Wesley Ledesma, executive director of The Hand Foundation, and Janet Ledesma, foundation board member, celebrate the naming of the Ruben Ledesma, Jr. Motorsport Center.
The University of South Florida marked the unveiling of the Ruben Ledesma, Jr. Motorsport Center, the newly renovated headquarters for Bulls Racing, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony April 30.
The dedication reflects a generous gift from The Hand Foundation, a Florida-based private foundation that advances education through scholarships and community support. The gift established the Ruben Ledesma, Jr. Motorsport Center Fund, which supports the College of Engineering and Bulls Racing, the university’s Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) team.
The updated space gives Bulls Racing a new home, complete with state-of-the-art equipment to support the team’s work and grow the program. It also provides a workspace for students across disciplines, enabling the shared use of all assets for hands-on training.
The Hand Foundation was inspired to give in honor of Ruben Ledesma Jr., ’73, who served as president and chairman of the board. He had a lifelong affinity for Porsche and for auto racing, particularly Formula One. The Motorsport Center recognizes his commitment to education, motorsport competition and engineering excellence. The gift brings particular joy to his wife and foundation board member, Janet, as a heartfelt tribute to his legacy.
“Ruben’s passion for engineering and motorsports lives on through the students who will learn and create in this space,” says Jay Stroman, USF Foundation CEO. “We are sincerely grateful for this powerful investment in education and future success of our students.”
Ledesma Jr. never missed an issue of Autoweek or Car and Driver and attended the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Daytona for 50 consecutive years.
“He was a walking encyclopedia of auto racing,” says his son, Wesley Ledesma, executive director of The Hand Foundation. “He had so much respect for the talent behind the scenes — in the pit, in the garage, in the research and design departments.”
USF has participated in SAE competitions for more than 20 years through its Bulls Racing team, which operates within the College of Engineering. The team designs, manufactures and races a high-performance formula-style car in Formula SAE, an annual collegiate competition that draws more than 120 teams to Michigan International Speedway each May.
Bulls Racing consistently ranks among the top 10 teams in the nation. Ledesma hopes the new support will elevate the program even further.
“I’d love for the program to be No. 1 in Florida and the envy of other programs,” he says.
With new equipment in place, the team no longer needs to outsource manufacturing. Parts that once took up to eight weeks to produce can now be made in-house in as little as eight hours.
“We sit down, program it, load the material and by the end of the day, we have the part,” says marketing student Allan Miller, president of Bulls Racing.
This marks a major step forward in the team’s manufacturing capabilities and supports the development of industry-ready skills among the next generation of engineers. Recent USF graduates have gone on to work at leading companies, including Tesla, SpaceX, General Motors, Honda and Ford.
Looking ahead, Bulls Racing faculty adviser Arman Sargolzaei sees opportunities for the program to expand into electric- and autonomous-vehicle racing.
“The Ruben Ledesma, Jr. Motorsport Center honors a lifelong passion for racing while advancing engineering excellence at USF,” says Levi Thompson, dean of the College of Engineering. “This space reflects the spirit of innovation, precision and teamwork that defines both motorsports and engineering education.”