MADRID, 28 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Nebrija University and the RGB engineering company have joined forces to form the first purely Spanish team to compete in 2025 in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the legendary endurance car race, as announced at the Life Sciences Campus in La Berzosa in Hoyo de Manzanares (Madrid).
In said act, Nebrija University also advanced its motor sports structure and the creation of the Automobile and Mechanics Area. Several high-end vehicles such as the Ferrari 328 gts, Ford Mustang Mach E gt, Porsche gt3, Mclaren 720 s, Aston Martin v8 vantage or Bentley continental gtc flanked the speeches.
The Dakar car, from the Astara team, sponsored by Nebrija University, with virtual reality equipment; NEVA, the first Spanish autonomous vehicle, developed by Nebrija University and FEM Expert; and other projects with a high technological impact on R&D in the motor area were the stars of the event.
In addition, attendees have been able to see, for the first time, a 3D printed motorcycle chassis that, produced by ArcelorMittal and Nebrija University, aims to revolutionize the industry.
Alejandro Batán, director of programs at Managing Composites, defended lightweight materials in the new mobility without replicating other compounds. In this way, carbon fiber or fiberglass make up lighter parts that “save money” and represent a good framework for collaboration with Nebrija University when creating a pool of professionals in the motor world.
Roberto Gómez, sports director of Nebrija-RGB and director of the Master’s Degree in Racing Vehicle Engineering, revealed the so-called 2025 Objective: to compete in the 24 hours of Le Mans with a 100 hundred percent Spanish team. “We are going to try to be the best, working day by day from now on in real and international competitions. For this we want to offer the best training to students and look for new dreams”, he added.
For Roberto Gómez, “what is experienced” in that race is unparalleled. “These are unique sensations and experiences that I want to repeat with a Spanish team and Nebrija University so that one day we can win at Le Mans.” RGB has worked in the official Ferrari and Porsche teams achieving relevant victories. Roberto Gómez has been a three-time Le Mans 24 Hours champion with Porsche Motorsport LMP1, a three-time WEC champion with Porsche Motorsport LMP1 and an F1 engineer at HRT.
He has also worked with drivers like Mark Webber, Nico Hulkenberg, Brendon Hartley, Juan Pablo Montoya, Romain Dumas and Andre Lotterer. Precisely, the drivers Jaxon Evans, Romain Dumas -three-time Le Mans champion- and Michael Fassbender -Hollywood star and Porsche ambassador and driver, whose vehicle was at the presentation- sent special messages for the new Nebrija-RGB sports team.
On the other hand, the director of the Nebrija University Polytechnic School, Borja González del Regueral, stated that since 2010, with the introduction of the Degree in Automotive Engineering, Nebrija University has “created a symbiosis between the academic and business worlds” to achieve “excellence and high rates of employability”.
In González del Regueral’s opinion, international and multidisciplinary profiles are essential in engineering to solve the challenges of the future.
For his part, the coordinator of the Automobile and Mechanics Area, Sergio Corbera, explained the Nebrija motor ecosystem which, apart from the degree, has the Master’s Degree in Competition Vehicle Engineering, the Degree in Automotive Engineering, with the collaboration of Yamaha MS Racing, the Nebrija Automobile Club, special collaborations such as the Astara Team in the 2022 Dakar Rally, and lines with research groups, chairs and laboratories. “Our students must be participants in real projects,” said Corbera.
Under the motto ‘Nebrija is automobile’, this academic-professional ecosystem is created on “the solid pillars” of the Automobile and Mechanics Area, “which provide the necessary support, at an operational and strategic level, to consolidate all the work done so far , promote it and position the university in the national and international arena”.
Fernando Mateo, deputy director of the Nebrija University Polytechnic School, spoke about the research pillars. “We want to do research on disruptive and relevant technologies that allow our engineers to make a difference and be attractive to provide differential value,” he said. Mateo mentioned three projects that have already come true: a 3D printed motorcycle chassis, an autonomous car and the collaboration with the Astara team (Dakar).
ArcelorMittal and Nebrija University have 3D printed a motorcycle chassis that has the potential to revolutionize the industry. It is an integral steel chassis that combines the mechanical properties of this material with the lightness normally associated with others such as aluminum or titanium. This milestone has been possible thanks to an innovative totally hollow geometric design.
ArcelorMittal’s 3D printing technology and knowledge, the work of its designers and the intelligent design algorithms of Nebrija University have made possible the development of this highly innovative piece, 20% lighter than those made of any other material.
NEVA, THE AUTONOMOUS CAR
NEVA, the autonomous vehicle developed by Nebrija University and FEM Expert, was recently successfully tested in the Villaverde Sandbox, the largest mobility testing area in Europe. This project, which began in 2018 and which initially received funding from the Community of Madrid and the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union, has the objective of lowering the high costs of autonomous vehicles.
In this transversal project, FEM Expert and Nebrija University combine cutting-edge engineering (sensors, mechanics, artificial intelligence, machine learning) with other fields such as computing, ethics, psychology or legal issues related to the essential homologation of the vehicle .
An environment detection strategy, inspired by human driving, based on more basic data input than that used to date, and instruments such as ‘Light Detection and Ranging’ (Lidar) will help NEVA improve its behavior “self-training”.
The car of the Spanish Astara team, which sponsors the Nebrija University, managed to complete the Dakar. Nebrija has helped design the bodywork and select the eco-fuel, both actions with a view to achieving a zero carbon footprint. The team led by Óscar Fuertes and Diego Vallejo, Spanish Rally Champions, managed to cross the finish line.
The assembly and disassembly of the racing car, the detailed knowledge of the mechanics used and the research on aerodynamics, hybridization and synthetic fuel have been sources of learning for the students and the best possible solution to compete in the Dakar at the highest level and sustainable way.
The 2WD buggy of the T1.3 category is powered by eco-fuel and is the lightest vehicle in its category, weighing only 1,621 dry kilos, thanks to its construction with lightweight materials and its mechanical simplicity, which makes it invest less energy to move . Added to this is the fact that ecofuel is the energy storage system with the highest energy density of all those used in the Dakar: 10,752 kWh per litre. It is the way to carry energy that occupies less size and weight.