Schaeffler supports successful UK Formula Student teams

Two UK Formula Student teams have expressed their gratitude to Schaeffler UK for its ongoing support in supplying precision bearings for their successful racing cars.

On 8-12 July 2015, thousands of the world’s best young engineers gathered at Silverstone for the Formula Student 2015 competition. A total of 135 teams took part, 49 of these from the UK. In the Overall Results, the University of Bath (Team Bath Racing) finished fourth on 748.8 points out of a possible 1000 points – the highest position by a UK team. The University of Birmingham (UBRacing) finished seventh on 670.3 points. Schaeffler UK supplies a variety of precision bearings to both teams, including wheel bearings, needle roller bearings and thrust bearings.

Run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) in partnership with various industrial sponsor companies, Formula Student is Europe’s biggest educational motorsport event. The competition promotes careers and excellence in engineering, by challenging university students to design, build, develop, market and compete as a team with a small, single seater racing car. The competition comprises eight challenges and events with a separate amount of points allocated for each. These include, among others, tests to assess cars’ acceleration, endurance, fuel economy, as well as the design and business case prepared by each of the teams.

Formula Student attracts teams from all over the world, including the UK, Europe and the Americas, Asia and Australasia. Formula Student uses the excitement and appeal of motorsport to open young minds to the world of possibilities that a career in engineering involves. It gives them a wealth of experience to prepare them for success in that career.

Sponsorship and funding are vital to the continuing success of Formula Student teams. For example, Schaeffler UK has been a sponsor of UBRacing for 17 years. Karen Preston, Marketing Manager at Schaeffler (UK) Ltd comments: “As an organisation, Schaeffler is fully committed to helping attract young people into engineering. This is why we’ve supported Formula Student teams in the UK since 1998. Over the years, our engineers at Schaeffler have provided advice, guidance and technical support to these teams as and when required. Some of these students have even visited our site in Sutton Coldfield to get a flavour of what we do here.”

Carl Hingley, Senior Technician at the University of Birmingham School of Mechanical Engineering and Team Manager of UBRacing, comments: “The competition [Formula Student] teaches the students all about team working, being under pressure and how to work to tight timescales. It demands total commitment, lots of late nights and many frustrations and challenges along the way. However, the end result is the development of highly talented young engineers.”

“Over the years, we’ve had tremendous support from Schaeffler UK on selection of suitable bearings for any design changes to the cars that we often need to make. Most important of all though, we’ve never had a bearing failure in 17 years on any of our racing cars. Our partnership with Schaeffler has been a tremendous success for both parties.”

Schaeffler UK also supplies bearings to five other UK Formula Student teams, including Brunel University London, University of Strathclyde, University of Hull, University of Leicester, and University of Southampton.

For more information, please contact Schaeffler UK’s Communications & Marketing Department on info.uk@schaeffler.com