UCD design backed

A team of undergraduate and graduate students in the department of Mechanical Engineering at University College, Dublin, will compete against other European and American universities in a racing car designed and built in Dublin. The competition, called Formula Student, will be held at the NEC in Birmingham in July, and the ambitious UCD project is being sponsored by Irish Formula One team owner Eddie Jordan.

The UCD team of 24 is in the process of designing and manufacturing a racing car from scratch, powered by a 600cc Honda motorcycle engine. "I'm delighted that we have secured sponsorship and support from Jordan Grand Prix," said Dr Willie Smith, the director of the UCD racing programme.

"It is the first time that an Irish university has entered a car in this high-profile competition. We have assembled a team of excellent students.

"The competition represents a superb opportunity to showcase the talents of Ireland's future engineers on an international stage," added Smith.

Eddie Jordan, who is enthusiastic about the UCD project, said: "We will be keeping a keen eye on the development of the design. I was delighted to learn that UCD will be entering a team in this competition, which provides a fertile breeding ground for Formula One designers and engineers. Our key objective in sponsoring the team is to assess the best students and recruit them for the future."

Smith said the UCD team is finalising the CAD (i.e., computer-aided) designs, before actual construction.

With the power output limited to 75 b.h.p., the design brief is for a lightweight chassis, with components to achieve a high power-to-weight ratio which will result in a machine with superb acceleration.

Meanwhile, the 2000 World Rally Championship resulted in a double victory for Peugeot: the French marque won the manufacturers' championship and the Finnish pair of Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen won the drivers' title with four wins in a Peugeot 206WRC. Gronholm scored 65 points to beat Britain's Richard Burns on 60 points in a Subaru WRC. The Ford Focus challenge that had so much promise faded to the extent Carlos Sainz (Spain) and Colin McRae (Scotland) slipped to third and fourth on 46 and 43 points respectively.

FIA World Rally Championship 2001 dates: January 18th-21st - Monte Carlo Rally; February 8th-11th - Swedish Rally; March 8th-11th - Rally of Portugal; March 22nd-25th - Catalunya Rally; May 3rd-6th - Rally of Argentina; May 31st-June 3rd - Acropolis Rally; June 14th-17th - Cyprus Rally; July 12th-15th - Safari, Kenya; August 23rd-26th - Rally of Finland; October 4th-7th - San Remo; October 18th-21st - Tour of Corsica; November 1st-4th - Rally of Australia; November 22nd-25th - Network Q Rally of Britain.

10-Round Dunlop National Rally Championship: revised championship dates: March 11th - Mayo stages, Ballina; April 8th - Circuit of Kerry; April 22nd - Monaghan; May 13th - Carlow; May 27th - Cavan; June 3rd - Circuit of Munster (Limerick); July 8th - Connacht (Sligo); September 23rd - Clare (Ennis); October 13th - Donegal Harvest Rally; October 28th - Skibbereen Fastnet Stages.