Driving Academic Success From The Engine Room
29 March 2007
Head of Motorsport Steve Hill (right), with Susan Wilkinson, Communications and External Affairs, Toyota Manufacturing UK, with some of the equipment.
We are very pleased that we received such a fantastic response from Toyota. It equips our students with top of the range engines and components to be able to use as part of the engineering and technical aspects of the course.
”Steve Hill
Burnaston-based car manufacturing giant Toyota Manufacturing UK has helped to put Motorsport students at the University of Derby in the driving seat after donating a range of mechanical and engineering equipment.
The donation of engines and other cars parts will bring Derby’s range of motorsport training apparatus up to very modern standards.
The University department is delighted by the news having inquired to Toyota about car parts donations earlier this year as part of a general ‘scouting’ mission to car manufacturers.
Derby’s Head of Motorsport Steve Hill said: “We are very pleased that we received such a fantastic response from Toyota. This donation is more than just a gesture. It equips our students with top of the range engines and components to be able to use as part of the engineering and technical aspects of the course.
“It’s the first time in almost five years that we have been able to upgrade our test engines and this latest news helps raise the profile of Motorsport at Derby even further.”
More than 50 students on the BSc (Hons) Motorsport Technology degree currently use a variety of older-specification Ford, Rover and Vauxhall engines to practise mechanical skills and learn about engines.
As well as learning about modern aspects of engines such as fuel injection, second and third year students may be set projects to design and build a race car around the newly acquired engines.
It's the latest coup for the BSc Motorsport course at Derby. Earlier this academic year, the courses’ students and staff represented the University alongside the likes of Lotus and Ferrari at GP100, an event to publicise 100 years of Grand Prix racing at DoningtonPark.
A handover took place at today at the University's Pybus Street workshops which houses Motorsport. The workshops are in the vicinity of the University's new £20m Markeaton Street building which is nearing completion and will be open for academic use from September.
Karen Bradley, Manager, Communications and External Affairs for Toyota Manufacturing UK said: "We were delighted to be able to support the University and hope that our equipment will enhance the training of Motorsport engineers and technicians of the future.”
Toyota is one of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers. It is a truly global business, building vehicles on six continents around the world and directly employing more than a quarter of a million people. At its UK plants in Derbyshire and North Wales the company employs around 4,800.
Its products are sold in 160 markets worldwide. The Toyota Production system is a pioneering approach to efficient manufacturing, and has provided a template for the industry.
The United Kingdom is a key market for Toyota both in terms of sales and manufacturing. At is vehicle plant at Burnaston, near Derby, the company produces the Toyota Avensis, and the new Toyota Auris – production of which was launched during a blaze of publicity by Chancellor Gordon Brown last month.
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For more details contact Simon Redfern, Senior Press and PR Officer, University of Derby on 01332 591942, or email s.redfern@derby.ac.uk.
