Who doesn’t remember that relative or two staying up at night, or waking before dawn, to stream that very important match starring their favourite Formula 1 driver?
Malta’s love for racing cars is as passionate as it gets. It’s probably something that very few in the world could match, and which transcends generations.
Which is why the first thing that struck the Newspoint team when they visited the garage from which UM Racing operates, is the detailed sketch of a racing car done by a young fan handed to the team during the Grand Prix event in Mdina earlier on this year. It was proudly hanging on their wall, next to previously used front ends, brand new parts that have yet to be incorporated in new projects, a couple of flags from events they have attended, and the random tools lying here and there.
Although it was Nicholas that sat down with the Newspoint team for a brief chat, the UM Racing Team, who are collectively responsible for designing and building Malta’s first electric racing car, consists of about 25 university students. While most have an engineering background, some hail from the finance world, or from the sciences. It’s their passion for cars that unites them in their motivation to build this new car.
Despite it still being in its initial building phase, the team intend to get it up and running by mid-2024, and they’ll even use it to compete with it in Italy next year.
“We will be competing against Italian, British, and German universities, among others. You can imagine how reputable these teams are, and how much funding they have. But in our last competition, we came in third, so I’m pretty satisfied with what we have to offer”, Nicholas told Newspoint.
Following a phase of research and design, comes a thorough check that safety, security and design rules are being adhered to, and then the building, or the welding of the frame, before the assembling of the parts and “putting it all together like a jigsaw puzzle”.
The UM Racing Team has already competed internationally seven times with four different racing cars, with the most recent time being in Silverstone, UK in 2023.
What’s different this time is that instead of a petrol engine, they brought a set of batteries which are being connected together to power an electric motor.
The decision to go green, or in ‘Formula E’ direction, is one that follows trends across the world. The technology is moving on, and so is the UM Racing Team.
“It’s a new challenge for us, considering that we’ve always built around combustion engines. But we are moving forward; some parts have already arrived, most of the welding is done, and we’re all excited to see the finished thing.”
To be able to do that, however, more funding is needed. Nicholas renews the UM Racing Team’s appeal for sponsors.
“Making sure the different parts are up to standard costs us money. All of us work on volunteer basis, and we do this out of passion, however, the electric components are the ones that need financial backing more than anything”, said Nicholas, upon thanking all the sponsors that have contributed so far.
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