A TEAM from Sussex took on the world as they designed, built and raced a car around Silverstone.

The group from the University of Sussex achieved the best ever result in the Formula Student competition, in which teams of young engineers from across the world work on a single-seat racing car over the course of a year.

This year’s Mobil1 Team Sussex roared into 9th place in the UK and came 28th out of the 135 competing teams from across the globe, surpassing not only the university's previous record, but also the expectations of the students themselves.

Automotive engineering student Martin Law, the team’s head of commercial development, said: “This year’s place in the competition has been a massive improvement.

“In fact, we have exceeded our initial goal of coming in the top 35.

“I am truly thrilled about the result, and more importantly I’m proud to be part of the team that broke the university’s record.

“I hope we will inspire future Sussex teams taking part in the competition.”

The vice-chancellor Michael Farthing was present to cheer the team on as they competed at the Silverstone race track in Northamptonshire.

Also in attendance was the internationally-acclaimed artist María Inés Aguirre, who produced a vibrant abstract painting that was transferred onto the students’ car by researchers at Sussex, adding a blaze of colour to the vehicle as it zoomed around the track.

The competition was split into two classes, Class 1 and Class 2.

The university's Class 1 team was tasked with designing, building, and racing their car at the track while the Class 2 team was required to submit a design for a car they will build and race as next year’s Class 1 group.

Sussex’s second team, led by third-year mechanical engineering student Rebecca Geraghty-Shewan, added to the university’s success by coming eighth overall and fifth in the UK in the Class 2 competition.

The event was not without its drama for the university’s Class 1 team, as parts of their car failed and had to be redesigned at the last minute.

The team nevertheless scored highly in a number of tests to achieve the top 10 placing.