UST Global and Virgin Racing Charge Head First Into the 2010 Formula One Season

It’s a season of high-octane action, and two next-generation challengers have just rolled onto the Formula One track for the first time. California-based IT services major UST Global and the new, cutting-edge Virgin Racing have commenced a collaborative IT services partnership for the 2010 Formula One season. Over the next three years, UST Global will provide technology services to support and enhance Virgin Racing’s performance on the track. UST’s initial contribution to the team effort is a real-time Race Management System, built from the ground up for the VR-01. The new system will be officially launched at Silverstone, UK.

UST Global and Virgin Racing Charge Head First Into the 2010 Formula One Season

In addition to the Race Management System, there are two other projects planned for 2010. UST’s work for all three programs is detailed below:

Race Management System
In its primary assignment, UST Global has built an integrated control panel display that assimilates wireless data from the carson the track , GPS feeds, trackside camera feeds, external weather information, and FIA Atlas Server data feeds. The assimilated, technical analysis of the race is delivered in real time to the trackside support team. This optimized information delivery allows the team engineers to monitor vital data points, identify calibration of car parts and raise alerts in case of critical faults.

VR-01 Simulator Integration
UST Global will integrate set-up data for the VR-01 racing car with the Wirth Research simulator, ensuring a constant, two-way correlation between the two. The synergy between the simulator and the actual car will offer an efficient test-point for technical experimentation. Discrepancies between actual race conditions and the simulated environment are due to weather, wind conditions, and physical variables like ride height, tire, suspension, gearbox, and engine settings. Assembling and integrating the actual data with the simulator settings will facilitate near-perfect replication.

Automotive Parts Life Management Database
The components of a high-performance F1 race car are significantly different from those of an average commercial automobile in terms of both quantity and quality. The life expectancy of these components is affected by the high amount of wear and tear incurred in the lifecycle of the race car and the erratic nature of the events in every run. UST Global is creating a database application to track the details of each component of the VR-01, including the changes and replacements it undergoes throughout its lifecycle. The application will generate automatic notifications to the race team engineers as a component nears the end of its predicted lifecycle.

The Virgin brand is all about quality, customer service, innovation, value, challenging convention, and having fun. UST Global completely aligns with these traits and also stands for solid relationships, ground-breaking perfection and a commitment to clients beyond the contract.

Jim Wright, Marketing Director for Virgin, stated, “The best Formula One partnerships are based upon commercial and technical commitments and in UST Global, Virgin Racing has found an ideal partner who shares the same values, vision, our exacting demand for accuracy, innovation and time lines, and who has a similar work ethic. Already, the relationship between the two organisations is showing positive signs and the integration between the UST Global and VirginRacing project teams has been nothing short of remarkable. As a partnership, the Virgin Racing /UST Global alliance has the hallmarks of everything that is necessary to compete at the highest level and as such the partnership has a strong future.”

Joe Nalkara, President of UST Global, said, “The Virgin Formula One Team, determined to challenge the established teams, has broken with traditional convention and designed its cars on CFD, entirely using technology rather than expensive wind tunnels. UST continues to help its clients gain competitive advantages through technology and process innovation, making us the ideal partner for VirginRacing in Formula One.”