Zircotec supports 10 teams at Formula Student

Coatings specialist Zircotec supported 10 teams at Formula Student 2011, which was held at Silverstone last weekend. The firm’s ceramic coatings were used by a number of the participants including University of Hertfordshire, Coventry University and Cambridge, the latter adopting Zircotec’s patented carbon composite coating to protect a composite bulkhead. “Zircotec believes that Formula Student is an extremely worthwhile activity, helping participants to understand and implement the technologies of today’s contemporary race cars,” says Zircotec’s managing director Terry Graham.

“We now offer a growing number of teams our coating service as a component part of a formal sponsorship package. Teams have access to our coatings and other products and in return we require them to provide a technical report of the results achieved. This way we can both learn from the use of the coating on the car.”

Zircotec’s coatings were used in motorbike engines that tend to run hot in the Formula Student installation. “We are coating exhausts that keep heat inside the exhaust to prevent damage to surrounding components as well as supplying heat resistant foils to protect fuel lines, batteries and the driver,” says Graham. “This year we also coated a composite bulkhead and we expect to see more of these lightweight materials requiring protection in future Formula Student cars.”

The company stated that it is equally keen to expand links with International universities and used this year’s event at Silverstone to meet teams from Italy, Australia, Germany, France and Holland. “We visited most of the teams during the week and provided samples of our ZircoFlex foil for them to solve last minute heat issues,” adds Graham. “The level of engineering on these cars is often outstanding and we welcome further co-operation with universities outside of the UK in the coming years.”