Kingston University Racing Team competes in European Formula Student events for the first time

Kingston Racing, the University’s Formula Student team, competed in both the UK and Europe in a busy summer for the team. 

As well as entering Formula Student UK at the iconic Silverstone race circuit, the team competed at Formula Student events in both Greece and Croatia, marking the first time a Kingston team had raced overseas. 

Formula Student sees a team of engineering students design, build and race their own single seater car, while having to adhere to strict regulations. The teams then have to pass a rigorous scrutineering process before being allowed to drive around the track. 

Kingston Racing decided to compete abroad for the first time to celebrate the team’s five-year anniversary. Racing in three competitions was a huge learning experience for the team as academic lead for Formula Student, senior lecturer in automotive engineering, Patrick Sheen explained. 

“It was a huge effort from the team to even get to all three competitions. After competing at Silverstone, we had to completely rebuild the car due to the different rulesets on the continent. The ambition this summer was high, and while not everything went to plan, the knowledge, resilience, and teamwork gained will shape the year ahead. I couldn’t be prouder of what the students achieved and how much they enjoyed the journey.”

Just getting to Formula Student Croatia was a huge undertaking as Mr Sheen and the team had to drive the car from Kingston all the way to the track in an epic three-day road trip. 

After finishing 51st overall in Silverstone the team improved to 17th overall in Croatia, and completely passing every single scrutineering test for the first time in four years. Conditions were tricky with the temperature regularly over 30 degrees but the nine students who travelled to the event were incredibly organised and pulled off an impressive result. 

The car then had to be transported to Greece where the now 15-strong student team achieved another impressive result finishing fourth overall, and third in the cost, design, and business category. 

The summer concluded with the car being transported back to the UK as the team covered a total of 3,500 miles across seven countries. 

As well as the students involved in the team the technical staff at Kingston also played a huge part in making sure the car is ready. 

The sponsors of the team Solidworks, Logomeup, FastSigns, Grayston Engineering, 3DConnexion, GetItMade, EasyComposites, ProFormance Metals, Loctite, Kawasaki Colby and Motorcycle Parts Warehouse are also essential to making sure the car can race every year. 

The team now looks ahead to another year of preparing for Formula Student UK with hopes of heading back to Europe for more international competitions next year.

• Find out more about studying Mechanical Engineering at Kingston University