Tyres.co.uk, the UK online tyre retailer, has signed on as a partner of Cardiff Racing, Cardiff University’s student-run Formula Student team, for the season ahead.
The partnership covers the cost of tyres for the team’s electric race car, one of the biggest yearly expenses for any Formula Student entry. Teams usually go through several sets of dry and wet tyres across a season of testing and competition, so the support frees up more of the students’ budget for developing the car itself.
Formula Student, run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, challenges university teams to design, build and race a single-seat car. Entries are judged on engineering design, cost and the business case behind the car as well as on track performance.
At Cardiff University, students from across the School of Engineering design parts on screen, make them in the University’s workshops and test them throughout the year. The project gives them hands-on experience of budgeting, teamwork and working to tight deadlines.
On a race car, tyres affect almost everything. They set how hard the car can brake, how quickly it can take a corner and how well it copes on a wet track.
Connor Wendt, Deputy Technical Director at Cardiff Racing, said: “Tyres are one of the biggest things we spend money on each season, and they make a massive difference to how the car performs. Having Tyres.co.uk on board takes some of that pressure off and means we can focus on making the car as good as it can be.”
Vithurs, Co-Founder of Tyres.co.uk, said: “Tyres are what we do every day, helping drivers find the right tyres for their car and get them fitted locally. We’re a young business ourselves, so we know what it takes to build something from scratch. Seeing a group of students design and build a race car is genuinely impressive, and supporting the part of the car we know best felt like the natural thing to do. We’ll be following their season closely.”
Cardiff Racing will spend the coming months finishing and testing the car before competing at Silverstone next summer. Updates will be shared on the team’s website and social channels throughout the season.
