[MVRC] Mantium Virtual Racecar Challenge 2026 (Grand Prix Cars)

[erdosg]

Therefore I'm simply developping the car using 25.06 Mflow, if results does not change massively between those version, I'm "happy" to have race1 this weekend, if there are significant changes in Aerobalance / cooling figures, of course I would be kean on delaying slightly race 1 so that we have a fix for the rad issue (could it be tested with "matteo body" on your side LVDH?)

Might be useful info, for me the version change from v2509 to v2605 AND update in OF version has caused +5% Cd, +3% CL (evenly distributed, so no change in aero balance) and +2% cooling for same input files. Of course it is only for a single geometry with "normal" MVRC template (with small change to get the porous media working).

[LVDH]

These are the currently registered teams:

• ECON TRACK RACING

• AeroStar Racing

• DKRacing

• E&J Racing

• Titane_GP

• Variante

• CAEdevice

• KostovRacing

• Pure Power Racing

I think a delay makes sense as MFlow seems to have some issues that I need to get sorted out first.
Currently I am thinking about a good format for teams to send in their cars so I can test with them. Something like a prologue to the new season.

[erdosg]

Currently I am thinking about a good format for teams to send in their cars so I can test with them. Something like a prologue to the new season.

I would be all-in for an official pre-season test (like what real world teams do in Barcelona).
My suggestion: no aero photos and no official results (times/aero values) posted publicly, maybe 1 single picture of the car published in all-black pre-season livery that is not too revealing. Obviously no points handed out, participation is voluntary, teams who submit their design get back their own official aero values and laptime.
Benefit for the championship: possibility to test and debug the systems with real up-to-date entries, in case of questions possibility of discussion with the teams, with (I assume significantly) lower effort than a race round.
Benefit for the teams: counter-check if their local simulations and environment really match the real one. As a first-timer, I really see the value in this.
Does that make sense?

[CAEdevice]

The prologue looks like a good idea to me too.

From my point of view, a prologue, perhaps with only a few points awarded, such as 3-2-1, followed by three full-points (25-18-15 ...) races on tracks with very different characteristics, super-fast, super-low-drag and efficiency-focused, would be a good compromise, provided we can improve the software, organisation and rules.

It would also reduce the stress on the staff, which I can imagine is considerable.

[LVDH]

...
maybe 1 single picture of the car published in all-black pre-season livery that is not too revealing
....

This is a really cool idea.

The prologue looks like a good idea to me too.

From my point of view, a prologue, perhaps with only a few points awarded, such as 3-2-1, followed by three full-points (25-18-15 ...) races on tracks with very different characteristics, super-fast, super-low-drag and efficiency-focused, would be a good compromise, provided we can improve the software, organisation and rules.

It would also reduce the stress on the staff, which I can imagine is considerable.

Somehow I do not really like the idea of only three races. The most work is always to get the season going. Conducting the races is pretty much OK.
But I think, this year, I might have to convince myself that it would be the realistic way forward.

[AeroStarKnight]

Three Races in a calender is quite less from my perspective. And I was about to make a suggestion for The Mexico City GP because the air pressure is lesser at 1km altitude above the sea level, so we have a downforce, airbox pressure and a cooling challenge all in one. I understand the issue for time availability and many other constraints, so I do respect the decision to reduce the faces to 3 by all means.


Also, when can we expect Prologue and 1st round ? And I assume since the first round is delayed, all the other rounds will be delayed as well. So maybe shall we expect an updated Calendar ?

[Dimitris]

Greetings to all! I thought I'd start with the first post of a car for this year! Good luck everybody

[Ft5fTL]

Somehow I do not really like the idea of only three races. The most work is always to get the season going. Conducting the races is pretty much OK.
But I think, this year, I might have to convince myself that it would be the realistic way forward.

My suggestion is instead of doing 5 races, we do 10 but submissions will be every 2 races. 5 simulations just like it is a 5 race championship. Detailed results could be revealed after 2 races.

[AlexTitaneGP]

Might be useful info, for me the version change from v2509 to v2605 AND update in OF version has caused +5% Cd, +3% CL (evenly distributed, so no change in aero balance) and +2% cooling for same input files. Of course it is only for a single geometry with "normal" MVRC template (with small change to get the porous media working).

thank you very much for the feedback !

may I ask how you made those porous media working ?

and maybe a stupid proposal, perhaps we could just race with the 2025 Mflow which uses the 2412 openfoam ? (25.06MFlow works perfectly fine in terms of report and rad porosity for me at least )

if we go for 26.05 Mflow with a fix, I really like your idea of a "prologue" session, with black liveries etc !

[Oualid]

Hi everyone,

We are potentially planning to participate in the MVRC 2026 Grand Prix Cars challenge. We had a look at the website but couldn't find the information we were looking for. Could anyone clarify:
- When is the registration deadline?
- What are the planned race dates?

Thanks in advance!

[AeroStarKnight]

Hi everyone,

We are potentially planning to participate in the MVRC 2026 Grand Prix Cars challenge. We had a look at the website but couldn't find the information we were looking for. Could anyone clarify:
- When is the registration deadline?
- What are the planned race dates?

Thanks in advance!

Hello there!
You can register anytime. And Car submission link is sent to your registered email ID a week ago before the Race date.... I would suggest you register as soon as possible because for the first time ever, we are getting a Prologue ( like a Pre-Season Test ). It's being discussed that the teams would be running in all black livery without revealing many details including times, performance, etc won't be made public, instead just sent to teams personally.

About the Planned Race dates, it seems that we are about to get an update because 1st round has been postponed and we are getting a Prologue before the first round as mentioned above.

So you can register your team ASAP.
Maybe you can also do a Car reveal on this forum.(it's not mandatory, but some teams sometimes reveal their car renders here. I am planning to create a render and submit one soon.)

Wishing you the Best!

[erdosg]

may I ask how you made those porous media working ?

I did following:
1. Built case with MVRC standard template
2. Navigated to system folder in case folder
3. Renamed fvOptions_off to fvOptions, overwriting the original fvOptions file
4. Deleted second function from fUpdate file

Code: Select all

fUpdate_fvOptions { type timeActivatedFileUpdate; libs (utilityFunctionObjects); writeControl timeStep; writeInterval 1; fileToUpdate "<system>/fvOptions"; timeVsFile ( (-1 "<system>/fvOptions_off" ) ); }

5. Started run

For me, the warning messages disappeared and the generation of porous region info message appeared again in the log, and the results seem realistic.
I guess this is a workaround, as for me the runtime fvOptions update did not work quite as intended. Already sent the 2 cases (with and without modification) to André, I'm sure he will figure out a more convenient solution

[LVDH]

For me, the warning messages disappeared and the generation of porous region info message appeared again in the log, and the results seem realistic.
I guess this is a workaround, as for me the runtime fvOptions update did not work quite as intended. Already sent the 2 cases (with and without modification) to André, I'm sure he will figure out a more convenient solution

Thank you for this. Yes, I have worked on your case in implemented a solution to MFlow. It just looks like that I am currently so time constrained that I will not be able to release it this week. So it will probably be next Monday or Tuesday.


Right now, I am not 100% sure about the calendar for 2026. I assume the minimum would be the second planned race will be the prologue and we have three races as planned for what was planned to be races 3-5. I still would rather like to have 5, so we might simply go into 2026. If it has to stay at three, there will be three very different tracks (high / low downforce and efficiency).

[AeroStarKnight]

Hello everyone !

I had a proposition to add some volume to the RV_RW_Pylon_V02 so that we can have the "exhaust wing" more rearwards. That can also maybe potentially solve the exhaust pressure problem. I am not really sure, so saying it with a big "MAYBE".

This is how the original one looks:
https://www.pasteboard.co/P_pp3GD_70kQ.png

And the volume addition I am proposing is coloured red:
https://www.pasteboard.co/hPnsu7Wekufq.png

Please let me know about your thoughts.
Thank You!

[Oualid]

Hi everyone,

We are potentially planning to participate in the MVRC 2026 Grand Prix Cars challenge. We had a look at the website but couldn't find the information we were looking for. Could anyone clarify:
- When is the registration deadline?
- What are the planned race dates?

Thanks in advance!

Hello there!
You can register anytime. And Car submission link is sent to your registered email ID a week ago before the Race date.... I would suggest you register as soon as possible because for the first time ever, we are getting a Prologue ( like a Pre-Season Test ). It's being discussed that the teams would be running in all black livery without revealing many details including times, performance, etc won't be made public, instead just sent to teams personally.

About the Planned Race dates, it seems that we are about to get an update because 1st round has been postponed and we are getting a Prologue before the first round as mentioned above.

So you can register your team ASAP.
Maybe you can also do a Car reveal on this forum.(it's not mandatory, but some teams sometimes reveal their car renders here. I am planning to create a render and submit one soon.)

Wishing you the Best!

Hi, thanks a lot for the clarification!

We’ll register the team as soon as possible. We are currently in the middle of our exam period , so we are planning to submit a first design around mid-July. Will it be ok?

Also, regarding the planned race dates, would it be possible to get some clarification on the expected calendar for the actual race rounds, excluding the prologue / pre-season tests?

Finally, we would like to clarify the development workflow. We usually use our own CAD software, 3DEXPERIENCE, and our own CFD tools, mainly Ansys Fluent. We also understand that the MVRC validation process uses specific tools, such as MantiumFLOW and MVRC Timing for lap-time evaluation. Will teams have access to these tools during development, or should we develop the car mainly using our own tools before submitting it for validation?

More generally, could you clarify what the expected development process is for the teams?

Thanks again for the information!
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