Kindly remind us of your university and team!
Gurleen Khaira (GK): We are UGRacing, the University of Glasgow’s Formula Student team! We have been competing at FSUK since 2013 and have great memories of previous competitions, including standing on the podium for our Business Plan Presentation (twice!) and having finished in the Top 10 overall.
The last time we properly caught up with UGRacing was in 2018; what’s been happening since then?
GK: Since 2018, the team has grown to include one hundred and thirty team members, mainly driven by expansion into FS-AI and EV. We decided last May that 2020 would not be a competition year for UGRacing, which gave us a head start on designing our electric and driverless vehicle concepts. These concepts will be scrutinised by judges at FSUK 2021, before being brought forward to manufacture and testing in late 2021 and into 2022. The overall aim is to be racing on track with an electric vehicle in July 2022.
How has COVID been affecting the team and how have you been overcoming any related issues?
GK: We’ve all become much more familiar with Zoom; we now have a 24/7 on-going Zoom meeting acting as our “virtual office space”, where you'll usually find one of our management team fielding questions from team members or just generally chatting for a bit of company. It doesn’t fully replace our much-loved on-campus office space (there’s been far fewer cups of tea drank) but it's great to have that connection between team members.
Working towards our long-term goals certainly has its challenges; our approach has been to break up the project into a series of short-term targets. We conduct online monthly design reviews with the engineers for every electric vehicle sub-project, allowing engineering management an opportunity to provide feedback on designs. One of the many great things about UGRacing is the mix of age and ability; within a single sub-team, you might have a fourth year Mathematics undergraduate working alongside a first year Engineering student.
We noticed the rebrand this year; what else can we expect from UGRacing in 2021?
GK: For 2021 our ambition is to finish within the Top 3 British teams and we will certainly be looking to take back our crown of fastest Scottish Formula Student team!
We were delighted to see that UGRacing are joining the FS-AI competition for the first time; tell us more about this!
GK: With our entry in the FS-AI competition, we wanted to open UGRacing up to software engineers, computing scientists and mathematicians, whilst giving students the opportunity to develop experience in the field of autonomous driving. As this is our first entry, we are aiming to compete in the DDT category. Our focus has been on the development of our own autonomous driving software, which includes cone recognition, a mapping algorithm and a racing line computation logic. Developing such a software from scratch has been a great learning experience for all of us; we have learned not only about the technical side of autonomous racing, but also about working in a team. We can’t wait for the competition to see how the product of our work will perform when on track against other teams from across the globe.
One of my memorable moments at FS2019 was the heartbreak of the team crashing out in the second half of the Endurance; what’s been your best moment/s so far?
GK: Since our 2019 heartbreak, we’ve had several successes – it would be hard to pick just one! Seeing our electric vehicle concept progress from a blank page to a fully-fledged design in the space of seven months has been a particular highlight, especially for our senior engineers. We also manufactured our first concept aerodynamics package to validate our method of manufacture, and it was an incredible feeling seeing the car with wings on for the first time.
What made you and/or some of your team members join Formula Student?
GK: As with many Formula Student teams, the majority of our team members have a passion for Formula 1. Aside from motorsport, all our team members are driven by the concept of working on a large-scale project, with real-world results on display at competition. The competitive element is definitely something that enticed many people to join, and it’s the thought of standing on the FSUK podium that keeps our one hundred and thirty-strong team motivated.
What would you say to anyone just starting FS for the first time this year?
GK: No matter your background or interests, you’ll find your interpersonal and communication skills will develop as you work as a part of an inter-disciplinary team; you won’t find a better opportunity to take part in a real-world project at a student level, and who knows, you might even make lifelong friends along the way!
What do you think UGRacing in particular bring to the competition?
GK: UGRacing is always pushing boundaries, which is why we are entering into three competition categories for the first time this year. Our ambitious work ethic combined with our competitive spirit means we bring stiff competition to every Formula Student competition.
Who or what inspires you and the team?
GK: Certainly the success our alumni have found once leaving the team is inspiring. Previous members of UGRacing can now be found working at Ferrari, Williams F1 and Jaguar Land Rover. We have a great alumni network and try to keep in touch whenever we can. There are also some who would say UGRacing has an “underdog” mentality and enjoys taking the competition by surprise, but we couldn't possibly admit to that!
Anyone you would like to thank?
GK: Our sponsors have been fantastic, and very understanding of the situation we all find ourselves in. The team has been extremely fortunate with the support we’ve received throughout this challenging year, from sponsors, friends and family, so a huge thank you goes out to everyone who continues to support the team with your generosity and encouragement!
All in all, while the UGRacing experience may be different to previous years, at its heart remains the passion that first drew us together and the firm belief that we’ll be standing on the podium at FSUK 2021.
Thanks so much to Gurleen for taking the time to share their updates and best of luck to the team on stepping up by entering three vehicles in the upcoming competition.
In the meantime, be sure to follow UGRacing on their website as well as on their social media channels to catch up on their build in the run up to the competition this summer.
Website: UGRacing
Twitter: UGRacing
Facebook: UGRacing
Instagram: UGRacing
Youtube: UGRacing