F1 winner Johnny Herbert unveils University of Wolverhampton Racing team car

The three-time F1 race winner presented UWR’s challenger for the inaugural Praga Cup season alongside Walter Gleeson, the CEO of Highclear Investments, which has provided a £200,000 investment.

UWR triumphed in their class of the F3 Cup last year and, on the back of the new investment, are making the jump to the Praga Cup – a new single-make series that will race as part of the prestigious Britcar package, beginning at Silverstone this weekend.

Students from the Telford Innovation Campus in Priorslee – making up the only university racing team in the series – will prepare the 365 brake horsepower car for action. UWR professional race driver and university mentor Shane Kelly added: “We wanted to modernise what we have following our F3 Cup class victory. The Praga Cup is a step up from where we needed to be in terms of both the car and the competition. The new competition will allow our students greater exposure to more media and more coverage, ensuring what they achieve is seen.

“It’s a shop window for our students, for any Formula One or motorsport teams looking in while at the same time giving them track-side experience to prepare them for jobs in the motorsport, engineering and manufacturing industries.”