University students race to success at international motorsport competition

Team Aberdeen University Racing (TAU Racing) has achieved one of its best ever result at Formula Student 2024, after crossing the finish line 1st place in Scotland and 3rd in the UK at the prestigious racing competition.

The team’s results meant they came 5^th place overall at the event at Silverstone, which took place from 17 to 21 July.

The team of motorsport enthusiasts, who designed and manufactured their own car, competed against 56 teams from 13 countries including the UK, Norway, Malta, Pakistan, Ecuador and Australia.

This year saw the team achieve their second best ever result, after coming in 4^th place overall in 2017.

The event, which is organised by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), challenges teams to design, manufacture and race a single seat race car, while testing their business, cost and design skills in a number of other related events.

Teams are also ranked on their vehicle’s acceleration, endurance and efficiency.

Now in its 26^th year, the competition aims to develop enterprising and innovative skills in student engineers and encourage more young people to explore a career in engineering.

TAU-25’s Project Manager, Jak Sutherland, said: “We are extremely pleased to have achieved this result. It is a huge achievement for the team and has made all the late nights and long hours worth it.

“With the developments made this season, both in design and in the management of the team, we sailed through safety scrutineering and were one of the first teams on track. We managed to successfully finish all dynamic events and impressed the judges with the performance of our vehicle, relative to our low budget in comparison to other teams.

“We excelled in the acceleration event, earning our place in the ‘shoot out’ that compares the six fastest accelerating vehicles on track.

“We would to thank all members of the team for their dedication and hard work this year, the Fraser Noble workshop staff for their assistance and patience, as well as all our sponsors for their continued support.

“TAU25 is already in the works and we are excited to see what we can accomplish next.”