Despite only competing at Formula Student for the first time in 2018, the team from Norway’s University of Adger showed that they were no strangers to engineering, picking up the coveted Best Newcomer award.
Known affectionately as Team Waffle Racing for their well-earned reputation for being generous with snacks in their garage, Align Racing UiA have learned the lessons from 2018 and hope to show their prowess this year with their new entry, AR-19 Solan.
Congratulations on winning FS2018 Best Newcomer, how did it feel?
Andreas Wæhle, Project Manager: It was quite surreal at the Awards Ceremony and being able to mount the stage after many of the teams we look up to was amazing. At the same time, we were exhausted after a successful weekend and hearing our team name being announced was a very good feeling. Bringing home the award also helped us to show university staff, sponsors and peers that we did not only have a running car, but also a great team.
However, our thoughts were also with the other first year teams that participated at the competition, as we know how much effort is needed to be able to compete.
What do you think helped you win the award?
Andreas: Willem Toet and Neill Anderson were a huge inspiration for our first-year team and still are. Their articles and posts on how to design an FSAE car is very helpful, but their focus on the team is what’s cemented into our minds.
It is not individual students coming together just to work on what they are interested in, but the focus on having a common goal creates a culture that every member, no matter what they are doing in the team, are as important to our goals as the next member. This also creates a great environment for learning and personal development. This is what helped us last year and continues this year. We stand on the finish line as a team, we work on solving problems as a team and if something breaks, we look for better solutions as a team.
From Best Newcomers at FS2018, what other awards are you looking to win this year?
This year is not about winning awards: our goal this year is to show that we have improved, and we hope to show that in numerous ways. Last year we only had one more corner to finish in the endurance event before Ludvig broke down. We wanted to storm the track and push him over the finish line, but instead we built Solan that will finish that last corner in honour of his brother.
As a first-year team we didn’t quite know what to expect from the static presentations (Business, Cost and Design). This year we have some more experience, which has made it possible for us to be better prepared and therefore we want to present better static presentations that will help a lot with our overall score.
There is however one award that we would like to take home this year. With increased efforts put towards our Racecar Engineering page we hope to bring the marketing award home for FS2019. With all that said it would be nice to take home some other awards as well, but we see the need to be humble and recognize that the other teams that are competing for awards are very good.
As a side note, our FA demanded (as a joke) that we should be in the top 10 at the competition – he is very optimistic and thought we would win the whole thing last year. We hope to make his wish come true soon, after all it is always important to dream!
What would you say to any teams who are competing for the first time in 2019?
Listen to advice from articles, forums and other teams. As it is very difficult to build a fully functioning car for the first test drive, we recommend that you test your car and break it! Build it up again and break it again. It is easier to improve your car at your own test track and garage rather than in between scrutineering and your pit.
At the event, go and talk to other teams (stop by us for a waffle), listen to the scrutineers and be kind to them; they are responsible for whether your car will run at the event or not.
But most importantly, you managed to build an organization and a car as a team, so work as a team at Silverstone. Every up and down is a team effort and as a first-year team you can expect a lot of both. The weekend passes too fast and being able to experience such an event with your team-mates and friends is very special. Enjoy it!
Tell us about your new car this year; what can we expect?
Jørgen Nilsen, Technical Leader: AR-19 Solan is an improvement compared to his older brother Ludvig, with features such as launch control, electronic throttle and electronic F1 gearing. When designing AR-19 Solan, a series of key requirements was developed, mostly as a result of experiences gathered through building, testing and competing with AR-18 Ludvig. The result was a completely different looking car, not too big and bulky but smaller, faster and more efficient. The technical improvements of the car are overall lower weight (68 kg saved), smaller 16’’ wheels, a high torque turbocharged KTM 690 engine and many electronic features. You can expect the car to be a strong competitor in both the dynamic and static events, as well as a car that embodies the student’s problem solving, engineering and team working skills.
What objectives do you have for this year?
We want to finish all the dynamic events and achieve a higher score in the cost, design and BLC presentations.
What advice would you give everyone competing this year?
A car that is a bit heavy and bulky but can get through scrutineering and compete at the dynamic events, surpasses a car that is super lightweight and fancy, but fails because of incompliance. KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid).
Finally, a few quick questions:
- As we get closer to returning to Silverstone, what are you most looking forward to?
- What would you say for anyone thinking of getting involved in the competition?
- Finally, what’s your favourite waffle topping and why?
Andreas: For these questions we though it would be fun to introduce you to a few of our members that you might have seen in some of our photos and that you will see much more of for the next season as they will among the team heads in 2020.
Therese Waldal - Human Resource Manager (2019-2020)
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The competition, the people, the atmosphere, and the possibility to win the competition.
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Join! You meet new friends and gain knowledge beyond what you are studying. In addition to do something fun while studying.
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Jam and sour cream because that is what I grew up with and taste amazing. The combination of sweet, creamy and sour makes the waffles taste best for me.
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Henrik Brådland - Launch Control - Project leader (2019-2020)
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As this is my first year at Silverstone, I really look forward to meeting all the other teams and to see how well our new car Solan performs.
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It's the best way to get the most out of your time while studying. You get to take part in something greater as well as getting plenty of experience, making you attractive to companies. Don't even consider anything else, just join!
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My favourite waffle topping, that's a hard one, but it must be the Norwegian brown cheese.
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Martin Mæland - Bodywork Engineer -> Bodywork Manager
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The thing I’m mostly looking forward to is to see our car as it goes through the static and dynamic events, but it will of course be exciting to see what the other teams has done and be inspired to build a even better car next year.
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Join no matter what knowledge you have, or lack thereof. The important thing is that you want to learn. FS is an incredible platform to get work experience and to put theory in practice. You’ll also get lots of new friends and you’ll start to build a powerful network.
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Sugar and brown cheese
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