10 years after its founding, the club picks up speed
Business. Design. Engineering. Marketing. UGA Motorsports has something for everyone.
A cross-disciplinary program, UGA Motorsports invites students from across majors to build and operate its activities. In the past ten years, over 1,000 students participated in the program, engaging in active learning and gaining the professional experience to succeed.
Building a firm foundation
UGA Motorsports was founded in 2014 under the UGA College of Engineering with the help of Professor John Mativo. In the club’s preliminary years, the team hit the ground running to organize its structure, recruit, network, and fundraise. By 2018, the society had grown to around 100 students.
In 2018, UGA’s first Formula SAE IC vehicle was designed, built, and tested in preparation for the Formula SAE annual competition in Lincoln, Nebraska in June 2019. Five students traveled with Mativo and College of Engineering Dean Donald Leo to participate in the competition’s static events.
Later that fall, the organization’s Champcar division finished their conversion of a donated Ford Mustang stock car into a race car that competed at the Atlanta Motorsports Park in Dawsonville, Georgia. The 14-hour-long race served as a learning experience in endurance.
Hitting the accelerator
Since their competition debuts, Formula SAE IC and Champcar have made big moves.
The Formula SAE IC has made remarkable progress. In 2023, the team ranked 105th out of 120 university racing teams. By 2024, it had climbed to 62nd, and in 2025, it advanced further to 38th—an impressive gain of 67 positions in just two years. This is especially notable considering the teams immense undertaking of completely redesigning their car for 2025, something even the best teams competing at Michigan never attempt.
The UGA Champcar in action.
The Champcar made strides as well. With their 2003 BMW 330i, the team completed over 200 laps out of 300 laps at the Michelin Road Atlanta Racetrack in Braselton, Georgia in 2024, a notable improvement over their previous completion of 66 laps at the same racetrack in 2023. In March 2025, the team emerged the winner in their group of 16 cars, placing 3rd overall and 1st in their class in the event at the NCM Motorsports Park in Kentucky.
UGA has made a name for itself in the racing space. Formula SAE is now recognized as an experiential learning platform where students can earn university credit. UGA Motorsports has prompted the development of new courses, such as Introduction to Vehicle Dynamics.
Gearing up for the future
The 2025 Formula car.
Looking ahead, UGA Motorsports has big dreams.
The team continues to grow, recruiting new talent and improving year over year. The automotive-related curriculum continues to expand, with more courses in the works. And in the near future, UGA Motorsports welcomes a new division: Formula SAE EV (Electric Vehicle), to be completed in 2026.
“UGA Motorsports wishes to thank all that have contributed to its success through funding, in kind, and well wishes,” said Mativo. “The platform has and continues to provide learning space for students to convert their learned concepts into real life products, in this case, racing cars. Students have worked tirelessly and meticulously to make UGA Motorsports what it is.”
