Perseverance, Teamwork and Records: BCN eMotorsport's Season

The students from the Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering (ETSEIB) and the Barcelona School of Telecommunications Engineering (ETSETB) who are part of BCN eMotorsport describe the 2025–2026 academic year as a year full of effort, perseverance and passion. “We have achieved some of the best times in our team's history in events such as acceleration or skidpad, and even so, I think nothing makes me feel prouder than the way we have managed the problems we have faced,” says Sabrina Faieta, the first female team leader since the creation of the team in 2007.

The results of the previous season demonstrated the team's talent and capabilities, but its ambition to continue improving has been the driving force behind the CAT18x's consolidation. This single-seater weighs 25 kg less than its predecessor – a reduction that has brought the team's vehicle below 200 kg for the first time – and includes improvements to the aerodynamic package, software and hardware. It is therefore a more competitive vehicle that has met all the technical requirements the team had set at the beginning of the season.

However, one week before the team's first competition, FS Czech (Czech Republic), the CAT18x suffered an accident during one of its final tests, forcing the team to rebuild it in record time. The last-minute repair affected the events, slowing down the completion of the static tests and preventing participation in some of the dynamic events. Nevertheless, the CAT18x recorded its first competition times in the Autocross and Endurance events, demonstrating the vehicle's potential.

The home competition, FS Spain, was not easy either. Despite passing the static tests within the planned deadlines, another accident during the acceleration event damaged a significant part of the CAT18x. However, in just eight hours, the team managed to rebuild it, undergo all the technical inspections again, pass them and be on the starting grid for the endurance event. Ultimately, they were unable to finish it, but the work of the entire team allowed them to stand out in the Driverless category, where they obtained third place in engineering design and, despite the accident, broke their own record in the acceleration event, setting a time of 3.601 seconds, and also in the Skidpad event, with a time of 4.950 seconds.

FS Germany (Germany), the most prestigious competition in Formula Student, took place just four days after the home competition, but not even having only two days to rebuild the broken components stopped them. The intense work of all the team members and the help of the German team High-Speed Karlsruhe, which machined a key component for them in its workshop, allowed BCN eMotorsport to easily pass the static tests and participate in all the dynamic events. They did not miss this opportunity to demonstrate their potential: the team once again broke its acceleration record in the autonomous category, setting it at 3.524 seconds.

Two days later, and with spirits running high, the last competition of the season arrived, FS Alpe Adria (Croatia), where they once again demonstrated what BCN eMotorsport is. They achieved first place in the autonomous system design event, second place in Skidpad DV and fourth place in acceleration DV. In addition, they once again broke their record in the acceleration event, setting a time of 3.517 seconds.

“We had an accident with the car one week before the first competition, we rebuilt it and competed in the first events. Then we had another accident during Formula Student Spain, we repaired the vehicle in just eight hours and competed again. It is in moments like these,” explains Faieta, “that you really see what a team is capable of. Surely, if we had had an easy season without any problems, I would not have learned even half of everything I have learned, which is why my overall assessment is much more than positive.”

Members of BCN eMotorsport participating in the static and dynamic events of Formula Student and working on the CAT18x.

The Team's First Female Captain, as Female Participation Increases

Sabrina Faieta was the team leader of BCN eMotorsport during the 2025–2026 season. When she joined the team two years ago, she was the only girl among the 50 students who made up the team, but that did not make her any less important. Quite the opposite.

At the beginning of the season, when the team chooses who will occupy each position, she decided to put herself forward as a candidate for team leader. Aware of the responsibility this entailed, and having demonstrated to her teammates that she was prepared to take it on, she was chosen and, as such, became the first girl to lead this team. “I was very excited. At that time, I was the only girl and the only foreigner, and I experienced it with great pride,” says Faieta.

Being the team leader of a team like BCN eMotorsport is not just a position; it is a commitment practically 24 hours a day. “When you are in charge, there are many matters that go through you. You are responsible for the relationship with sponsors and schools, you are the one who has to represent the team in good times and also in bad times, and you have to understand all aspects of the design and construction of the vehicle, not just the one you work on. In itself, it is a very great responsibility, but it is even greater because we are talking about a team with almost 20 years of experience, and I wanted not only to maintain the level that had been achieved but also for the team to continue growing.”

The season has not been easy, but the team has taken a step forward both on and off the track. “This season we have been four girls, and next season seven more are expected to join, which is very positive. A project as cross-disciplinary as Formula Student needs very diverse profiles, ways of thinking and experiences, and this also means having girls as part of it. Role models are needed, and every girl who joins the team can help another girl, who is studying engineering and who, like us, feels passionate about technology and the automotive industry, feel that this is also her place.”

For the company Fractus, once again supporting BCN eMotorsport means backing a university team that knows how to organize itself like a company and that increasingly includes female talent, both in its leadership and in its organization.

Precisely, promoting and making new female role models visible in initiatives linked to STEAM disciplines (the English acronym for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) is one of the areas of action of the Fractus-UPC Deep Tech Hub.