Excitement for Virtual AutoX competition at Formula Student Alpe Adria 2026
This year, IPG Automotive was once again part of Formula Student Alpe Adria with the Virtual AutoX competition, which offered participants a unique opportunity to demonstrate their driving skills in a highly realistic simulation environment.
From August 17, our team began setting up the driving simulators on site. After the final technical preparations and functionality tests, everything was ready for five exciting days packed with competition, a passion for motorsports and in-depth discussions with students from all over Europe.
The qualifying rounds of the Virtual AutoX competition took place from Tuesday through Friday, divided into the Electric Vehicle (EV) and Combustion Vehicle (CV) categories. Each team was able to book a 30-minute time slot during which two drivers completed five laps each. Every hundredth of a second counted, as only the fastest competitors secured a spot in the decisive final rounds.
A total of 89 drivers took part in the Virtual AutoX competition, and our simulators were very popular throughout the week. For many participants, this was the perfect opportunity to test their skills under realistic conditions and compete directly against other teams.
The highlight of the event took place on Saturday. In the semifinals and finals, the top drivers from the qualifying rounds competed directly against each other in a Sim2Sim environment. The thrilling head-to-head battles made for exciting races and thrilled both the participants and the large crowd of spectators. In particular the final races held on the main stage made the Virtual AutoX competition a major attraction.
In the CV category, Adam Pinczes from team BME came first. After a strong semifinal against Lucas from UFV Racing, he won the final against Jacopo Lunadei from UniBeer Motorsport and secured the overall victory.
In the EV category, Jan Koerbs from the UPBracing team successfully secured his place against the competition. After defeating Kristian Pikovsky from TU Brno Racing in the semifinals, he went on to win the final against Nico Schober from TUG Racing and celebrated his first-place finish.
With a total of more than 2000 participants, Formula Student Alpe Adria once again provided an excellent platform to connect with the next generation of engineers and motorsports enthusiasts. Many visitors took the opportunity to learn about IPG Automotive’s solutions designed to develop, validate and optimize race cars and to try out our simulators for themselves. The event thus not only offered an exciting competition, but also many valuable discussions about the future of mobility and vehicle development.
A special thanks goes out to all our colleagues who contributed to the success of the event with great dedication. Whether it was during planning and preparation, setting up the simulators, assisting participants on site or running the races: It was the collaboration of many people that made the successful implementation of the Virtual AutoX competition possible. Especially the on-site efforts and the strong support provided ahead of the competition played a key role in ensuring that the event ran smoothly and was a success for everyone involved.
We would also like to thank our partners TRE and SensoDrive for their excellent collaboration, professional support and shared commitment before and throughout the entire event. The successful Virtual AutoX competition once again demonstrates just how valuable strong partnerships are.
We congratulate all participants on their achievements and are already looking forward to the next edition of Formula Student Alpe Adria.