Date of issue: 21st July 2008
CLEMENT KEYS PUTS STUDENT ENGINEERS ON TRACK TO SUCCESS
Chartered accountants Clement Keys are helping a group of
engineering students from the
Clement
Keys partner Michael Meakin, who specialises in accountancy services for
motorsport teams and drivers, has helped put the team on track for success
by arranging race-craft training
with professional Renault driver Dean Smith prior to the Formula Student
competitions.
Formula Student
is an initiative that aims to nurture future engineering talent by
involving students in the design and production of a single-seater racing
car. The aim is to develop not
just design and manufacturing competence, but also the management,
marketing and people skills which are key to success in the automotive
engineering industry.
“The
team has built its car to very high standards and is confident it will be
fast and reliable, but you only have to look at today’s exponents of
Formula 1 to see what a difference a good driver can make,” says Mr
Meakin.
“We
work with many automotive engineering clients, including racing teams and
drivers like Dean, who is contesting this year’s Eurocup Formula Renault
2.0 Championship, and used our contacts to make sure the
This year’s entry has been built
over nine months by 25 students who are working towards degrees in
mechanical and electrical engineering.
They have designed and built a car
with a fully adjustable independent double wishbone suspension, front
anti-roll bar, lightweight magnesium wheels, a tubular steel chassis and
full data logging, including g-forces and GPS positioning.
The tyres have been custom designed and developed in collaboration
with Dunlop Motorsport.
The first of the Formula Student
competitions took place at Silverstone from July 10-13 and will be
followed by further tests at
Clement Keys has a dedicated sport,
media and entertainment unit and is unique in providing specialist
accountancy services, which are not normally available outside of