Not content just watching formula one racing on television a Manchester University student is now helping to build a formula racing car.

Puja Kapoor, is part of a small team of students who are building a single seater car from scratch for a competition in July.

The 19-year-old Aerospace Engineering student joined the Formula Student team in October 2005 shortly after accepting a place at Manchester University.

Inspired by her father's intersest in racing, Puja said, "A lot of my interest in formula one cars came from my dad. The more he watched the formula one racing on television the more I became interested in the aerodynamics and engineering of the racing cars.

"It is definately something different I'm doing."

Puja's first started to take her interest in cars seriously from the age of 16 where she and few other students worked alongside engineering company John Crane to solve a real life engineering problem.

Now three years later Puja is part of the bodywork team.

Puja said: "There is a lot of work to do the bodywork has been designed, we just have to make it now but everyone has exams at the minute but we will start working again once they are over."

Formula Student accepted the engineering challenge as part of the Formula Student Racing scheme which challenges university students to design, build, and compete as a team with a small single-seater racing car.

Puja added, "It is good fun, they are a lovely bunch of people in the team."

The full team consists of 36 male and 4 female students encompassing a variety of course.

The MAN06 car they are building has a new 600cc Yamaha R6 engine aiming to reach 0-60mph in 4 seconds and only weighs 220 kilograms!

To get the car off the ground, the Manchester University team needed to secure sponsorship and one company who took up the opportunity was student mobile phone service, Dot mobile.Freddie Shirley of Dot said, "Dot mobile are delighted to support the inspirational efforts of the Manchester University team. A project like this is a wonderful way to showcase the creative talents of engineers both in this university and in universities across the country."