Heriot-Watt mechanical engineering students unveiling their improved F1-style racing car before setting off to take part in this year's international Formula Student competition at Silverstone, also demonstrated their support for the University's bid to host the National Performance Centre for Sport.
The team of 25 students has designed and built a high-performance, single-seat race car to compete in the annual Formula Student event at Silverstone, Northamptonshire, shortly after it hosts the British Grand Prix.
The competition puts the students' cars through rigorous tests with judges looking at key aspects, including acceleration, braking, handling, design, reliability and maintainability. The team will also be judged on its business plan and how the car will fit the F1 market.
The team is determined to build on last year's success, when they took 53rd place out of 130 international teams.
Lewis Crichton, Project Manager of HWRacing said, "We took the car back to basics this year and concentrated as much as possible on reliability. We have a new chassis, brand new modular electrics system and sleek new bodywork. There's tough competition, but our target is to be number one in Scotland."
Ian Black, Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering and Team Liaison Officer at Heriot-Watt University commented, "Formula Student is a great event that continues to grow every year. It requires a lot of dedication from our students, who all work incredibly hard and build on previous years' experience to ensure they produce a strong and high-performance race car.
"Taking the car to Silverstone is such an exciting experience and good opportunity for the students to showcase their talent and skills and network with potential employers and industry experts."
Formula Student is run by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and aims to inspire and develop young engineers, as well as introduce them to leading industry figures. This is the fourth time that the Heriot-Watt Formula team, made up of students from a range of disciplines across the university, has competed in the event that is open to students from across the world.
This year, the team is sponsored by Shell, FMC Technologies, Daysix and PTC.
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