Engineering news
Team Bath Racing Electric (TBRe), which is made up of undergraduate student engineers from the University of Bath’s faculty of engineering and design, will travel to Zhuhai, China, next week to compete at the Formula Student Electric China event which takes place from Monday 26 November to Saturday 1 December.
They will arrive as the top UK electric team and sole UK representatives. It will also be the first time a UK team has competed at this event.
Over the six days in Zhuhai, the University of Bath students will test themselves against over 35 teams from across the world. Their racing car will be put through its paces in a number of static and track-based challenges.
Earlier this year at Formula Student UK, TBRe recorded their highest-ever ranking - finishing 17th out of the 129 combustion and electric teams – and retained their title as top UK electric team for a consecutive year.
This is the first time TBRe have competed outside of the UK, which has been made possible through the sponsorship and support from a number of organisations and businesses.
Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) Motor UK Technical Centre has been pivotal in supporting TBRe as their lead sponsor, providing engineering expertise as well as financially and logistically supporting the team in getting the racing car to China.
Companies such as Mahle Powertrain and Bosch have also provided their backing and sponsorship. There is also a variety of financial and in-kind support from the university’s faculty of engineering and design, and development and alumni relations.
Team manager Elizabeth Maclennan said: “The team is incredibly excited to be competing in China and so grateful to our amazing sponsors, particularly SAIC Motor UK Technical Centre, and supervisors at the University of Bath for their support. This is an amazing opportunity for us to get international racing experience and take a big step forward in car performance and team professionalism.
"With a skeleton crew of students, we are going to be focusing on teamwork and efficiency to reach our racing goals. This is a big step for us as a young team and we can’t wait to see the cars our Chinese competitors bring to the event!”
Terry Spall, chief judge at Formula Student, said: “I’m absolutely delighted that the University of Bath will be flying the flag for Formula Student and UK engineering. Formula Student prides itself for being at the cutting edge of technology and reflecting wider changes in industry, including the necessary shift to cleaner technology. Indeed, many alumni of the competition have gone on to build successful careers in the automotive sector. I’m very excited to see how the team fares.”
Professor Gary Hawley, dean of the university's faculty of engineering and design, said: “TBRe have enjoyed a monumental rise in success as the top UK electric racing team and the students have gained much respect and admiration for their professionalism and their engineering capabilities. Driven and motivated to compete and to be winners, they race against the world’s best in China. We wish them good luck in what will be a tremendous experience.”
Adam Parr, brand and engagement manager at SAIC Motor UK Technical Centre, added: “Over the past few years we have developed an excellent relationship with the University of Bath, employing students from their engineering faculty on our internship and graduate programmes and collaborating with them on projects. When the opportunity arose, we were delighted to provide support to TBRe with insight from our skilled engineering workforce and other logistical support.
“All of us at SAIC Motor UK Technical Centre wish the best of luck to the team as they compete in China.”
TBRe and their combustion counterparts, Team Bath Racing (TBR), compete annually at the Formula Student competition, run by the IMechE. It is Europe's most established educational motorsport competition,.
Formula Student challenges student engineers to design, build and race a single-seat racing car in one year. The FS competitions scrutinise a variety of aspects of each team’s racing car, ranging from manufacturing cost and vehicle design to on-track performance metrics such as vehicle acceleration and fuel efficiency, and ultimately race pace.
This is only TBRe’s second year since forming and its early success is evidence of the strength of the university’s engineering students and degree programmes. As part of their degrees, students have the opportunity to represent TBRe at Formula Student and base their final-year project or dissertation on the particular aspect they have been working on as part of their role in TBRe.
To keep up to date with the team’s progress, visit the website or Twitter account.
Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.