RGU student Christopher and alumnus Lewis share their experience taking part in the Motorsport Society, the projects they worked on, and the benefits of joining the team.

The Motorsport Society through a student’s eyes

Hello, my name is Christopher Handsley and I’m the Team Principal for RGU Motorsport Society. I joined the society in my 2^nd year at RGU shortly after the team rebranded into what it is today.

What is the Motorsport Society?

RGU Motorsport Society is a student led group with very determined multi-discipline students. The society is home to RGU Motorsport, our IMechE Formula Student team. The 2024 season marked RGU’s return to the IMechE Formula Student competition with our entry into concept class for the FS2024 season. In our first-year entry we placed 19^th out of 37 in class and 2^nd best in Scotland. The team and I are hugely happy with this achievement and hope to build on our results for the FS2025 season!

The IMechE Formula Student Competition

How does the IMechE Formula Student Competition work? The team and I work off a set of regulations prepared and provided by IMechE at the beginning of each academic year. From there, we design, develop and test our race car while also preparing the costing and business element. After a long year, each team is invited to the competition at Silverstone F1 circuit where our work is presented to judges who work within the motorsport industry. Once the dust has settled, we receive crucial feedback which is used to develop next year’s entry.

The Formula Ford Restoration Project

Our society also run the Formula Ford Restoration Project; this is our real-life race car that has made appearances at multiple Open Days along with the 2024 Fresher’s Fayre. Over the past couple of years, the team has resurrected the car after it being left outside for almost 20 years. It has undergone huge restoration work such as repainting the chassis, suspension tweaking, an engine service, new brake lines, new brake pads/discs, new clutch line and bodywork repainted. Our goal for this academic year is to finish the car and attend track sessions with the team.

My involvement in the society

I work mainly on the Formula Student side, where I am in charge of the day-to-day duties as well as overseeing the current progress of the design/cost/business elements and ultimately the submissions at the end of the year. Ensuring targets are met and keeping the team on track throughout the year is the key to a smooth Formula Student entry.

My favourite part of the society is meeting likeminded people and seeing a project come together at the end of the year. I find it really rewarding to witness everyone’s hard work pay off. I also enjoy the foundations the society creates for people; we take pride that the society has helped propel multiple graduated members towards their dream job. With one of our graduated members currently working for Williams F1 team and another pursuing his masters in Motorsport Engineering, the biggest benefit of the society is it allows a gateway into the Motorsport industry.

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The society would not exist without the massive support offered by our Faculty Advisor Scott Murison along with the Engineering Applications (EA) department. The continued aid, supervision and support has allowed the society to grow into what it has become today!

For the future of RGU Motorsport Society, I’m excited to see plenty of track sessions with our revived Formula Ford car and I even hope to get a shot in it! I’m excited to see RGU Motorsport succeed and grow within the Formula Student competition and eventually enter the competition as a fully fleshed Formula Student team which enter with a full car every year.

If after reading this you find anything I have mentioned interesting and you would like to get involved, you can find our teams contact details on the RGU Union website or you can email me directly.

Chris

The Motorsport Society through a graduate’s eyes

Hi, I’m Lewis Milne. I have just graduated this past summer with a BEng Hons Mechanical Engineering degree. I am now studying for a MSC in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes.

The society has been around for a good time and has attempted to compete in Formula Student (FS) multiple times; however this past year it was revived. Alongside FS, the society restored an old Formula Ford car which is now completed. Formula Student was the area I was interested in most, I had no clue I would be starting from a blank slate, but it was possibly the best situation to be in. It was a small team, and my interest and passion for the task led to me being a joint technical lead. This wasn’t the plan at all; however it sort of fell into place.

What is unique about the society?

The society is very different to other societies in that there is a lot of serious work to be done rather than spending our meetings planning nights out (there are plenty of those though). We always said that you must be a bit mental to join as there was a lot of work.

I ended up working on the FS project more than my 4^th year dissertation, but I really enjoyed it and it didn’t feel like work. Being able to apply what I have been taught in my degree to a real project was invaluable, there’s so many little things we aren’t taught that “real” engineering needs to include I could speak for hours about what we learnt but its better to go and see for yourselves.

My highlights being part of the society

Our hard work culminated in us being sent to Silverstone to compete in the Concept Class. We did this with the goal to convince the University to better support the society financially. Compared to other teams, our budget and equipment was lacking, and we were easily the smallest team at competition. However, we placed right in the middle of the standing, which was more than I expected.

This whole experience at Silverstone was the best part of the year, it justified all the late nights and stress. Alongside that, we got to speak to established teams and learn from them. We came away realising that we aren’t that far off a very good result.

I hope the society continues to grow and compete at FSUK. The end goal is to build an actual car and run it at competitions, but for that to happen we need to build a good result in the Concept Class.

The benefits of the society

Being part of Formula Student is invaluable for your future career, you don’t need to want to work in Motorsport like me, you don’t even need an interest in motorsport. The project is the closest you can get to a real engineering project and at an interview this is all you will get asked about.

Every graduate will be applying for the same jobs, so you need to have something to set you apart. The Motorsport Society and Formula Student is the best way to do that.   

Lewis

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