Student team achieves breakthrough success at international Formula Student competition
Xracing made history with their best-ever performance at the Formula Student competition
The University of Exeter’s student-led Formula Student team, Xracing, have made history with their best-ever performance at the recent prestigious Formula Student 2025 competition.
In a record-setting year, XRacing completed all dynamic events for the first time in the University’s decade-long participation in the global competition – a feat achieved by only 11 of the 59 competing teams.
Formula Student, now in its 26th year, is the world’s premier engineering and business competition for students, drawing over 100 university teams annually. The competition challenges teams to design, build, and race a single-seat formula-style car, while showcasing excellence in engineering, innovation, business acumen, and teamwork.
The event, hosted by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers at the famous Silverstone racetrack, saw Exeter’s team achieve a host of key milestones and achievements. These included :
- 16th overall – the highest-ever placement for the team
- 11th in the Endurance event – one of the toughest tests of car performance and driver skill
- “Most Entertaining Driver of the Day” – a crowd-pleasing bonus that highlights the team’s spirit
- One of only 11 teams worldwide to finish every race event
XRacing’s 2025 campaign reflects years of steady growth and cross-disciplinary collaboration, with more than 150 members spanning Engineering, the Business School, Physics, and beyond.
Brendan Corkery, TS Faculty Advisor and lead academic for the team, played a pivotal role in supporting this student-led initiative. The team also benefited from sustained support by other University staff, state-of-the-art engineering facilities, and generous contributions from industry sponsors.
Professor Ion Sucala, Head of the Department of Engineering, said: “This achievement demonstrates the power of hands-on learning, interdisciplinary teamwork, and student-led innovation. We couldn’t be prouder of XRacing and look forward to supporting their continued success.”
