CIVIC SEAT: The Lord Mayor of Swansea Councillor Alan Lloyd being shown
the Swansea Metropolitan University MCR Racing car by Formula Student
Racing Team members, Morgan Percy (left) and Carrim Bundhun.
The Lord Mayor of Swansea has spent yesterday
afternoon at Swansea Metropolitan University to show his support for
the city’s world-beating Formula Student motorsport team.
Councillor Alan
Lloyd, met members of the team and witnessed preparations for the 2010
competition, which takes place at Silverstone in July.
Formula Student, the biggest student motorsport competition in the
world, promotes careers and excellence in engineering, by challenging
students to design, build, develop, market and compete as a team with a
small single-seater racing car. It blends academic work and learning
with the development of practical engineering skills. The speed of a
Formula Student car is parallel to that of a super car, with a 0-60mph
speed of 3.5 seconds, and is produced at a cost of £15,000.
The 2009 competition saw over one hundred university teams from across
the globe converge onto the home of British motorsport, Silverstone,
where the Swansea Met team confirmed themselves as best in Wales, top
three in the UK and, even more impressively, top ten in the world.
In preparation for next year’s competition, the team, incorporating
students from across Swansea Met’s range of motorsport and automotive
design and engineering programmes, are working on a new and, hopefully,
improved vehicle.
During the spring, students hope to make use of the University’s new
and unique Vehicle Dynamics Centre at the Pembrey Race Circuit, opened
by Welsh Secretary Peter Hain last year, for testing prior to this
summer’s competition.
First year motorsport management student and team member, Carrim
Bundhun, said, “We are delighted that the Lord Mayor has taken time out
of his busy schedule to show his support. We’re a small team compared
to some of the other competing universities but the results we’ve
achieved proof that teamwork can prevail and that size, both in
personnel and budget, doesn’t matter.
“We are also grateful for the generosity of our sponsors to-date. There
have been many individual companies who have helped and we hope they
have enjoyed our success. We are always keen on exploring sponsorship
opportunities and, as a small team, a little goes a long way, whether
it is financial, or through the supply of parts, or anything else that
may be of help.”
Swansea Met Senior Lecture, Malcolm McDonald, said, “The commitment of
these students is tremendous. They put anything between 60-70 hours,
six days per week, into this project on top of their studies. They are
all high-achieving students academically and their commitment to each
other and the team is what makes them successful.”
Councillor Alan Lloyd said: “What this team are doing is fantastic. I
don’t think the people of Swansea and south-west Wales know what is
going on here and the students are making a great contribution to the
motorsport industry in the UK.”
Anybody who would like to support or sponsor Swansea Metropolitan
University’s Formula Student Team can contact Carrim Bundhun on 07884
436331 or email carrim@smuracing.com
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