Please introduce your university and team!
Our team comprises of 18 members from various backgrounds and experiences. The majority of the team is of course dominated by Mechanical Engineering students. Team is divided into 6 major categories namely Powertrain, Steering & Suspension, Electrical, Vehicle Integration, Aerodynamics & Chassis Design and Marketing. The team’s structure is project based and tasks are accomplished by bringing in multi-disciplinary teams to overcome the problems from each side.
Our efforts started in August 2015 which materialised into our first year car in 2016. With that car, we participated for the first time in a Formula Student event at Formula SAE Australasia in 2016 and were the first ever team from Pakistan to do so. We also have the proud honour of being the first ever team from Pakistan to clear the technical inspections and all the static events in our very first year of participation.
For 2018, we are building an open cockpit, open wheel IC car. The car will be powered by a single-cylinder Polaris Engine, custom tuned with the new restrictor design. We’re still considering the pros and cons of adding wings to this year’s car and the final design shall be a good surprise for all to see.
What are your objectives for this year’s competition?
Honestly, we’re aiming for the top-tier competition instead of showing an ‘average’ participation this year. It’s an ambitious aim but we’ve spent time in working around with our shortcomings to a great extent and really hope to compete with the pros of the competition this year. The testing regime we’ve put in place before we come to UK this year on is very rigorous and we’re sure we’d show more than a ‘will’ in this year’s competition.
Best in our region? That would be us and we’ll prove it in this year’s competition.
How close are you to finishing your car?
We’re about to enter the testing phase so yeah, we’re nearly finished. Every single component that has been put in this year’s car has been physically tested and revalidated by structural simulation in most cases. It’s hard to obtain certified materials specification sheets at the time of purchase, therefore physical validity was pretty much essential in our case. It’s a good thing that everything met the required specifications and the testing results were conclusive.
New components for this year include a vehicle data acquisition system, a custom seat and a new chassis design too. We’re not using any specific exotic materials in this year’s car since the aim is to bring a track ready vehicle in this year’s competition which means we’re going with a simplicity of design.
How does your team organise your workload?
The primary drive behind achieving our milestones are usually governed by the competition deadlines. Our project timelines are aligned with the submissions and requirements of the competition based on which each individual is assigned specific tasks to achieve a common goal.
What is new and exciting for your team in 2018?
We have a lot of newcomers and are open to all opportunities to recruit fresh team members and bring in their innovative ideas to the design board. Having understood the true spirit of the competition we encourage memberships from all years to put in action a diversified team that can help us compete in this prestigious students competition. We’ve shed off a lot of car’s weight and building in a lot of customization as compared to our previous car. We’re still keeping most aspects of the car a surprise until we finally unveil the car in April.
The following organisations have already signed up as our partners for this year’s competition:
We’re still looking at establishing more partnerships (please get in touch with us!) and we would like to thank our partners for their ongoing support.
What have been your biggest challenges this year and how have you overcome these?
In the initial stages we faced quite a few issues in Vehicle Integration. However, going back to the drawing board and coming up with a new and fresh design intents came in real handy.
What made you join Formula Student?
Honestly, we still think it’s a mistake but a mistake worth repeating all over again.
What’s your proudest moment at Formula Student?
When we became the reason for the National Flag of Pakistan was raised on international soil and when we set up a personal record of clearing all static tests in our first year of participation.
What advice would you give for fellow teams?
Achieving coordinated and timed team goals will be the key to success. Projects are difficult but always remember what you’re here for.
What is unique about DSU Burraq as a team from Pakistan?
No matter what the constraints, we will get the job done.
What will DSU Burraq bring to FSUK?
Rising up to our national anthem and evening workshop tea meetings. All teams are welcome to join us at our campsite. Our team spirit is “believe to be believed.”
How can we keep up to date with you?
Our main website is www.dsuburraq.org and connect with us on Facebook.
(Photos have been taken from the team's Facebook page).
We look forward to welcoming DSU Bur'raq to Formula Student UK in July and wish them all the best for the competition. In the meantime, read on to find out how they compare to Pakistan's other teams
Formula Electric Racing and
Thunderbird Formula Team on this website!
Want to get your team featured by Formula Student in the run up to Silverstone?
Get in touch with Chris Smout to get the conversation going!