Family formula
Cara Mackay and Miguel Cuni Municio are not engineers of the future. They are engineers of today. As members of the UGRacing team, they are involved in the design and construction of a race car which is presented at Silverstone for one of Europe’s most competitive student engineering contests, Formula Student. It takes an awful lot of work but team spirit is central to their success.
Why is being a part of UGRacing important to you?
Cara: You get to learn things before you’ve done it in class. You’re pushing yourself to learn something that you know you’re going to use. Miguel: You spend a lot of time with other team members working on the car and different things. Sometimes you work 10 hours in a row. You do it because it’s something that you enjoy. When you see the finished product, it’s incredibly rewarding.
What’s the team spirit like?
Miguel: The more time you spend with UGRacing, the more you realise it’s not just a thing to do, it’s more like a family. When we work in the garage we talk about lots of things. You get to know each other as if you were old friends. Cara: We tend to be social and spend a lot of time together. We held a Burns supper and a Christmas dinner. We’re quite a tight bunch.
Tell us about Silverstone.
Cara: After your year of work, that’s your reward. You get to see the car actually running on the track. We camp next to the circuit in big tipis and a marquee. We cook and eat together, and we go around all of the events together. It’s a bonding experience.
If a student asked why they should join UGRacing, what would you say?
Cara: We build a car!
- UGRacing was founded in 2005. Cara and Miguel are both engineering students, but the team is made up of around 45 members from a variety of disciplines. Formula Student 2018 takes place from 11 to 15 July, and plans for 2019’s car are already under way.
Share your stories
We’d love to hear about the clubs, societies and groups you joined as a student here. Tell us about the people you met, the things you did and the memories you have. We’re hoping that if enough of you respond, we could share your experiences in a future Avenue feature.
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