Please introduce your university and team
Cardiff Racing is an established Formula Student team based at Cardiff University that has been competing since 2004. The car boasts a powerful yet reliable Triumph Street Triple 675cc engine situated in a hybrid chassis of an aluminium honeycomb front monocoque and rear steel spaceframe. A double wishbone pull rod suspension setup has been designed to provide optimum handling
The team is made up of over 40 team members who are predominately mechanical engineering students along with some electrical (and the odd civil!) from across all years of the course. The first 2 years are voluntary and in the third there is the choice to do a project developing a specific aspect of the car. The major design developments come from fourth year design teams that set out to develop the car even further.
Briefly sum up your 2017 competition
The 2017 competition was can only be described as a ‘whirlwind’, I think that goes for all the competition but this one more so.
We arrived at the competition with hopes of doing ourselves proud and only as the competition progressed did we begin to realise how closely fought it was going to be. As always, we kept our heads down - and dealt with issues such as our camping marquee blowing over - focusing on all the different events while admiring all the other teams designs! A highlight was watching our endurance event alongside Birmingham, who were on track at the same time, it was such an excited atmosphere and we knew this last event was going to be vital to our standing in the competition.
After the constant focus of the week, the moment we found out Cardiff Racing had won was awesome and the evening of celebrations that followed with all the other teams was unforgettable!
Can’t wait to do it all again (hopefully the winning part) in 2018!
Now that the dust has settled, what were the factors that helped you win in 2017?
Our success must be down to the preparation that the team had put in; everyone on the team was determined and we left no stone unturned. <>With just over a week to go, Cardiff Racing's joint leaders Fisher and Emily Williams share their memories of last year and outline some of their preparation for their title defence at this year's competition.
As part of our preparation we wanted to make sure that the car was reliable as possible, and it was for this reason we had a major overhaul to our powertrain. We have previously used an Aprillia SXV 550 V-Twin, however, due to reliability issues this was changed to the Triumph Street Triple. Although this brought with it an increased mass, the increase in performance and reliability meant that is was the obvious choice. Since this was such a big design change the team put the hours in so that we would have a running car ready to do enough testing to iron out as many foreseeable problems as possible.
As the first UK team to win Formula Student, what has this changed for the team?
The team has gained a lot of attention from within Cardiff University and out. Our biggest achievement was gaining a number of big sponsors, namely BP and Castrol along with and MAHLE Powertrain. We have been exciting to work with such big names in the engineering industry and look forward to continuing our relationships.
From wining the event has really put Formula Student on the map within the university; we have had a great increase in the number of peers who are interested in either joining Cardiff Racing or wish to support us.
As far as the team ourselves operate, nothing has changed! The pressure might be on, but the team is doing what it does best; building great race cars and have fun at the same time!
How are Cardiff Racing planning to retain their title this year?
After such a great overhaul to the car last year and consequently winning the competition the team knew they had a winning formula. Instead of having another revamp the team have decided to focus on refinements and work on specific areas of the car that will have the biggest improvements.
The biggest change that you’ll see this year is the change to the OZ Racing magnesium wheel rims. With the mass increase last year, we have tried to reduce it and going to these rims is making a big step towards getting the overall mass of the car down. By changing the rims, the suspension design has had to have a considerable update to accommodate them, however, we knew that this was an area that needed development and therefore deemed necessary.
As we have found last year, preparation is key to success and so this year we are planning on getting in as much testing as possible as soon as we have a running car. This will make sure that we have a reliable car and that the drivers get as much experience in it as possible.
What have been your biggest challenges this year and how have you overcome these?
As a team we’re always pushing for engineering excellence and innovation within our designs, but this can sometimes lead us into the direction of designs that would require huge investments of not only time but money. This is a something that every Formula Student Team knows as struggle, and leads us to having to make compromises between designs and systems to come out with the best possible car within our budget.
What made you and some of your team members join Formula Student?
We’ve both been a part of Cardiff Racing since our first years and now that we have come to end of the course means we have been involved with the team for five years now!
Walking into Cardiff Racing’s paddock for the first time and seeing a racing car that students have designed, made and competed in was inspiring and we knew we had to get involved. Speaking to the team and being told that everyone is welcomed meant that it was a no-brainer. After last season you can safely say it was the right choice!
What’s your proudest moment at Formula Student?
It has to be hearing Cardiff Racing being called out as the overall winners of FSUK2017. No other time has come close to feeling that mix of emotions with a team of friends you have worked so hard with.
Formula Student 2018
Now celebrating its 20th year, Formula Student challenges university teams from across the world to design, build and race a single-seater racing car in one year. The cars are judged on their speed, acceleration and endurance, while the teams are tested on their design, costing and business presentation skills. Join all the action and excitement at Silverstone as over 100 teams from over 30 countries compete to win - tickets are available from just £10 and all children under 15 get in for free! Book yours via the Silverstone website.