Formula Student
As one of the event partners for Formula Student, Bosch UK are keen to support the efforts of university teams and foster the next generation of engineering talent. To achieve this, Bosch UK also support teams who are competing in the UK competition and in 2018 they have expanded this to four teams; Team Bath Racing Electric, Brunel Racing, Oxford Brookes Racing and Coventry Phoenix Racing
The day opened with a presentation by Bosch UK about their organisation and opportunities for recent graduates, together with similar talks from ITK Engineering and ETAS Group (both Bosch subsidiaries) and Bosch Engineering Group to further emphasise the openings available for engineers who are starting their careers, both in different engineering disciplines and overseas.
Afterwards, the teams broke into specific roles, with engineers rushing back to their team tents to get their cars ready to pass scrutineering, with some of the static event presenters for each team heading in the opposite direction to organise dry runs of their business and cost presentations. As Bosch UK employ several FS alumni, such as George Kamakaris, there were plenty of staff on hand to accurately judge the proceedings and give practical advice for improvements. As teams do not win the competition on the performance of their car alone, it is commendable that Bosch UK focus not only on testing the prowess of a team’s car but also how they handle themselves with a PowerPoint presentation. As for exactly how well the teams have taken on board the feedback, the proof will be in their results in the Design, Business and Cost presentations taking place next week.
Later in the morning, the teams also had the chance to hear from renowned BTCC driver Matt Neal, who was on hand to share insights from in racing and developing cars. Aside from elaborating on some of his career highlights, Matt also provided some excellent advice for FS competitors: “Getting where you want to be is never going to be easy - you go through ups and downs. How you deal with those ups and downs will determine your success!”
Naturally, the test day also provides an opportunity to catch up with the teams taking part to get a sense of where they were with their entries for this year. Starting with Coventry’s Phoenix Racing, their 2018 car sports a more refined aero package, with plenty of additional improvements under the hood. Speaking with a member of the university’s communications team, he explained that progress on the car was initially quite slow, but came together quite quickly in early 2018 to the point where the car is nearly ready.
Meanwhile, Oxford Brookes Racing’s car sports their new livery, though like Coventry Pheonix Racing, their car did not manage to pass scrutineering on the day to get on track. With some last minute gremlins to clear out, it should not be very difficult for OBR to get their car ready.
Moving on to Brunel Racing, theirs was the least complete of the four cars on show. While both the team and their faculty advisor acknowledged that they had plenty to do before the competition, they were confident that they will be able to complete their final assembly in time for Silverstone.
Which leaves Team Bath Racing Electric. Having caught up with the team at last year’s event, I recall their first electric car was quite rough and ready. Not so in 2018, with a team that have very much matured over the last 12 months. Chatting with their team manager, they explained that they have become more organised this year to develop this year’s car. Indeed, TBRe were the only team able to pass scrutineering and from their performance at Horiba MIRA, they are very much one to watch in terms of electric entries this year.
Thanks to Bosch UK for hosting the day. Catch up with all teams who took part ahead the 20th anniversary competition in 2018 and keep an eye open of them on track!
Team Bath Racing Electric - https://teambathracingelectric.com/
Oxford Brookes Racing - https://obr.brookes.ac.uk/
Brunel Racing - https://www.brunelracing.com
Coventry Phoenix Racing - https://www.facebook.com/Phoenixracingformulastudent/
Want more photos? Check the Formula Student Flickr account.
About Bosch UK
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