Braking in a New Design

Big changes in the driver’s environment department this year come from eliminating the clutch pedal and to focus on the development of individual pedal boxes that utilise a two-pedal setup. Using last year’s designs as a benchmark, the aim has been to reduce weight by half across both pedals while also reducing their length so that the driver can be sat lower.

With the driver being lower in a more natural driving position for a single seater, it is hoped that this should improve driver ergonomics allowing for them to push the car harder. With this lower driver position a new method of seat creation is also going to be tested, this method will involve using resin to form a seat around the driver so it can be tailored to each driver.

A new development for 2022 will be having our master cylinders mounted vertically allowing for a much compacter design, allowing for improvements in driver position which in turn should reduce lap time.

Meet the Team

Meet the Team is an opportunity for us to give you a chance to learn a little more about the people who make up SHU Racing. This week, we welcome our Drivers Environment Manager and Health and Safety Officer Matt Thomas. Matt oversees designing and developing of all elements which the driver interacts with. Also, Matt overseas the safety of each member of the team when they are working with the car, whether it’s machining parts in the workshop or laying up carbon, it all must be done in the correct manner.

Name: Matt Thomas

Age: 21

Course: Meng Mechanical Engineering

Role: Drivers Environment Manager and Health and Safety Officer

Number of years with the Team: 4

Hobbies and Interests: F1, Football, Rugby and GTE.

Favourite Car: 68’ Ford Mustang

Dream Job: GTE Race Engineer

Reasons for Joining SHU Racing: SHU Racing was one of the main reasons I came to Sheffield Hallam as it would give me the ability to work on a race car. For me the degree has always been second to formula student as I get to learn and deal with real life situations and design issues. These situations have allowed for me to develop my CAD knowledge and given me a better understanding for design for manufacture (DFM).

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matt-thomas-426324224