Motorsport team celebrate victory at penultimate race weekend

The University of Wolverhampton Race Team (UWR) is celebrating after securing a win at the penultimate race weekend of the ZEO Prototype Series.  

Taking place at Brands Hatch, Kent, over the weekend of 17-18 August, Shane Kelly, racing driver and Team Manager for UWR, took the UWR Praga to victory in the first of two races at the circuit.  

Following an encouraging testing session on Friday (16 August), Shane was able to show strong pace in qualifying and for a while found himself on the front row for the first race.  

The class A Juno race car pipped UWR by a tenth of a second to take second place in qualifying, resulting in Shane starting the race in third.  

After the session, Shane said: “The car really felt great, I could switch the tyres on straight away, it’s not always easy to do that in a Praga. I was really happy with the position on the grid, it was our fastest time ever at Brands, the students really put a great car together they should be proud.” 

On race day, the top three, including Shane, were able to pull away from the rest of the field in the opening laps.  

Soon after, Shane was able to pass both cars ahead of him and help UWR take their first overall win of the season, winning the Praga class by a lap. Shane also recorded the fastest lap during the race.  

After the race, UWR staff race engineer Matt Fenton, said: “It was a remarkable race, to take the overall win against faster and lighter cars, plus taking the fastest lap at the same time was unbelievable, it’s testament to the team's hard work.” 

A technical issue following the first race meant UWR were not able to compete in the second race of the weekend.  

The final round of the season takes place on 26 October at Oulton Park.  

The students, studying for degrees in Aerospace, Automotive, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical and Motorsport in the School of Engineering at the University's Telford Campus, have spent the race season working behind the scenes to test, engineer and address any challenges presented on the racetrack.  

The University is committed to producing graduates who can apply both theory and practice in the industry, offering them hands-on experience to equip them with real-world skills to boost their employability.     

For more information about courses at the University of Wolverhampton check out the website or visit one of our forthcoming Open Days.