Students from the City of Liverpool College were given a unique opportunity to test their mechanical skills on the new McLaren F1 car, as part of an initiative by McLaren Technology.

The car maker, working with KPMG, gave students and other groups an opportunity to take part in a “Pit Stop Challenge.”

The challenge saw nine mechanics students from The City of Liverpool College battle against other teams from around the city, aiming to complete a pit stop on a McLaren MP4-30 F1 car in the fastest time. There was a ‘Top Gear’ style leader board to show the fastest times of those competing on the day, giving the college team a constant update on how well they were doing.

The City of Liverpool College students impressed the McLaren team with an incredible pit stop time of of 3 seconds 69, narrowly missing out on pipping the Liverpool Echo team to the top spot.

Student Steven Murray (30) said:

“I’ve been interested in engineering since I was young and this year I started the course at the college as part of my drive to turn my life around. It’s great to have this unique experience as part of my learning. It’s worlds apart from what I imagined myself doing this time last year and it’s brilliant.”

Peter Walsh, head of the college’s engineering and logistics school, said:

“We practice this type of thing at school but never before with cars of this kind! We always try to give our students the best possible experience and it is brilliant that they are able to take part in this unique pit stop challenge from McLaren. Our motor vehicle engineering section is one of the most successful in the country, with a 90% success rate and projects like this help to give an extra boost of inspiration to the students and demonstrates the range of opportunities available to them when they finish their courses. This is a specialist career path but that doesn’t mean that it’s not possible for them to work their way into it.”

As well as the challenge there was plenty to do on the day for car lovers with two McLaren Road cars on display, the 570S and the 650S. A F1 simulator was also at the event for those looking to test their skills in the most realistic cockpit experience available.

For more information, visit Liv-Coll.ac.uk or call 0151 252 3000.