THERE are not many people who can say that they have driven at Silverstone racetrack, and even fewer who do so in a car they built themselves.

Student Andrew Lewis has done exactly that in a racing car capable of 0 to 60 mph in under 3.5 seconds. ‘It was absolutely amazing,’ he said. ‘Just incredible. I’ve never felt anything like it before.’

Driving the car was the culmination of two years of blood, sweat and oil for Andrew and his 12 team-mates from Bath University. The project – to design and build a single-seater racing car – was part of Andrew’s mechanical engineering course, Formula Student, a challenge that is run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Andrew and his team achieved a fantastic finish of fourth out of 95 universities.

‘After two years of general study, I chose to specialise in automotive engineering,’ he said. ‘We were placed in teams of 13 and spent the whole of the third year working on it, guided by a 300-page rule book.’

Andrew’s fourth year was dedicated to building the car as an extra-curricular project, and responsibility was firmly in the hands of the students themselves. ‘We did all the work ourselves,’ Andrew said. ‘There was obviously some supervision from our tutors, but we made all the decisions.’

Over the two years Andrew and his 12 team-mates had one collective goal: the annual competition held at Silverstone in July, when every team has the chance to jump in the cockpit and compete against students from all over the world. Andrew earned the chance to compete in the finals by driving well during the road tests; he was chosen to take part in two of the events.

‘There are four dynamic events,’ he explained. ‘The first is acceleration, which is a 75-metre sprint from standstill. Then there is a figure of eight around skid pans, which has to be completed as fast as possible. The third event is a sprint where each driver goes out on an unfamiliar track and does two laps, and the fourth is the endurance race, which is 40 laps of the track completed between two drivers.’

Andrew was chosen to represent his team in the acceleration and figure-of-eight sections of the competition.
‘The car is very low and holds amazingly well in every corner – it’s very responsive,’ he said. ‘The rules state that only members of the team can drive in the competition, but some teams get round this. The winners, from Stuttgart, had a Formula 3 driver registered with them!’

Points were also awarded in the static events. These focused on design, presentation and cost – the competition is all about creating a car that would actually be profitable. The three-day competition was opened with an appearance from Ross Brawn, the head of Honda F1, who spoke to the students.

Finishing fourth out of 95 teams was a great achievement for Andrew and his group because in terms of equipment and financial backing, they were never expected to finish so highly. Not only was it the best ever finish by a UK team, but Bath University’s achievement was made all the more impressive for being completed on a £15,000 budget.

Andrew put that figure into perspective: ‘The teams in second and third had budgets of 200,000 euros and teams of 40 people,’ he said. ‘They also had two articulated lorries each to carry their equipment, whereas we had one van and 13 people. In that context, it was a great victory for the British underdog!’

Having had a taste of the racing world, Andrew, a former De La Salle student, is now keen to pursue a career in the high-octane sport and is working in Bath for an engineering company. ‘This is a widely recognised event in motor sport and it is recognised by every large motor company,’ he said. ‘I need more experience to pursue my career, but this is a good starting point.’

• Words: Ramsay Cudlipp