As the F1 racing season gets under way there is a little piece of the action going on right here in Edinburgh.·

·Bristo Square may seem like a world away from the glitz and glamour of a formula 1 race track but come the 27th of May it will be transformed as Force Edinburgh racing in conjunction with Shell host the inaugural “pit stop challenge” with a fantastic Ferrari Formula 1 racing car display taking center stage.·

Using actual pneumatic equipment that pit stop crews rely on, the competition is a race against the clock for you and two friends to change a tyre on the car and best of all its completely free to take part courtesy of team sponsors Shell and the University of Edinburgh.

The event is a chance for Force Edinburgh Racing to raise publicity along with one of their sponsors, Shell, about their forthcoming participation in the Formula Student competition to be held at Silverstone later this year.·The F1 car display will be on location for students, guests and members of the general public to get a closer look and experience a little of the Grand prix along with members of Force Edinburgh to talk about the progress of the team so far and Shell who will be offering career advice.·

·Force Edinburgh Racing is the University of Edinburgh’s first ever Formula Student team, an international competition in which undergraduates design and build open cockpit racing cars to be pitted against each other at the prestigious Silverstone Race Circuit.·James Tuchel, FER Founder and Director, explained “Apart from being a lot of fun it’s a chance for us to promote our team on campus and drum up some new support. The team has grown remarkably recently and we’d love to keep the support growing throughout the entire University.”·

·The team aims to bring some of the major Force Edinburgh parts to the event so people can get a feel for what they are actually doing.But what about power? “Our regulations limit us to a 600cc engine” he explains, “but the car is so light that we can expect a power to weight ratio better than a Porsche 911 Turbo.”··

·Stephen Warrington, Head of the Discipline of Mechanical Engineering in the School of Engineering is delighted that students from the university have decided to take part and added “this is an interesting and challenging project that will test their team working, financial, and project management skills as much as their engineering expertise.”

The Edinburgh University team consists of a small group of second and third year engineering students who have been developing the concept design since April 2010.·This year they will be competing in the class 2 competition where teams are judged on their designs alone, and plans are already well underway for next year’s entry to the class 1 competition in which FER will race its car amongst the best from other University teams. ·

·They will be bringing along to the event in May their chassis which has been in construction since March.While there is never a shortage of ways to spend your afternoons in Edinburgh, this event is a first as you get the chance to experience a different dimension to such a sport. It will be a unique opportunity for Edinburgh and the team looks forward to welcoming you on the 27th! ·

·Force Edinburgh Racing is solely student lead and the team is always looking for sponsors to help support the long term viability of the project - “we’re looking to create a firm foundation for years to come and become a permanent edition to the University.·We aim to maximise the impact of all our sponsors both on campus and indeed nationally at the competition” said James.·

·Anybody wishing to find out more information about events or to keep up to date with what they are doing should check out their website at http://www.forceedinburgh.co.uk/ or for direct enquires contact the team at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it