Oriol Vidal conference Oriol Vidal, engineer and competitor of the Dakar Rally, gives a conference at the University of Girona Girona, April 25, 2024

● Oriol Vidal participates in the first conference organized by the UdG Racing Division in collaboration with the College of Industrial Engineers of Catalonia.

● With these conferences, students are offered the opportunity to get to know the world of motorsports first hand.

This last 24th of April took place the conference "From passion to profession" carried out by Oriol Vidal, engineer and co-pilot at the Dakar Rally. This is the first conference organized by the UdG Racing Division in collaboration with the College of Industrial Engineers of Catalonia (EIC).

The conference brought together a sizable group of students of various degrees from the University of Girona who were eager to have the opportunity to listen to the experience and advice of someone who has lived so closely to the automotive competition. And who better to show them this world than Oriol Vidal, engineer specialized in motorcycling, pilot and, currently, co-pilot in motor racing competitions, specifically the Dakar Rally.

One of the points that Oriol Vidal highlighted several times throughout the presentation was the need to gain work experience as soon as possible. Through various personal anecdotes he encouraged students to “call as many doors as possible”, to move around, to attend competitions, even if only as spectators, and to participate in initiatives such as Formula Student (through the UdG Racing Division) that allow them to start setting foot in the world of motorsports.

Vidal also highlighted the fierce level of competitiveness that exists both inside and outside the track. Making it clear to students that the world of motorsports is a very demanding territory, which requires full dedication and effort in order to succeed. Taking as an example situations witnessed in professional teams, where two engineers are faced from one season to the other due to the suppression of one of their places.

The mention of e-sports by the engineer is intriguing, a new field that is growing and that can be useful when starting to understand the operation of a race car through a simulator.

At the end of the conference, the students showed a great interest in the professional's opinion about the various master's degrees offered in the sector. To which Vidal replied that, although a master's degree in motorsport is always useful to expand your contacts within this world, the most important thing is experience and, in many cases, self-learning.

Thanks to an agreement signed between the College of Industrial Engineers of Catalonia and the UdG Racing Division, it is intended to continue offering conferences of this style, with the presence of experienced professionals who can contribute their grain of sand to the education of future engineers.