UH Racing celebrates 25 years of Formula Student racing by unveiling their most innovative car to date

UH Racing is one of the UK’s most successful Formula Student teams, founded by students in 1997 in order to take part in the first ever Formula Student competition the following year. A quarter of a century later, the team is regularly competing on the international stage and has become a leader in innovative automotive design.

After facing a challenging two years during the pandemic, the team is now excited to return to the competition with their third ever electric car, and their first in 10 years. UH Racing previously pioneered the use of low carbon fuel by producing the world’s first hydrogen-powered racecar in 2007, and competing with the first electric Formula Student car in 2009.

Since then, innovations in electric vehicle technology have advanced significantly, and the team are confident that this year’s design will provide the best racing package to date. UH25 is their first ever all-wheel drive vehicle and has been designed with regenerative braking capabilities, along with a torque vectoring system that can be tuned to the team’s requirements. The car’s high-voltage system, powering four in-hub motors, brings it in line with the most sophisticated electric vehicle systems on the market.

UH Racing team lead Kieret Ubha, who is in his 4th year of a MEng in Automotive Engineering with Motorsport, explained more about how the team created this year’s car: “We felt that this was the right time to once again take the step to an electric powertrain. It will provide us with an efficient and powerful package, without compromising on the solid foundations that has made UH Racing so successful”.

“Every Formula Student car build comes with its own issues, and this year has been no different – despite having significant design continuation from last year, lots of creases have had to be ironed out! But this has only served to improve the team as engineers and I’ve seen a remarkable growth in many of them”.

The team unveiled the car at a special event on the University’s campus in Hatfield on Monday 6 June, attended by automotive industry guests. They will compete at the 2022 Formula Student event next month, which takes place at Silverstone on 6-10 July. As well as racing against over 75 teams from around the world, students will take part in design and business events and competitions, providing invaluable experience and networking opportunities for those looking to pursue a career in automotive engineering.

The University of Hertfordshire has a strong track record of graduate employment in this field, with countless graduates going on to work in top Formula One teams and across the automotive industry.

For more information, visit the UH Racing website. To find out more about studying Automotive Engineering at Herts, visit the course pages.