£35k legacy gift marks new chapter for Herts’ Formula Student racing team
A donor who had an affinity with Formula Student at the University of Hertfordshire has left £35,000 in his will to the UH Racing team.
The generous bequest comes as the UH Racing team enters its 30th year in the Formula Student competition and prepares to design and build its 35th single-seat race car.
UH Racing, founded in 1997, is made up of undergraduate students from all year groups. It has competed in Formula Student competitions worldwide, and highlights include producing the first hydrogen powered Formula Student car and competing with the first electric Formula Student car. This year, the team is going back to an internal combustion engine powertrain, allowing it to develop a hybrid system and improve EV knowledge within the team while returning it to dynamic competition at the Formula Student UK 2027 live race in Silverstone in July.
In accordance with the donor’s wishes, the money will be used to support the Formula Student team’s development, and to advance the education of those students involved.
Professor Dan McCluskey, Dean of the University of Hertfordshire’s School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science, said the school and team were “enormously grateful”:
“Formula Student has a proud history at Hertfordshire stretching back to 1997, and this gift enables us to build on that legacy at a really exciting point in its development. The launch of our new BEng Motorsport Engineering programme, alongside the team’s return to internal combustion and our ambition to develop hybrid technology, creates a strong platform for the future.
“This bequest will help ensure generations of University of Hertfordshire students continue to benefit from the extraordinary hands-on engineering experience that Formula Student provides.”
Professor Anthony Woodman, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Hertfordshire, added:
“This donor’s generosity will make a meaningful contribution to the work of the University and to those who will benefit from the bequest.
“It is always an honour for the University to be remembered in someone’s will, and we take great care to ensure any gift is used in a way that respects their wishes and creates an enduring legacy.”
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