Oxford Brookes Racing aiming for eighth Formula Student UK title

The UK’s most successful Formula Student team revealed their new car at an event held at Oxford Brookes University’s Headington campus on Friday 9 June and attended by special guests from the world of Formula One and motorsport including Alpine F1 Team, Xtrac, Williams Racing, WAE, Carter Bearings, Mercedes F1, and McLaren Racing.

Last year Oxford Brookes Racing  took home seven awards at Formula Student Silverstone and the team will be back at the world famous motor racing circuit, home of the British Grand Prix, between 19 and 23 July. They will then compete at Formula Student Czech Republic from 7 to 12 August.

The 2023 season will be Oxford Brookes Racing’s fourth season with an all-electric engine, having switched from a combustion engine for the 2020 Formula Student competition. The battery has also been redesigned, with an increased capacity and efficiency compared to the 2022 version. 

The build for this year’s car began at the start of the academic year, in September 2022. Team members are involved with everything from designing, building and testing the car, to marketing and sponsorship. 

The ‘closest motorsport students can get to Formula One’ 

Tessa Waldron, Team Lead at Oxford Brookes Racing, speaking at the launch event, said: “Motorsport isn’t for the faint hearted. I think a lot of people know, whether you are alumni, staff, or parents, how much energy and time goes into Formula Student. It’s been my life for the last four years and it’s been worth it. The group of 40 team members here today have put in all the effort, the all-nighters, all the time.  That’s why they are here.”

Khanh Le, Head of Operations at Oxford Brookes Racing (OBR), said: “Being a part of OBR and Formula Student is incredibly important for a motorsport engineer. The reason being is that it’s as close as you can get to being at Formula One at the university level. We are under the same pressures of time and we follow a strict rule book and we have to deliver a car in just under a year’s time. 

“It gives students a great opportunity to experience the entire engineering process, from design and CAD, going through to actually manufacturing the part and assembling it on the vehicle, testing and often breaking things, but then fixing and rectifying problems. It really is a great overall experience for a motorsport engineer.”

Gordana Collier, Head of the School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, and Principal Academic Advisor for Oxford Brookes Racing, said: “This is a very important year for the OBR team, as their ability to design and manufacture a complex electric vehicle has matured. The team is in a good position to achieve a great result, hence the ambition to go to European competition has been high on our agenda. I am very proud of our students and humbled by their work ethics that will make this a reality.”

Formula Student at Silverstone was launched in 1981 and is the largest student motorsport competition in the world.

Around 100 universities from 30 different countries enter their own single-seat race cars each year, which are judged on speed, acceleration and endurance. Teams can choose to enter an electric or combustion engine vehicle. 

More information on Engineering at Oxford Brookes University can be found on the School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics webpage.