Student engineers from Wrexham have made history after securing a top 20 finish at one of the world’s most prestigious motorsport competitions.
Wxm Racing finished 18th in the Concept Class at Formula Student UK, held at Silverstone Circuit, becoming the highest-scoring Formula Student team ever to represent Wrexham.
The team was founded in February 2026 by 19-year-old Robot Wars child prodigy April Prince and is the first Wrexham-based entry to compete in Formula Student for 12 years.
Made up primarily of first-year students, Wxm Racing competed against universities from across the UK and around the world in the competition’s Car Design, Business and Costing categories.
Despite operating with far fewer resources than many rival teams, the students impressed judges to secure a place in the competition’s top 20.
Team leader April Prince said: “I am delighted my team have placed in the top 20 in only our first attempt.
“The very best universities from all over the world were there, with some of their teams numbering in the hundreds of members, so for us to take them on with just a few students, and beat so many of them in each category, was extremely validating.”
The team’s concept centred on a petrol-electric hybrid single-seat race car featuring a rear-wheel-drive petrol engine combined with front-wheel-drive electric motors.
Much of the technology was adapted from systems April had previously developed for her Robot Wars machines, with the batteries, motor controllers and electric motors all originating from her distinctive glitter-pink fighting robots.
The concept also shared similarities with the overall competition-winning car from Edith Cowan University in Melbourne, Australia.
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April said: “The fact that a concept quite similar to ours won the entire event gave me confidence to trust our own judgement.
“I attended Formula Student as a guest in 2025, and it rained throughout the whole event. It was easy to see the advantage four-wheel-drive cars had in those conditions.
“Having seen that, I knew a good, low-voltage hybrid design could deliver all the benefits of four-wheel drive without the weight and complexity of either a high-voltage electric car or a conventional four-wheel-drive transmission.”
Following their successful debut, Wxm Racing has been invited to return to Formula Student in 2027 and hopes to progress from the Concept Class to building and racing its car in the dynamic events.
“The judges were genuinely excited about the design and really want to see us build the car and compete in the race events,” April added.
“That now has to be our goal, so we’re looking for sponsors, industry partners and supporters who want to help us build our knowledge and skills, and help us build the car professionally and quickly. I genuinely believe we have something special that can shake up the order in 2027.”
The team has thanked its 2026 sponsors, APH Signs, GlitterBombRobo, Wrexham Students’ Union and Snip’n’ Tuck Alterations, for supporting the project.
Wxm Racing is now seeking commercial sponsors and technical partners to help bring its hybrid Formula Student car to the track for the 2027 competition.
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