Cardiff Racing teams up with Tyres.co.uk
21 October 2026
Cardiff Racing, Cardiff University's student-run Formula Student team, has a new partner for the season ahead.
Tyres.co.uk, the UK online tyre retailer where drivers buy tyres and book fittings at a local garage, is backing the team as it builds and develops its electric race car.
For the students, the support funds one of the most important parts of any race car: the tyres. Grip, braking and cornering all comes down to four small patches of rubber touching the track, and getting that right separates a good Formula Student car from a great one.
Learning by building
Formula Student, run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, asks university teams to design, build and race a single-seat car. Teams are judged not only on how quickly the car goes, but also on its engineering design, its cost and the business case behind it.
At Cardiff University, students from across the School of Engineering work side by side throughout the year. They model parts on screen, make them in the University's workshops, and test and improve components along the way. Students gain practical skills that go beyond the classroom, from managing a budget to solving problems against the clock.
Why the tyres matter
On a Formula Student car, tyres affect almost everything. They decide how hard the car can brake, how fast it can take a corner and how well it copes when the track is wet. Teams typically need several sets across a season for testing and competition, in both dry and wet compounds, which makes them one of the biggest yearly costs.
With Tyres.co.uk helping with the cost, the team can put more of its budget towards developing the car itself.
Tyres are one of the biggest things we spend money on each season, and they make a massive difference to how the car performs. Having Tyres.co.uk on board takes some of that pressure off and means we can focus on making the car as good as it can be.
Vithurs, Co-Founder of Tyres.co.uk, commented: "Tyres are what we do every day, helping drivers find the right tyres for their car and get them fitted locally. We're a young business ourselves, so we know what it takes to build something from scratch. Seeing a group of students design and build a race car is genuinely impressive, and supporting the part of the car we know best felt like the natural thing to do. We'll be following their season closely."
What's next
The team will spend the next few months finishing the car, testing it and preparing for competition at Silverstone next summer. Updates on the build will be shared on the Cardiff Racing website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube throughout the season.