Openness and communication are key to the success of the team this year. The management team consists of six 4th year Mechanical Engineering Students. They have all had experience with the team in previous years and are the first point of contact for all the projects. There are also two 3rd year students being trained for next year, they appear towards the bottom of this page.
Team Principal – Leo Martins
As soon as he joined Imperial, Leo wanted to be a part of the racing team. He is passionate about engineering having completed summer placements with Ford, NSK, Standardlknt and last year Rolls-Royce.
He is responsible for the whole team, ensuring there are no issues between projects, chairing all meetings and ensuring the team is running to schedule. He is the main link between the staff and the team. At the start of the year he was responsible for putting together a solid team of over 50 students. He is passionate about cars and in particular Formula One. Last year he was part of the 3rd year management team and also formed part of the driver environment team for IC04. He is relishing the opportunity to show just how good Imperial are at the competition in July. Aside from managing the team, he is also investigating active traction control and its implementation.
Apart from Imperial Racing, Leo is a keen musician and enjoys playing in the main college orchestra. Contact: leo@imperial-racing.com
Vehicle Dynamics, Production and Marketing Manager – Kristian Jenner
As a committed member of the team, Kristian is able to draw from a broad knowledge base and past experience, successfully leveraging acquired skills in his role as Suspension and Vehicle Dynamics manager for Imperial Racing. He has a deep seated interest in all things automotive, having completed placements at Rolls-Royce and more recently Ricardo.
Working closely with other members of the management team, he has been successful in implementing an ambitious two year strategy for the team, aimed at maximising the chances of success for the team. In his role as marketing manager, Kristian aims to maximise the exposure of the team and raise its profile leading up to the event in July and beyond.
Being part of Imperial College has instilled in Kristian a drive to deliver exceptional results, a tradition that he hopes to uphold for the Imperial Racing team entry in July!
Contact: kristian@imperial-racing.com
Technical Director, Chassis and Packaging – Nicola Terdich
Since a very early age, Nicola has developed a strong passion for motorsport which motivated him to take the technical director role in the team.
As a technical director he is particularly interested in applying innovative and unconventional concepts to give the car a leading edge and, to put it on track for being successful at Silverstone. His role requires him to work in close contact with all the members of the team to follow the design of the car ensuring optimum packaging and weight distribution. Nicola is also the first person in the Imperial College Racing history to design a full steel space frame chassis by himself and he is successfully completing this task.
He is very proud of being part of Imperial Racing and he is confident that the input from each team member will be rewarded by a success at Silverstone.
Contact: nico@imperial-racing.com
Operations , Manufacturing and Vehicle Handling Manager – Karl Giles
In the past few years, Karl’s interest in the Imperial Racing team and all things automotive has evolved into what can only be described as an all consuming obsession! Having joined the team two years ago, he now relishes the chance to be an active member of the management team, doing all he can to help shape the team for continued success in the many years to come.
Aside from project work and fulfilling his position within the management team, his responsibilities include ensuring the general upkeep of the newly refitted Pit Garage, approving and logging any major work being carried out on the car, and organising regular club nights in the Pit Garage to encourage team socialising and communication in a more hands on environment.
Contact: karl@imperial-racing.com
Finance and Drivetrain Manager – Matt Taylor
Matt has been involved in Imperial Racing for the past two years, previously working on designing the engine intake system. This year he has taken up the role of Finance manager giving him the unenviable role of telling other team members what they can and cannot spend. The team has been given a budget to last the whole of the two year development period and so Matt must ensure that there is an appropriate budget left for next year. A new finance system has been set-up within the team to ensure that all expenditure is fully approved and accounted for- this requires Matt to work closely with the College finance team. He has previously been in charge of other university clubs, ensuring that their Union grant is appropriately spent over the year.
As part of his role Matt is also involved in finalising sponsorship agreements last year working very closely with Ford to develop our engine intake and management for IC04. This year he is working on driveshafts and braking systems for IC06.
Contact: matt@imperial-racing.com
Vehicle Assembly Manager and Rules Uberfuhrer – Henry Weaver
Henry has been involved in Imperial Racing since 2008 when he was part of the team which designed the naturally aspirated intake system for IC04. This year Henry has been given the job of making sure that all the rules are properly adhered to, as this is something that Imperial has had problems with in the past! He is also responsible for ensuring that key projects for the competition are completed and the car assembled correctly. Along with this he is responsible for the design and manufacture of the suspension uprights through working closely with Karl and Kristian.
When Henry is not working on the Imperial Racing project he is working on the City and Guilds Veteran car built in 1902, affectionately known as Bo’
Contact: henry@imperial-racing.com
Powertrain Manager – Vlad Kostadinov
As an impassioned partisan of all things internally combusting a role within Imperial Racing was inevitable for Vlad. Being only in his third year Vlad posses an fervent vision for the future of Imperial Racing which is shown in the ambitious approach of developing both naturally aspirated and forced induction intake systems in tandem. This together with an all consuming hunger for the success of Imperial Racing is the driving force behind a triumphant powertrain.
When not tinkering with the powertrain Vlad will most likely be found arguing ardently with fellow teammates about all manner of diverse issues at the Imperial College Union.
Contact: vlad@imperial-racing.com
Testing Manager - Felix Prettejohn
Felix has always had a passion for racing and having worked for the Lola Classic Division and DK Engineering preparing their race cars during the past summers it was only a matter of time before he joined Imperial Racing. Felix is taking control of testing to ensure that the car is fully prepared for a successful debut at Silverstone this summer and to stand Imperial Racing in good stead to produce a race-winning car in 2011 season.
Being only in this third year Felix is a driven and committed member of the team and he has high hopes for Imperial Racing’s future.
Contact: felix@imperial-racing.com
