Engineers unveil 2013 Formula Student racing car
Mon, 01 Jul 2013 14:45:00 BST
Team HARE readies for international IMechE competition
Pictured with the Huddersfield car are (l-r) Christian Young (Manager - Drivetrain and Finances), Luke Barron (Overall Team Leader and Powertrain), Stuart Hague (Manager - Chassis and Submissions) and Karina Zarla (Manager - Suspension and Sponsorship/Promotion)
The international Formula Student Challenge takes place this week from 3rd to 7th July at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire.
The University of Huddersfield’s team, Team HARE, invited representatives from The Bloodhound Project, UK Education Director Jonathan Ellis and rocket engineer Daniel Jubb, to unveil this year’s vehicle, which bears the name of simply HARE 13.
The Formula Student competition is run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and is described by the Institute as a “testing ground for the next generation of young engineers”.
The international event, which attracts universities from as far away as the U.S. and Australia, invites engineering students at universities to design and build a single-seat racing car to compete in static and dynamic events as well as to demonstrate their understanding and to test the performance of the vehicle.
In recent years, Team HARE has had a number of successes in this competition and this year’s Team Leader Luke Barron has high hopes.
“It’s a fantastic project to work on as part of your degree because it gives you the opportunity to understand project management on a ‘live’ group project on quite a huge scale,” said Luke, who is completing his MEng in Motorsport Engineering. “Building a car from scratch is a massive task, particularly a vehicle that will finish all the events – many teams struggle to do this.”
One of the hardest parts for the students is the time management, ensuring that everything is on target. “It’s very easy to slip behind schedule. Including myself, there were three other team leaders, all responsible for different aspects of the project, like the chassis, the powertrain, the suspension and then there’s other things like sponsorship, promotion and finances. Between the four of us we had to make sure that everything was covered and on track.”
The Bloodhound Project in Huddersfield
The launch of HARE 13 coincided with the visit to Huddersfield of The Bloodhound (pictured), a supersonic car designed to break the world land speed record. The Bloodhound was exhibited at the John Smiths Stadium, prior to the Super League rugby game with the Huddersfield Giants and the Catalan Dragons, for spectators to view. The University was one of the organisations that arranged for the vehicle to the town.
One of the aims of The Bloodhound Project is to inspire the next generation of engineers and its Education Director Jonathan Ellis was delighted to attend the launch of HARE 13.
“Formula Student is an ideal platform to enable students to learn different skills not just in designing the kit, but then having to build and manufacture it,” said Jonathan Ellis, who tours the country for The Bloodhound Project. “They also learn other transferable skills as well, like communications, teamwork, lateral-thinking, problem-solving and determination, and these are all things that employers want.”
The University is grateful to the following who sponsored Team HARE:
Lead Sponsors
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