“We have to remember these days. There is no guarantee they will last forever. Enjoy them as long as they last.” – Sebastian Vettel
A night like this is surely a night to remember. Hard work, adaptability, teamwork. These are just a few of the qualities that the team used when they made this into another memorable event on our journey.
In case you missed it, UPB Drive wanted to test DR-03, our lovely single-seater that made us proud last season, one more time before putting it to rest and the Titi Aur Academy was kind enough to lend us their track for one night of experimentation, research, work and inevitable fun.
A bumpy ride...
Even though everything seemed to be smooth and perfect on social media, it’s time to tell you what really happened at Track Night!
The team struggled even before the main event as a lot of final attachments and procedures needed to be solved the night before Track Night. Professionalism does not imply excuses, so they handled all of the difficulties with great finesse as expected.
However, problems kept appearing and DR-03 hadn’t even made it to the track yet. A lot of unexpected traffic jams occurred on the way, but this was not even amongst our major concerns. The back wing seemed to be unstable during the transportation and was on the verge of detaching completely, the shifter decided to be stubborn, being always stuck in second gear. and from there everything started to go downhill... Wonderful, isn’t it? And as if this wasn’t enough, the cold and the dark of the late November evening really set us for failure.
But in this chaotic scenery, we could still see the light of hope. The team never stopped working and remained calm and warm, especially thanks to the honorable gesture that one of our sponsors, Siemens Energy, made! They were kind enough to offer the whole team pizzas, the perfect way to empower us!
You never forget your first
As you may know, our team has grown in the last few months, and this was the perfect occasion for the new members to get a taste of what we do here. But Track Night was a first for everyone and we were so nervous about it!
It was also the first UPB Drive event where DR-03 was filmed from every possible angle, having a second car following it on the track and a drone getting some amazing aerial shots of the performance. It felt truly magical to see our single-seater zooming on the circuit like that.
And because the audience means so much to us, we just had to share this with them!
We did our first ever Instagram Live that captured some raw moments and sights of our beloved “spark in the dark” and the viewers were able to engage with the team and to express their curiosities in real time!
We did not forget about safety! Marshalls with fire extinguishers were assigned and positioned alongside the entire track at all times.
Closing thoughts
As still a neophyte in the Formula Student world, we are learning everyday how to be better and we are used to dealing with obstacles, but all the struggles make everything unique and definitely unforgettable. Our Team Captain, Anastasia, surely made this very clear, ending Track Night with a heartwarming speech that reminded us of what amazing qualities this team has shown to possess: passion, ambition, innovation, teamwork and communication.
Thank you to the Titi Aur Academy for having us on your incredible circuit!
Thank you, Siemens, for keeping us fed, warm and motivated!
Thank you to our team members for being amazing as always!
