Relec Sponsors Formula Student Team
TBRe and SUFST.
Celebrate a Successful 2026 Season
Relec Electronics is proud to have sponsored two university racing teams during the 2026 Formula Student season. Team Bath Racing Electric and the University of Southampton Formula Student team achieved strong results at Formula Student UK (FSUK) and Formula Student Germany (FSG), demonstrating the engineering ability, problem-solving and teamwork required to design, build and compete with a student-developed racing car.
Relec supplied Team Bath Racing Electric with the Cosel DCS1400B12, a compact full-brick DC-DC converter designed for high-voltage DC inputs. The unit provides a high-power 12 V, 100 A output within the limited space available in the vehicle.
For the University of Southampton Formula Student team, Relec supplied a 5″ high-brightness TFT display with a four-wire resistive touchscreen and a custom mounting frame to simplify integration into the vehicle’s dashboard. Relec also provided two DIN-rail AC-DC power supplies: the Chinfa DRAN60-12A and FLEX17012A.
Team Bath Racing Electric
Team Bath Racing Electric completed an ambitious season after introducing its first in-hub powertrain and an entirely new battery system.
At Formula Student UK, TBRe AI, the team’s autonomous division, won the FS-AI Acceleration event, securing its first trophy since the division was revived in 2024. Competing with the organisers’ ADS-DV vehicle, the team developed its path-planning systems from scratch and created a simulator to test its code away from the track.
Looking ahead to the 2027 competitions, Team Bath is working towards a four-wheel-drive powertrain and the mechanical integration of autonomous systems into its own car.
At Formula Student Germany, the team faced several technical and regulatory challenges during scrutineering. These included manufacturing new backing plates for the rear impact structure, modifying the front and rear wing endplates and diagnosing an intermittent communications issue within the battery.
To improve reliability, the team removed one battery module. Although this reduced the car’s available voltage and limited some performance, it enabled TBRe26 to pass scrutineering and compete in the dynamic events.
The team recorded a 5.844-second Acceleration run before completing both Autocross attempts, improving its time from 103 seconds to 93.9 seconds. This secured a place in the 22 km Endurance event.
Using modelling tools and live data to predict energy consumption and component temperatures, the team selected a conservative setup designed to prioritise reliability in the high ambient temperatures. TBRe26 completed the full Endurance distance, becoming only the second car that morning to reach the finish.
Team Bath also secured third place in the MathWorks Modelling and Simulation Award, earning the team’s first-ever trophy at Formula Student Germany. The team finished the competition as the highest-scoring British team.
Team Bath’s FSG highlights included:
- Third place in the MathWorks Modelling and Simulation Award
- Completion of the 22 km Endurance event
- Highest-scoring British team at FSG
- First TBRe trophy at Formula Student Germany
- Successful competition debut for its in-hub powertrain and new battery system
University of Southampton
The Southampton University Formula Student Team also recorded one of its most successful FSUK performances in recent years.
The team finished eighth overall at Formula Student UK, supported by strong results across the dynamic, efficiency and simulation events. It won the Efficiency Award, placed fifth in Endurance and secured first place in the Sim Racing event.
Southampton also finished third in the MathWorks Challenge, recognising the team’s work in engineering modelling and simulation.
Following its successful FSUK campaign, the team travelled to Germany to compete at FSG. It completed the Endurance event, passed post-event scrutineering and finished 16th in the Endurance standings.
Southampton’s 2026 highlights included:
- Eighth place overall at FSUK
- Winner of the FSUK Efficiency Award
- First place in Sim Racing
- Fifth place in FSUK Endurance
- Third place in the MathWorks Challenge
- 16th place in Endurance at FSG
Supporting the Next Generation of Engineers
Formula Student gives university students direct experience of engineering design, manufacture, testing, project management and commercial decision-making. Competition conditions also require teams to diagnose faults, implement practical solutions and make informed engineering compromises under significant time pressure.
The achievements of both teams reflect months of development, testing and collaboration. Their results are particularly impressive given the technical demands of competing at FSUK and FSG, where reliability, efficiency and engineering justification are assessed alongside outright vehicle performance.
Relec Electronics is proud to support the development of the next generation of engineers and to have played a part in both teams’ 2026 campaigns.
Congratulations to Team Bath Racing Electric and the Southampton University Formula Student Team on their results. We look forward to following their progress and continuing our support in future seasons.
Keep up to date with our latest news over at LinkedIn and let’s stay connected! 🔗
