15 September 2025 · Student Achievement · Dr Marcus Webb, School of Engineering
The Luma Racing team finished ninth overall at Formula Student UK 2025, held at Silverstone Circuit in July, marking the university's highest-ever placement in Europe's largest student engineering competition. The team of 35 students from mechanical, automotive and electrical engineering programmes designed, built and raced a single-seat prototype vehicle judged on design, cost, business presentation and dynamic performance.
Team principal and MEng student Charlotte Hughes credited two years of preparation and support from academic staff and industry mentors. "We learned from last year's brake reliability issues and completely redesigned the pedal box and cooling system. Finishing in the top ten against teams from Imperial, Bath and Munich validates everything we put into this project," she said.
The car completed all dynamic events, including acceleration, skid pad, autocross and endurance, accumulating 712.4 points from a possible 1,000. Judges praised the team's cost report and sustainability analysis, which proposed recyclable composite materials for future iterations.
Jaguar Land Rover engineers who mentor the team attended the competition and offered two team members summer internship placements. Dr Marcus Webb, the academic lead, emphasised that Formula Student develops skills employers value. "Students manage budgets, deadlines, sponsorship and technical problems simultaneously. It is the closest experience to professional engineering you can offer undergraduates," he said.
Recruitment for the 2026 team opens in October. The School of Engineering allocates workshop space, materials funding and academic supervision to support the project as a flagship extracurricular activity.