Sheffield students build single-seat racing car to compete at Silverstone

The students from the University of Sheffield spent the last 10 months building the race car from scratch alongside their studies, ready to compete at Silverstone in a bid to help them test their skills and reach the standards set by the motorsport and automotive industries.

The team, made up of mainly undergraduate mechanical engineering students and named Sheffield Formula Racing, competed in Formula Student, Europe’s most established educational engineering competition which is run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and recognised by the motorsport industry as the standard for engineering students to meet.

They managed to compete in every event throughout the Silverstone weekend, finishing 14th overall and 9th out of the UK universities competing.

Rob Newman, an aerospace engineering student at the University of Sheffield and Team Principal of Sheffield Formula Racing, said: “It feels surreal how we work all year to produce this car and then it all comes down to two days of racing in July.

“Unfortunately we didn’t get the result we wanted at Silverstone as we experienced some last minute setbacks with the performance of the car while we were prepping it for the competition. However, the fact the team worked so hard to overcome these setbacks meant we then managed to compete in every race throughout the weekend.

“A failure in the endurance event meant we couldn't collect maximum points. Nevertheless, we still finished in the top 10 UK teams, which really shows the skills and determination that everyone has in the team.

“I’m incredibly proud of how everyone in the team performed, not just in the competition but throughout the whole year. Our performance at Silverstone put Sheffield Formula Racing on the map and shows that we have built a car which I’m confident can return to the competition next year and win.”

The Sheffield Formula Racing team, which is celebrating its 10th year, were also able to use the workshops at the the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and AMRC Training Centre helping to manufacture parts for the racing car.

For more information on the Sheffield Formula Racing team, including details of how to join, visit: http://www.sheffieldformularacing.co.uk/