Oxford University Racing team competes at Silverstone

Having only entered the Concept Class competition once before, this was the University team’s opportunity to make the project a reality by building and entering their first electric racing car.

“We were able to learn so much from our own experience as well as from speaking to other teams who have already been racing for years.”

The team, consisting of 50 students, became one of the first of the 61 teams to pass the Accumulator Scrutineering process, having the vehicle assessed and analysed by engineers at the competition, a notoriously difficult checkpoint to pass. Engineering DPhil student, Jack Bruford’s, hard work heading the Battery Team was a key part in this success.

The competition comprises of practical engineering as well as  business planning and project management. Tom Merritt-Webster,Team Leader for 2021-2022, and Engineering DPhil student Tanmayee Deshprabhu were responsible for the creation and presentation of the team’s Business Plan Proposal which placed  13^th out of 61  teams. Tanmayee said, ‘We were able to learn so much from our own experience as well as from speaking to other teams who have already been racing for years. We've given ourselves an excellent starting point to start designing and building our next electric race car ahead of Formula Student 2023!’

"We've given ourselves an excellent starting point to start designing and building our next electric race car ahead of Formula Student 2023!"

Formula Student is one of the most established educational motorsport competitions, running more than 20 years. The intention is to give students from around the world a platform to develop their motorsport engineering and business skills with guidance from industry-leading experts.

Taking place between the 6-10 July, each team was tasked with producing a prototype single-seat race car, which underwent crucial vehicle tests to progress further into the competition. Teams are also required to think economically about the car, producing proposals for manufacturing firms that justify the viability of the vehicle economically.

Despite the successes, the car was not able to get through the Scrutineering phase of the competition in time to compete in the dynamic events, however this is typical for first-time entry teams and leaves plenty of scope for future progression through the competition. An amazing first entry by our Oxford University engineers, the car was said to have significantly surpassed expectations from the Scrutineer Teams and numerous members of the industry – an impressive feat.

Importantly, the competition provided an opportunity for our engineers to connect with and meet other Formula Student teams from all over the world, speak with motorsports experts, and industrial sponsors. The entire competition was a great learning experience for the team and the students are looking forward to beginning work on the next electric race car for the next year’s competition.

If any students are interested in joining the Formula Student team, please express interest via the Oxford University Racing team website here.