Oxford University Racing Team launches Car for 2024 Formula Student competition

Formula Student is one of the most established educational motorsport competitions and has been running more than 20 years. Engineering Science and other Oxford students are taking part for the third year running, and hopes are high.

The Oxford University Racing Team, made up of talented students from across the University, unveiled their latest race car, the OUR3, at a launch event in the Department of Engineering Science on 11 July. This event marks the culmination of a year of intensive work by the team as they prepare to compete in the Formula Student 2024 race, scheduled for 17-21 July at Silverstone race track. The event gave the team the opportunity to chat with each other and with team supporters in person and showcase their achievements in the design and build of the car.

The Formula Student competition, supported by industry leaders and high-profile engineers such as Patron Ross Brawn OBE, aims to foster innovation and enterprise among young engineers. Each year, over 100 university teams participate, making it a premier event in the educational motorsport calendar. The competition is designed to develop both practical engineering skills and essential soft skills like business planning and project management, serving as a bridge from university to the professional world.

This year Oxford’s team consists of over 80 students from the Department of Engineering Science along with students from other departments. Some students in the team have done their 4th year projects based on Formula Student e.g. designing and building custom inventions for the car. This provides a lot of opportunities for them to learn practical engineering skills.

The team has focused on every aspect of motorsport engineering, from research and design, to developing, building and testing the finished electric race car they are now excited to enter into the race. This year, they are excited about achieving an official run on the Silverstone track, armed with lessons learned from previous competitions.

The launch of the OUR3 car celebrates the team's hard work, dedication, and resilience over the year. As they gear up for the upcoming competition, the team continues to push the boundaries of innovation and excellence in motorsport engineering, embodying the competition's spirit of developing the next generation of enterprising and innovative engineers.

MEng Student, Brasenose College, Oxford University, Nishen Menerapitiyage, who is Operations Manager for Oxford University Racing said: ‘‘We are really excited for the race next Wednesday. Every one of us in the team has been grateful for all our sponsors, especially one of our major sponsors, the University of Oxford’s Department of Engineering Science. Even as we graduate, we will keep them at heart.’’

Fellow 4th year Engineering Science undergraduate Ovidiu Antal, Mech Technical Lead of the team, who has been involved in the competition for the past three years, said: ‘‘This year we have made really important progress on designing all the components, we also have some very exciting additions like our 90-degree barrel wheel and a new chassis. We are all excited to see how this will do in the competition.’’

Dr Ryan Walker, who leads the Formula Student Team at Engineering Science said: ‘‘It is fantastic to see all of the efforts of our students come together for ‘OUR3’ – Oxford Universities third entry into the Formula Student competition. The quality of design and construction is improving year on year, and the team are getting larger and more diverse. Building an entire car in 8 months is a huge undertaking and would not be possible without the support of the faculty and support staff in the Department of Engineering Science, not to mention our fantastic sponsors. We look forward to the competition in Silverstone next week, and wish all of the other Universities attending from across the globe good luck!’’