Professionalism and commitment of Engineering students praised by World Rally Team Principal

14 March 2024

The professionalism and commitment of a team of Harper Adams students has been praised by a World Rally Team Principal after they helped him land the biggest win of his career.

The Automotive Engineering students – who are drawn from a group studying both BEng (Hons) Automotive Engineering and MEng Automotive Engineering – have been supporting M-Sport Ford World Rally Team principal Richard Millener, who drives the group’s Ford Fiesta R2T.

In an article on the WRC site, he said: “It’s always great to be out there competing.

“We’re at a point where there’s potential for change in our sport and being out and competing at a more grass roots level, talking to the fans and the enthusiasts, is so important.

“Last week is the very reason I got involved in this sport, it’s because I’m passionate about it and I love it. It was great to get the chance to talk to people and get some thoughts on where we’re going.

“In terms of the competition, it was fantastic. I drove a car which is owned and run by the students at Harper Adams University in the UK.

“We have an affiliation with them, we’ve got one of their students on secondment with us for a year, and they’re so committed to working in the sport.

"They did a fantastic job, and it was hard to understand I was driving in a team run by engineering students and not a professional team. Winning the class was great – and great for my co-driver Gail [Whyte] who was in the car for the first time – but it was all about being out there in a sport I love.”

Read the article in full on the WRC website here.

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