Swansea Metropolitan University's Formula Student Team have yet again proved themselves to be one of the best motorsport teams in the world, having confirmed themselves as best in Wales, top three in the UK and, even more impressively, top twelve in the world, after the 2010 Formula Student competition at Silverstone.
Formula Student, the biggest student motorsport competition in the world, promotes careers and excellence in engineering, by challenging students to design, build, develop, market and compete as a team with a small single seater racing car. It blends academic work and learning with the development of practical engineering skills.
This year's international competition saw approximately one hundred university teams from across the world converge onto the famous home of British motorsport, Silverstone. Each competition car was rigorously tested in areas such as endurance, speed and business viability.
It is the third year in a row that Swansea Met has finished in or around the world's top ten. Swansea Met also maintained its long-standing position as the top Welsh team and, for the third year in a row, secured its place in the UK top three. In addition, in one of the most competitive categories, acceleration, the team were best in the UK and seventh in the world.
Motorsport engineering and design student, Gareth Wyn Jones, from Llanfyllin, Powys, said: "We are really pleased with the result. It's fantastic that we, as undergraduates from Swansea Met with a relatively small budget and small team, can compete with large budget, big teams from across the world. The dedicated team members, who put in huge hours of work, can be proud of this respectable position.
"The team would like to thank our Faculty Advisor, Malcolm McDonald, for his guidance, technical support and motivation. Without his help and good nature the result obtained would be impossible. We would also like to thank Swansea Metropolitan University and the members of staff that have made it possible to create the 2010 car. This fantastic result is testament to the fact that people with a variety of different backgrounds from around the world can come together and achieve something against the odds.
"We are all grateful for the generosity of our sponsors. There have been many individual companies who have helped us this year and we hope they enjoy this success."
The event is the biggest of its kind in the world and is sponsored by big names in the automotive field such as Shell, National Instruments and the IET.
The speed of a Formula Student car is parallel to that of a super car, with a 0-60 speed of 3.5 seconds, and is produced at a cost of £15,000. The production of this car was partly achieved with kind sponsorship from a number of national and international companies.
Faculty Advisor, Malcolm McDonald said: â"Of the frontrunners in this competition, Swansea Met is probably the only all undergraduate team, with many other institutions including postgraduate and research students. The Swansea Met team is totally responsible for the design and engineering of the car and the results this year, and in previous years, clearly show that Swansea Met is punching above its weight in comparison with its high budget, international competitors. This is a huge result for the guys and their world ranking does justice to the time and effort they have given."
Swansea Met Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Warner, added: "Swansea Metropolitan University is very proud of the design, mechanical and management skills of its motorsport students. Some of the money used by the team is for widening participation and many of our students have come through the foundation degree and HND routes before undertaking their degrees."