The support of several sponsors, including Axminster Tools & Machinery (www.axminster.co.uk), enabled Cardiff Racing to compete in the Formula Student event at Silverstone last month, finishing a creditable 18th out of 81 teams.

A team spokesperson said: “We were happy with our static competition results, finishing 12th in design and 16th in business.

“Dynamics also went well, and we were placed fourth in the Acceleration competition.

“Unfortunately, we had to remove our front wing during the Skid-Pad challenge, due to the car hitting a cone.”

This year, the team focused on making its car as small and light as possible, so it had a full aluminium monocoque chassis (like the 1962 Lotus 25 Formula One car).

Lee Trehearne, Cardiff University’s automotive engineer, said: “We achieved a weight of 205kg, which is good for the type of engine we use. We also designed a side diffuser to increase the car’s downforce and fitted more-adjustable dampers.”

The Cardiff Racing team also competed in the Netherlands earlier in July, with some success and some setbacks.

Having been the top UK entrant in the static competition, the team had a few problems with the car’s reliability and competition timings — areas they were able to work on before competing at Silverstone.

Axminster Tools supported Cardiff Racing with the loan of an iKX3 CNC milling machine, and a bench-top pillar drill was donated to the team by Axminster’s Cardiff store.