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“We have been supporting LUMotorsport with their design efforts for a number of years, and it was gratifying to meet the 2024 team and show them where the magic happens,” said Lane director Nick Wheeler. “Lane Electronics is a family-run electrical connector distributor established for nearly 60 years and it is part of our ethos to support the next generation of home-grown engineers as well as our local community.”
Connectors are more important to LUMotorsport this year, as this is its first season racing a newly-designed all-electric single-seat car in the Formula Student UK (FSUK) series.
Based around a Slovenia-made 75kW (124kW peak) Emrax 228 HV LC axial flux motor and 554V 5.7kWh battery, the car is wrapped in a tubular steel and carbon composite spaceframe chassis.
“The new chassis development has brought about a large redesign of wiring looms throughout, requiring more lightweight and reliable interconnect solutions,” according Lane.
Lane Motorsport is a specialist division of Lane Electronics, was set up 10 years ago to supply electrical connectors and accessories to the motorsport industry. It is a franchised supplier of Eaton Souriau, Lemo, Weald Electronics, Hellermann Tyton and Nicomatic.
Of those, Weald Electronics is a sister company of Lane Motorsport, which manufactures connectors on the same site at Slinfold Lodge near Horsham.
Both are part of Lodge Group, which also owns connector distributor FC Lane Electronics. The later is licensed to assemble Souriau’s high-reliabiity 8STA and D38999 HD circular electrical connectors, and its Elio fibre-optic circular connectors.
LUMotorsport has around 50 members working on funding, design, building, testing, racing and promotion. During their visit to Slinfold Lodge, the team were given hand-on experience with Souriau electrical and fibre-optic connectors, and visited the Weald Electronics manufacturing facility.
The 2024 FSUK racing series starts at Silverstone on the 17 July.
