Oxford Brookes Racing seeks record-breaking win at racing competition

A team from Oxford Brookes University will look to mark their 25th anniversary by bringing home prizes from the Formula Student racing competition next month.

Oxford Brookes Racing is the most successful Formula Student UK team ever.

They will be hoping to make it a record ninth title win at the event which will run from July 17-21 at Silverstone.

The competition sees around 100 universities from 30 different countries enter their own single-seat race cars each year, which are judged on speed, acceleration and endurance.

Prescott Campbell and Claire Pokopac of Oxford Brookes Racing (Image: Oxford Brookes Racing)

The team unveiled their new electric race car, designed and built by students, earlier this month.

In last year’s competition at Silverstone, the team brought home eight trophies and finished in third place overall.

Team lead Prescott Campbell, a third-year motorsport engineering student, said: "Last year was without doubt a fantastic year for Oxford Brookes Racing at Silverstone.

"But this year we are aiming to perform even better and win the competition outright.

"We have a fantastic car, and the whole team is ready to compete at the highest level.

"A tremendous amount of hard work and dedication has gone into preparing us for competition, which is why we all joined Oxford Brookes Racing in the first place."

Mr Prescott also spoke about the modified features of the electric car, highlighting the redesigning of the cooling system, the addition of regenerative braking, new rear and side wings and torque vectoring to improve the car's cornering.

The car has been named ‘Wheatlie’ in honour of the Wheatley Campus where it was developed.

Since its inception in 1999, Oxford Brookes Racing has grown into a leading Formula Student team in Europe, achieving seven UK Top Team awards.

This year, more than 400 students form the team, and they have played a part in the design and build of the car, along with other duties such as taking charge of marketing and sponsorship opportunities.

Staff from the School of Engineering, Computing, and Mathematics support and assist the students throughout the year.

Gordana Collier, head of the School of Engineering at Oxford Brookes, and the principal academic adviser for Oxford Brookes Racing, said: "We have an extremely proud history and reputation at Formula Student at Silverstone, which includes finishing at the summit of the table on eight occasions.

"We were very proud of the team’s achievements last year in what is a very high standard competition.

"I know that the team will make us proud again this year when they take to the track."

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