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Former F1 World Champion inspires Cranfield Motorsport MSc students

Written by Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce | 07 Dec 2018

Damon Hill OBE, former Formula 1 world champion, recently visited students at Cranfield University studying towards their Advanced Motorsport Engineering MSc and Advanced Motorsport Mechatronics MSc courses.
The iconic racing driver, who won 22 races in his seven years of F1 racing and was crowned world champion in 1996 while racing for the Williams F1 team, discussed the business of motorsport from a driver’s perspective.

Clive Temple, Motorsport and Automotive Programme Director, said: “The Business of Motorsport module is crucial for our students to understand the wider strategic considerations of organisations in this industry.”

“We really appreciate that Damon took the time to make the students think about the driver’s perspective on this – the relationship between driver, engineer and the wider team is vital for success.”

Other activities on the students’ timetable for the module included a visit to Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 in Brackley, Northamptonshire, where the students received input from the team’s directors, including Technical Director James Allison, and a ‘Financing your Business’ lecture from Barclays Bank Senior Business Manager, Steve Henson.

Angela Cosner, currently studying towards an MSc in Advanced Motorsport Engineering, said: “We are so fortunate that an F1 legend took the time to give us his unique perspective.”

“This week has been a fantastic example of how, here at Cranfield, we are not just receiving a book-based education but partnering our learning with real-life industry.”

The visit took place in the Intelligent Mobility Engineering Centre (IMEC), the centre for transport research at the University. It also contains the control room for the MUEAVI (Multi-User Environment for Autonomous Vehicle Innovation) roadway. The two facilities provide the University with cutting-edge technology for autonomous vehicle research.

Topics: cranfield university

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