Engineering student racing team ranked top in the UK in World Rankings

In the latest world rankings, Cardiff Racing, Cardiff University’s Formula Student team, have been ranked 48th in the world out of 551 teams, beating teams from other UK universities and making them the top team in the UK.

The achievement comes after the team won the UK Formula Student event earlier this year at Silverstone becoming the first British team to achieve such a feat in its 19-year history.

Research associate Dr Ryan Marks who supervises the team said: “This is a massive achievement for Cardiff Racing and is a well-deserved reward for the students’ hard work. After a poor season last year due to engine troubles it has been great to bounce back having changed our engine with the support of Triumph Motorcycles. We are now working on the 2018 car and the students are keen to further improve their world ranking and maintain their position as the best team in the UK.”

Formula Student is the most established educational engineering competition backed by industry and is a testing ground for the next generation of world-class engineers. The student team are tasked each year to design, build, test and race a single seat formula-style race car which competes in a series of event around the world. All aspects of the team are managed by the students with the core design elements forming a part of the final year engineering courses. The team also conducts several outreach projects at local schools and events to promote STEM subjects and inspire young people to consider a career in science and engineering.

At each event, the car and team are put through their paces being judged on aspects of design, costing and a business case as well as on track performance to give an overall score. Following the win at Silverstone, the team scored a healthy 4th place finish in the Czech Republic, pushing them further up in the world rankings.

Former Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Team principal and current Formula One Managing Director of Motorsports, Ross Brawn OBE, is the patron of the Formula Student event. Brawn said “What I find most appealing about Formula Student is the innovation that it encourages, as the competition rules give the entrants a lot of design freedom. Formula Student combines hands-on practical applications with students’ academic studies, but also gives experience in vital skills such as budgeting, project management and team work.”

For details of the Formula Student World Rankings visit: https://mazur-events.de/fs-world/C/