L-R at the 'Formula
Student' event in Silverstone is the
University of Ulster team Chris Robb
from Nutts Corner, Brian Matthews from
Crossgar, Ronan Lavery from Glenavy
(Team Captain), Andrew Boyd from
Coleraine and Sean Connolly from Newry.
Steven Robb from Nutts Corner is missing
from the photo.
LOCAL student Ronan Lavery is gearing up for
the challenge of a lifetime when he takes on competitors from
over 80 universities at Hockenheim, the home of German
motorsport, in the 2008 Formula Student Germany Championship
this weekend.
Ronan, who hails from Glenavy, has been the
team captain in his first year involved in the competition, and
he is excited at the prospect of finishing the team's
championship in style at the legendary circuit.
Engineering student Ronan, a former pupil at
Rathmore Grammar, will lead his team of six from the University
of Ulster as they pit their wits against fellow students from
across Europe.
The team has recently returned from a
successful outing at Silverstone and are hoping to go one better
when they take part in the four-day contest in Germany.
Ronan said, "We did reasonably well in
Silverstone. The competition takes on a number of different
challenges - racing, written skills and a presentation -, and it
was the first time that we have done everything which was a
plus. Unfortunately our engine wasn't running well, but we have
had a lot of work done on it and we're ready for the challenge."
Supported by the University and local
engineering company, Schrader Electronics, in their quest to
become the 2008 Formula Student Germany Champions, the students
have designed, built and raced a single-seater racing car.
Ronan, who will captain the team once again
next year, added: "This is a fantastic project which challenges
students to work as a team and to put the skills taught in
lectures into practice. I would like to take this opportunity to
thank Schrader for their support in this project as it enabled
the team to travel to the competitions."
Speaking about participating at Hockenheim,
Ronan concluded, 'It's quite exciting, it is the home of German
motorsport so we're looking forward to it."
Ulster Star
15/08/2008
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