Team Bath Racing Electric (TBRe) has reclaimed the title of the UK’s top student electric vehicle team after a successful first appearance at Formula Student Spain.

Competing with the world’s top student racing teams at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona, TBRe scored a 15th-place finish among the 45 electric vehicle (EV) teams at the event.

Following a challenging weekend at Formula Student UK at Silverstone in July, in which bad luck and technical issues hindered their chances, the result represented a very satisfying season finale for the team. The result earned TBRe sufficient Formula Student world ranking points to return to the position of the UK’s number one EV team¹.

Made up of students from Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Mechanical Engineering courses, the team were taking part in an overseas European event for the first time. This meant they had to adapt to the high standards set by the teams competing in Spain, as well as a different set of rules to those used in Formula Student UK.

The rules included a tougher scrutineering process that ensures each car is ready to compete – this is even more stringent than that used in the UK, so presented a new challenge to the team. Despite a last minute scrutineering objection that saw the team miss the skid pan event, the car was signed off in time to successfully compete in the competition’s acceleration, autocross (sprint) and endurance events in the blistering summer heat.

Natalie Kyprianou, the team’s accumulator lead, said: “Formula Student Spain was an incredible, and challenging, adventure for Team Bath Racing Electric. Of the 45 electric vehicle teams to enter the event, just 26 passed scrutineering and only 16 completed the endurance event – so to be among them was a real achievement.

“The calibre of this competition was a big step up from what we had faced at FSUK. We showed up as a tiny team with no aerodynamic package on the car, a single motor and having never competed there – so nobody thought we would make anything of it. By the end of the week, we had the top ranking teams visiting our garage and congratulating us. It was an amazing experience and a very important moment in the history of the team.”

Dr Ben Metcalfe, a lecturer from the University’s Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering and TBRe’s academic supervisor, said: “This is an incredible achievement for TBRe. We are a comparatively young and small team compared to the top teams in Europe, so to finish 15th here and end the season as the UK’s top-scoring electric team is testament to the superb work our students have put in all year.”

TBRe previously competed overseas at Formula Student Electric China in 2018, where they placed 21st overall out of 53 teams.

¹Word Ranking Points were computed using this formula, competitiveness of FSUK 19 and FSS 19 were estimated using the values for 2018.