University of Bristol Greenpower Team Partners With Accu

Who Are Bristol Racing?

First founded by a group of 30 students at the University of Bristol in 2021, the Bristol Racing team now boasts over 90 members all working together to build not one - but two - race cars to compete in multiple Greenpower F24+ races across the UK.

The society has collaboration running through its veins, with its co-founding Presidents Richard and Owen having been friends since school before both enrolling at the University of Bristol.

Forming A New Student Motorsport Society

With the hopes of taking part in Formula Student, the UK’s number one student motorsport contest, Richard and Owen were disappointed to learn that the University had no entry into the iMechE competition. However, in spite of this challenge, the young engineers, with the support of fellow students, decided to found Bristol Racing as a way to bring some motorsport engineering competition to the university.

“Although the University of Bristol does not sponsor the availability of Formula Student, we recognise that we have a mutual interest in the amicable beauty and design of car racing and thus have a collective belief that the presence of a society as such will be beneficial in building engineering experience during our studies”, comments Leon Buck - Co-Head of Chassis for Bristol Racing.

“Furthermore, Bristol Racing has provided us with the ability to develop a broader understanding of our engineering skills in real-world experiences, far more than what classrooms will be able to provide for us”, adds Leon.

What Is The Greenpower Competition?

Set up by the Greenpower Education Trust, a UK based charity devoted to supporting young people with an interest in science and engineering, Greenpower races offer students from primary school age to university level the opportunity to design, build and race electric cars.

Greenpower events are held annually at race tracks up and down the country and are often attended by teams including Jaguar Land Rover & Renishaw, along with many secondary school and university students from across the UK.

Bristol Racing’s First Foray Into Competitive Motorsport Racing

Bristol Racing has enlisted themselves as participants in the Greenpower Race competition which promotes sustainability through racing self-built electric endurance cars.

Only a few months following the team’s formation, Bristol Racing were able to achieve a 13th place finish in the 2022 Greenpower races; a feat they were incomprehensibly proud of, given their limited funds, time and members.

On the initial challenge of competing in their first round of races, Leon comments; “our first car was handcrafted by our founding members in the basement of a flat in Bristol with limited funding and hours of painstaking effort, but this did not undermine our determination for bigger and better success in the future.”

How Partnering With Accu Will Give Bristol Racing The Competitive Edge

The team feels that these first steps into competitive student motorsport racing demonstrate their capability for further achievements moving forwards. With additional funding from sponsors and partners such as Accu, Bristol Racing are confident that they will have the opportunity to achieve greater results in the Greenpower racing competition and their future motorsport careers.

BR02, Bristol racing’s second car makes use of an infused carbon fibre aero body, a lightweight welded aluminium chassis, a dual motor setup and custom 16” wheels.

As a student-led society, Bristol Racing is focused on empowering students by enabling them to apply the knowledge they have learned in their lectures, while learning valuable practical skills from machining and assembly to design and composites manufacturing.

The team will be tapping into Accu’s extensive range of precision components, fixings and fasteners to assemble and manufacture their race car ahead of their first appearance at the Greenpower race at Lotus’ track on the 25th June 2023.

On forming the new partnership with Bristol Racing, Accu’s Community Manager, Matt Ogden comments, “It’s great to be a part of the team’s story so early in their development. For years we’ve sponsored a number of teams competing in the iMechE Formula Student competition, many of whom have long, well-established connections with multiple sponsors and suppliers. It was clear to us that Bristol Racing’s ambitions will take them far and we wanted to get behind their project. Not only are they collaborating with each other, rapidly building an electric race car to compete at Greenpower events now, but they’re also creating the foundations for the University of Bristol to have a successful student motorsport team for years to come.”