Together with Boris Škrabo and the FESB Racing Team, the 21-year-old student is preparing a car for the competition from August 18 to 23 at the Bugatti Rimac track in Mičevec.
While most students are on summer vacation, 21-year-old Luka Zubčić from Pridrage in Zadar County spends his days among cables and electronic installations. A second-year student of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture in Split (FESB), he is a member of the FESB Racing Team, which is preparing for the largest edition yet of the international competition Formula Student Alpe Adria (FSAA).
The competition, which will take place from August 18 to 23, 2026, at the Bugatti Rimac track in Mičevec near Velika Gorica, will gather a record 90 teams from 24 European and world countries.
Luka admits that auto-moto sports were not always his passion. "Honestly, it's a love that grew. Before I joined Racing, I wasn't a big fan of auto-moto sports. Only when I got into the core of the entire project did I realize how interesting this sport actually is and how much knowledge goes into every single car," Luka told 023.hr.
His arrival at FESB and the Racing team was no accident. He jokingly admits his older sister is mostly to thank for that. "Even before I enrolled in college, she kept telling me about FESB Racing. You could say she's the biggest 'culprit' for me enrolling at FESB and becoming part of the team."
After nine months with the team, he already plays an important role in car development. On this year's vehicle, he worked on making and connecting the battery pack wiring and the entire car's electrical installations. In the new development cycle, he will be tasked with designing the complete electrical network of the car in a 2D and 3D CAD environment.
"Every cable must be in the right place, properly dimensioned and reliable, because it's these details that often determine whether the car will finish a race without any problems. It's a job that requires a lot of precision, but that's exactly why it's so interesting," Zubčić points out.
Another key member of the Split team is 23-year-old Boris Škrabo, who comes from the village of Doli in Dubrovnik-Neretva County. A student of electrical engineering at FESB and leader of the Powertrain subteam for the third year, he describes for Dubrovnik Insider how his love for the automotive industry grew from an early passion for engines and racing.
"My love for the automotive industry developed from a love for cars and motorcycles. I've always been interested in engines, powertrains, mechanics and working on vehicles. When I was younger, I raced karts and scooters, and I spent a lot of time following Formula 1, MotoGP, rally and other motorsport events," Škrabo said.
His decision to join the team proved crucial. "Today, three years later, I can say it was one of the best decisions during my studies. Working on the car gave me the opportunity to apply the knowledge from my studies to real situations and learn what developing a complex engineering project looks like."
The subteam he leads is responsible for the electric powertrain system of the car, as well as a motorcycle for the MotoStudent competition: from developing battery packs, selecting electric motors and inverters, to cooling systems. Their success was confirmed at the recent Formula Student Czech competition, where they passed mechanical inspections.
"We passed the mechanical part of the powertrain inspection, as well as the mechanical part of the battery pack inspection, which is confirmation of the quality of work of the entire team. There are still a few details to refine, mainly related to wiring and electronic boards, but we believe our colleagues from the electronic subteam will sort them out quickly," he added for Dubrovnik Insider.
For Luka Zubčić, competing in Croatia holds special significance. "It's a great honor to be part of this team. We've shown that even a smaller team with limited finances can compete equally against much larger teams with significantly bigger budgets. I'm also proud that Croatia has its own Formula Student competition that grows year by year and is becoming ever better quality," he stated.
Boris Škrabo adds: "Being part of FESB Racing is a great honor and a unique opportunity for professional and personal development. Through this project, I have gained knowledge that is hard to obtain solely through classes, and I've also learned how important responsibility, teamwork and good organization are."
Formula Student Alpe Adria is regarded as one of the most important student engineering competitions in Europe. In addition to development and racing, teams must also undergo business presentations, cost analysis and technical evaluations. The visitor program will take place from August 20 to 23 and will include dynamic disciplines on the track, a premiere of autonomous cars, and the Alumni Cup.
"FSAA gives us the chance to see where we stand compared to the best teams, meet other young engineers, exchange experiences and find new solutions for the challenges we all face. Everything I've learned through FESB Racing will be incredibly valuable in my future engineering career," Škrabo concluded for Dubrovnik Insider.
Tickets for the event are available on the Entrio platform.
