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Warwick students rev up for motorsport clash Down Under

Formula Student team

Engineering students from the University of Warwick are gearing up for a big Australian motor racing event which will see them go head to head with their friends and rivals at Monash University.

The team of seven students, helped by WMG and School of Engineering staff, are taking their racing car WR3 to compete in the Formula SAE-A competition in Melbourne in December.

The run-up to the competition has seen the two sides – Warwick Racing and Monash Motorsport – share expertise as part of the Monash-Warwick Alliance, which has helped to fund the trip.

The students have also received funding from the University of Warwick’s Innovative Manufacturing and Materials Global Research Priority programme and Warwick Students’ Union.

Despite the spirit of friendly pre-race collaboration, the two sides will be pitted against each other in the three-day event starting on 12 December. Warwick Racing are the only British team to race at the competition, which attracts teams from the whole of Australasia.

Warwick Racing Project Manager, Hannah Sugrue, said: ‘We’re really excited about taking the car to Australia – it’s the first time it’s been to an international competition.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to get involved in motorsport and advanced engineering and also the chance to work with, and race against, the Monash team gives us a great international perspective.’

The Formula Student events, which take place all over the world, provide an opportunity for Warwick’s next generation of young, innovative engineers to put their skills to the test. Their car, Warwick Racing Three (WR3) is a single seat racing car, weighing around 200kg. The team have used entirely natural fibres for the car body work and the seat is made from volcanic rock fibres so it is a great showcase for sustainable automotive design.

This year’s team have modified the car design since it last raced at Silverstone in June.

Oliver Adams, Warwick Racing’s Chief Engineer, said: “We’ve really refined the car to get the most out of it for Melbourne. It’s been great fun working with the Aussies and we hope to keep up the long term collaboration.”

Each year Warwick’s fourth year Engineering students compete in the educational motorsport competition which counts for 25 per cent of their final degree grade.

The project work provides the opportunity for Warwick students to experience a taste of life in the world of automotive design and engineering.

WMG Senior Teaching Fellow Howard Neal has been supporting the students in the project. He said: “It is a big challenge for the students to take the car to Australia to race in an international competition. This project builds exactly the kind of skills employers are looking for in the real world of engineering once they leave university.”

Pictures of the team are available [here]

 

Notes to Editors

For more information about the Formula Student Competition: http://www.formulastudent.com/

The team’s blog will be updated here http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/wmgwarwick/

 

Melissa Holloway, Assistant Press Officer, University of Warwick, Melissa.Holloway@warwick.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)24 76 575601 Mobile/Cell: +44 (0)7824 541142

 


For further information:

Anna Blackaby International Press Officer Tel: 024 7657 5910 Mob: 07785 433155 Email: a.blackaby@warwick.ac.uk

or

Melissa Holloway, Assistant Press Officer, University of Warwick, Melissa.Holloway@warwick.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)24 76 575601 Mobile/Cell: +44 (0)7824 541142

Useful Links:

Monash / Warwick alliance

SAE-A page

Images of team

Howard Neal Staff Profile