosted on-site booths to facilitate technology exchanges and recruit talent. The organizing committee expressed its heartfelt gratitude to all corporate and strategic partners for their long-term support.

Deepening International Connections and Refining Scrutineering Standards

Joe Chiao, Executive Director of the FST Organizing Committee, stated that the core operational focus of the event is to introduce an international perspective and equip domestic teams with the comprehensive capabilities needed to compete globally. Visiting Japanese EV Chief Inspector Mr. Toshiaki Nakanishi remarked that he was delighted to see the Taiwanese competition growing in scale, expressing high hopes for its expanding influence within the Asian Formula Student community. To support the three Taiwanese teams set to compete in Japan this August, the committee plans to host a mock Business Logic Presentation one week after the event, refining their business strategies and Q&A skills through real-world simulations.

▲Japanese EV Chief Inspector Mr. Toshiaki Nakanishi

In terms of competition execution, this edition maintained a three-day inspection and testing schedule. The first two days focused on static vehicle inspections: mechanical inspections covered 106 items aligned with international competition standards, including aerodynamic packages, suspension, and chassis structures; the electrical systems underwent a four-stage inspection covering battery, powertrain, and control systems. These were followed by dynamic tests—including acceleration, braking, and skidpad—as well as rain and tilt tests. The third day featured the endurance race, which required teams to complete 30 laps with a driver change on the 15th lap, testing overall vehicle reliability and driver skill.

▲NTU Racing Team undergoing the rain test.

To align with the earlier Japanese event schedule, this year’s Taiwanese competition was held one month earlier than usual, compressing the teams' building and testing timelines. Despite the shortened preparation period, the participating teams demonstrated exceptional time management and engineering execution, navigating the high-density technical inspections and laying a solid foundation for upcoming international competitions.

Tech Trends: Implementation and Challenges of Four-Wheel Drive Architecture

Observing the technical specifications of this year's competing vehicles, "four-wheel drive" (4WD) has emerged as a key strategy to break through dynamic performance bottlenecks. Compared to traditional rear-wheel-drive (RWD) architectures, 4WD offers a core engineering advantage: by controlling each wheel's speed via independent motors, it enhances cornering limits and dynamic stability, providing a significant edge, particularly in the Skidpad event. However, adopting 4WD comes with exceptionally high technical barriers. Teams must redesign their wheel-end assemblies to package and integrate miniaturized gearboxes and motors inside the wheel rims, while also self-developing independent motor controllers with high power density.

▲NTUST Racing Team performing the skidpad test.

This year, both National Taiwan University (NTU) and National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) invested in developing 4WD architectures, while National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) continued to optimize its existing 4WD setup. Additionally, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) upgraded its motor powertrain, while National Taipei University of Technology (Taipei Tech) and Ming Chi University of Technology (MCUT) made innovations in chassis architecture and powertrains. Taipei Tech upgraded its chassis to a monocoque, while MCUT, competing for the first time this year, currently utilizes a rear-wheel-drive layout with a powertrain supplied by local manufacturers. These trends demonstrate that top- and mid-tier domestic teams are rapidly raising their technical standards, progressively aligning with international competition specifications.

Overview of University Teams: Technical Iteration and Growth

▲From left to right: NTUST, NTU, NYCU, and NCKU Racing Teams

Facing the technical challenges of upgrading system architectures, each university team demonstrated distinct development progress and strategic trade-offs throughout the competition:

▲NTUST performing Endurance Test

Taiwan Tech Racing (NTUST): Crowned champions of this year's FST Cup, the team built upon their vehicle that completed the Australian competition last year, becoming the first team to pass both mechanical and electrical scrutineering. Their electrical wiring harness layout and cooling duct designs received positive recognition from the Japanese judge, and the team smoothly completed all dynamic events.

In the Endurance race, Taiwan Tech Racing demonstrated exceptional system reliability, standing out as the only team to complete all 30 laps. After taking over for the second stint, their driver precisely managed the vehicle and tire limits, setting the fastest single-lap time of 55.395 seconds on Lap 20, ultimately finishing with a total corrected time of 1,911.26 seconds.

NTU Racing: This season, the team embarked on upgrading from RWD to a 4WD system. During static inspections, NTU passed mechanical scrutineering with impressive smooth efficiency. However, dynamic tuning presented challenges under the new architecture, requiring multiple test runs and adjustments before passing the brake test.

Although pre-race testing damaged the front-wheel assembly—forcing a temporary revert to RWD mode and introducing stability testing challenges—the vehicle demonstrated extraordinary single-lap pace during the Endurance event. NTU set the overall fastest lap of the race at 55.262 seconds on Lap 3, proving its immense potential. Ultimately, damaged aerodynamics violated safety regulations, leading to a Did Not Finish (DNF, 4 laps) and highlighting the reliability hurdles during early-stage system adoption. The team plans to conduct five days of dynamic testing post-race to validate the architecture.

▲NTU Racing performing Endurance test.

NCKU Formula Racing: This year marked the team's first implementation of a 4WD system, accompanied by the in-house development of planetary gear reducers. Due to the complexity of the 4WD system, overall vehicle assembly completeness was insufficient, preventing them from passing scrutineering at this event. The team is currently accelerating assembly efforts to prepare for the upcoming competition in Japan.

▲NCKU Racing Team

NYCU Vulpes Racing: The team took on the challenge of building an all-new chassis and powertrain architecture. While tight assembly schedules led to lower vehicle completeness and prevented inspection during the FST event, all core mechanical components were installed, and the independently designed electrical wiring harness was validated off-car. Exhibiting a proactive mindset, the team scheduled post-race inspection slots with event judges, making their future progress highly anticipated.

▲NYCU Vulpes Racing

MCUT Racing & Taipei Tech Racing: This edition marked MCUT's debut entry, while Taipei Tech attempted to introduce a monocoque chassis. Both schools ultimately opted out of track action after evaluating vehicle completion and safety considerations, yet they successfully laid a strong R&D foundation for upcoming seasons. Taipei Tech aims to validate three core engineering breakthroughs—an aluminum monocoque, custom battery pack, and all-new aero package—at the 2026 Formula SAE-A competition in Australia, with promising future potential.

Regarding static Design Presentations, industry judges observed significant improvements across all teams in their logical articulation of "design rationale" and "feasibility validation." While top-tier teams maintain their lead, the gap with mid-pack teams is rapidly narrowing. Moving forward, there remains room for deeper technical explanations and stronger data support across key systems, including powertrains, chassis, and suspension.

▲NTUST Racing (left) and NCKU Racing (right) performing design report.

Acknowledgements: Guiding Organizations & Sponsors

Guiding Organizations: SAE International Taipei Section, Cheng Kung Mechanical Educational Foundation, Project for Experimenting and Constructing New Engineering Education Methods (Ministry of Education)
Sponsors: Yen Tching-Ling Industrial Development Foundation, Cheng Shin Rubber (MAXXIS), Yulon Group, Yulon Nissan, Zenitron Corporation, Ti-Ho Foundation, Tiger-Tech, Chroma Foundation, TECO Electric & Machinery, MCUT Smart Vehicle Center, ICE Thug, SK2 TOEFL, MARS Racing Marketing, CN STUDIO