Brunel Racing is the University's Formula Student team, an international race series run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). Universities around the world design, build and race single seater race cars.
Brunel was awarded one of five £3,000 grants by IMechE to improve their car and chances of winning this year. Team Principal Jack Chamberlain outlines how: "the funding will be dedicated to developing the chassis for our latest vehicle – BR18. Some will go on the chassis, with tubes being CNC laser cut to the team's design and the rest to test how well it performs compared to computer modelling.
With the extra test time we hope to eliminate any issues experienced at competition, so better on track performance. We also hope this research means future versions of the car can benefit from both the data gained and the equipment purchased, projecting improvements for years to come."
Brunel has a proud history with the competition having competed since 1999, achieving top 10 results and winning the endurance event in 2009. Thirty undergraduate students make up Brunel Racing - Brunel's team. Some have their individual or group projects based on parts of the car, whilst others are volunteers. This allows students from a variety of disciplines to be involved in different parts of the project.
Over 110 cars will compete at the world renowned Silverstone circuit from 20 to 23 July 2017, with teams taking part in dynamic and static events. Each event scores team points, with the highest overall score winning the competition.
Dynamic events include:
- Acceleration: 75m straight line sprint
- Skid Pad: timed figure of 8 course
- Autocross: one lap sprint including the famous copse corner complex
- Combined endurance and fuel efficiency: 22 mile race.
Static events are:
- Car design: Judges include current and former F1 personnel
- Cost: Design for mass production and cost judged by industry experts
- Business presentation to industry judges: how the car would be marketed if mass produced.
Good luck Brunel Racing!