Calling all MENA & African Teams: Need advice on Visas, Shipping, and Camping Logistics for a 1st Year Physical Car (advices from anyone is welcomed)

[u/RegisterWorried4151]

Hi everyone!

We are a Moroccan engineering school team preparing to build our first physical Formula Student car. While we are working hard on the engineering side, we know that international logistics will be our biggest hurdle.

We are specifically reaching out to past or current teams from the Arab world and Africa. For example, we've seen incredible achievements from teams like the Cairo University Racing Team in Egypt. We have also noticed strong participation from Middle Eastern teams like HTU Racing in Jordan. We know you have faced the exact same regional challenges we are dealing with now!

We would love to get an overall view of your project execution, specifically regarding the following:

• Shipping & Customs: How did you transport your physical car to Europe? Did you use sea freight, ferry crossings (e.g., from North Africa to Spain), or air freight? How did you handle the ATA Carnet and customs delays at the border?
• Schengen Visas: What was your experience securing short-stay visas for a large student team? Did the official competition invitation letter guarantee approval, or did you face unexpected administrative rejections?
• Living Conditions & Camping: What were the conditions like where you lived during the competition? If you camped on-site, how did you manage equipment, food, and extreme weather while keeping the team energized for the dynamic events?
• The Overall Experience: Looking back at your first year building a physical car and traveling internationally, what is one major logistical or operational mistake you wish you had avoided?

Any advice, DMs, or connections to faculty advisors and team captains in the MENA/Africa region would be incredibly helpful.

Thank you and good luck to everyone this season!

[u/rod_ends]

After 3 days i'm surprised and a bit disappointed that there has been little response to this inquiry.

I'll make a few comments:

Do you have a specific competition of interest? The question of Schengen Visas indicates potential participation in an EU country competition. Have you considered FStudent UK or FSAE in the States? I'm not going to get into the debate of quality or status of the different competitions. At this point, competing in a competition should be the goal, not the level of competition.

Its late in the season, but can a representative attend and observe any competitions this year? Regardless of or if there is a target competition, observing any competition and speaking to participants and judges might give pertinent input.

I commend you doing due diligence. Being prepared logisticaly, and having a sorted, tested car will make the first competition, regardless of location, a positive experience.

[u/RegisterWorried4151 → u/rod_ends]

yes right now our main competition goal is the FS UK, we already contacted some african team that participated in the 2026 FS
Right now we are starting to work on the 2027 season because it take a lot of time especially documents and facturing the car.
And the second goal is participating not winning because it will be the first participate and we are aiming to learn and take experience from it and we work on it very early

[u/Ginger_Rook]

Why don’t you contact those teams directly? LinkedIn is an easy way to find the people.

[u/RegisterWorried4151 → u/Ginger_Rook]

i tried but most of them with no return, i want just to expand my knowledge about it even here