Today (9 July) saw the start of the UK Formula Student competition which runs until Friday 11 July 2014. Engineering students at Warwick are competing at the international racing event which will see them go head to head with their friends and rivals at Monash University.

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. Warwick Racing, assisted by staff from WMG and the School of Engineering, have taken their racing car 'Warwick Racing Four' (WR4) to the international racing event. The WR4 a single seat racing car, weighing around 180kg, Warwick Racing 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.

In the run-up to the competition the two sides, Warwick Racing and Monash Motorsport, have come together at Warwick to share expertise as part of the Monash-Warwick Alliance. The Warwick team recently travelled to Monash, in Australia, to take part in events with Monash Motorsport. They received funding from Warwick’s Innovative Manufacturing and Materials Global Research Priority programme and Warwick Students’ Union to enable them to do this.

Project Manager, Oliver Adams said:

We’re really excited about taking the car to Silverstone this year. It’s a fantastic opportunity to get involved in motorsport and advanced engineering and the chance to work with, and race against, the Monash team gives us a great international perspective. We’ve had a lot of fun with them here on campus 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.

Chief Engineer, Liam Bloxham said:

This year, we have been particularly focused on using industry standard software to optimise parts. This has led to the innovation of a carbon fibre nose-cone crash structure and a new flexible drive system. The team are now pushing new technology to get that extra level of performance into the car in time for the competition.”

Further information

• Keep track of the Formula Student Competition events
• For more information on the Monash-Warwick Alliance
• The team’s blog will be updated here