Newcastle University Racing Car Team press release/Autodesk Inventor/ Imass/Feb 2008.

Newcastle University Racing Team first out of the pit thanks to support from local Autodesk reseller, Imass

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, February XXX, 2008

Newcastle University's Racing Team hopes to be first out of the pit at this year's Annual International Formula Student Championship race at Silverstone in July, thanks to the proactive support of local Autodesk reseller, Imass.

A long-standing sponsor of the University's Mechanical Engineering teams which are fielded each year to take part in the championship, Imass provides not only essential funding towards the design project, but supplies and supports the latest Autodesk Inventor design and 3D digital prototyping software which is used to design and model the vehicle.

Each year, Newcastle Racing 6, as the team is known, competes in the Annual International Formula Student Championship, taking its place alongside 80 other teams, half of which come from overseas.

The conditions of taking part are that the car - a small single-seater race car - is designed and built from scratch each year by mechanical engineering students. Newcastle University, which entered its first team in the project started five years ago, relies on Autodesk Inventor to prepare its weapon for the annual race, so Imass, as its supplier of the software, provided a natural fit as a proactive supporter of the project.
Generous sponsorship

"Not only is it extremely generous of Imass to provide vital financial backing, it's fantastic to have access to the latest technology and it is a great comfort to have them close by to support us if we need help with anything," says Chris Royle, a mechanical engineering student and the technical director of the racing car engineering team.

Newcastle Racing 6 began designing its car in September 2006. Detailed design began six months later, and a rolling car is scheduled to be delivered by Easter 2008.

Thanks to the efficiency gains enabled by Autodesk Inventor, whose dynamic, 3D digital prototyping capabilities enable concurrent design and bypass the need for physical prototyping, Newcastle Racing 6 will have plenty of time left over for serious testing. "We're well ahead now, which guarantees we'll have a good car by July," Jack Hale, the academic supervisor overseeing the project, notes.

None of this would have been possible without the generous support of Imass and Autodesk. "Taking part in a project of this magnitude is extremely expensive. Our budget to produce the car is £15,000 - money which we had to raise," says Royle. "Without such generous sponsorship, we could not have been contenders; the project would not be possible."

"It sounds trite, but it's not about winning; the truly great thing is just being there and taking part, and everything we have learnt from being part of this opportunity," concludes Sam Adcock, the student responsible for designing the wheel package for this year's racing car. "We have Imass and Autodesk to thank for that."

[ENDS]

About Imass
Imass, an Autodesk reseller based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, is a leading supplier of computer-aided design (CAD) software, geographical information systems (GIS), operational systems including CRM, real-time information and mobile data and communications, and document management. It has sponsored Newcastle University's Racing Team for several years.

About Autodesk Inventor
Autodesk Inventor software, from the market leader in computer-aided design Autodesk, provides sophisticated digital prototyping, so that complex, accurate models can be 'built' on screen and viewed in 3D. The resulting digital prototype enables users to validate design and engineering data as they work, minimising the need for a physical prototypes, and reducing costly engineering changes that might otherwise be discovered after the design had been sent to manufacturing.

About Newcastle Racing 6
Newcastle Racing 6 is the Formula Student racing team, consisting of eight highly motivated mechanical engineering students at Newcastle University. The team has been assigned the task of researching, designing, manufacturing and racing a single-seater racing car, primarily for entry into the British Formula Student competition, held annually by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. The team is the 6th evolution of the Newcastle Racing organisation, which is now in its 6th consecutive successful year.

About Formula Student
Formula Student is the biggest and best competition of its kind in Europe. Run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), in partnership with Airbus, Autodesk, Honda Racing F1 Team, Learning Grid, National Instruments, RS Components and Shell, it promotes careers and excellence in engineering, by challenging university students to design, build, develop, market and compete as a team with a small single-seater racing car.

While on the surface it may seem that the competition is about the design and production of a single-seater racing car, the Formula Student competition is actually more about fostering future engineering talent for future implementation in all areas of employment. The extent of the work involved covers not only design and manufacture but also many of the marketing, management and people skills that provide the key to a successful career, therefore raising the potential job prospects for all of those involved. More information on the Formula Student Championship can be found at www.formulastudent.com.