Following months of development, testing and and preparation, Team Bath Racing Electric travelled to Formula Student Germany (FSG) 2026 with their innovative new car design.
This year's TBRe26 featured the team's first in-hub powertrain alongside a completely new battery system, signifying one of the most ambitious engineering projects the team have ever created. Their innovation paid off, culminating in them finishing the full 22km Endurance event, their first-ever trophy at FSG, and finishing as the highest-scoring British team at the competition.
A pre-competition stop at Brooklands
Before heading to Germany, the team was invited by the Bugatti Trust to attend the Brooklands 100th anniversary celebrations. Alongside historic vehicles, TBRe26 showcased the future of motorsport engineering while celebrating its heritage.
The team were also given the opportunity to run the car on the Mercedes-Benz World test track, presenting a valuable chance to test the car ahead of the competition whilst engaging with the public and prospective students.
Overcoming challenges in scruitineering
With a significant amount of new and exciting technology on the car, getting through the rigorous scruitneering stage of FSG was not without its challenges.
The team carried out last minute manufacturing work on safety components and aerodynamic elements, alongside investigating an intermittent communications issue within the battery system.
After extensive troubleshooting, the team made the decision to remove one battery module - this inevitably reduced performance but improved reliability massively. Although a difficult compromise to make, it was ultimately the right one, proving invaluable in the events to come.
Success off the track
The team also participated in the competition's static disciplines, presenting its engineering, manufacturing and business decisions to panels of industry experts.
Judges praised several aspects of the team's work, including its aerodynamic development and use of AI tools, recognising them as some of the strongest in the competition. The feedback provided has given the team valuable insights that will help shape their future creation processes.
A first Formula Student Germany trophy!
One of the highlights of weekend-long event came on Saturday evening, when TBRe was awarded third place in the MathWorks Modelling and Simulation Award following their completion of the track in an impressive 5.844 seconds.
The achievement earned the team €1,500, and more importantly, marked Team Bath Racing Electric's first ever trophy at FSG. The award recognised the increasing sophistication of the team's simulation, data analysis and AI capabilities, reflecting years of hard work and development in these areas.
Proving a new powertrain concept
The final challenge came on the Sunday with a 22km Endurance event, FSG's ultimate test of reliability and performance.
Competing in extremely high temperatures during the ongoing heatwaves, the team relied heavily on its modelling and simulation tools to predict energy consumption and component temperatures. They prioritised reliability over outright pace, adopting a conservative strategy aimed at reaching the finish line - and it paid off.
After successfully switching between drivers during the event, TBRe26 completed the full Endurance event, becoming only the second car that morning to cross the finish line. For a team with an entirely new in-hub powertrain and battery system, this was a huge achievement.
Building for the future
The results in Germany represent far more than just this single competition win. They demonstrate the successful development and validation of a completely new vehicle concept for the team and provide a strong foundation for future teams to build upon.
With the new powertrain and battery system now proven, future students can focus on developing advanced capabilities such as traction control, torque vectoring, further AI integrations and continuing to push the performance of future cars.
It's been a landmark year for TBRe - from their first FSG trophy to their completion of the full Endurance event, proving that ambitious new ideas can succeed with determination, creativity and teamwork.
We're so proud to be a part of their wins through our sponsorship of the team, and wish them every success in the future as they continue to innovate the motorsports engineering space.
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