 Some race weekends begin with excitement, this one began with urgency, exhaustion, and the quiet hope that all our late-night efforts would finally pay off. On the evening leading off a sunny October 18th Saturday, the last race of the HRDC season approached, we set off for Silverstone Circuit with two of our race cars in tow. The drive toward the massive Silverstone complex carried routine for regular members and an insightful look into what OUMF does for the 2025 freshmen.
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It was the morning of Saturday September 20 th , the day before race day, and not one idle hand could be seen at the OUMF HQ as we were preparing for… The Annual Freshers BBQ! Though this may have appeared to be typical OUMF last minute antics, but for once, we were prepared, and far from the last minute. The Riley 1.5 and Sebring Sprite had been spanner checked and were ready to hit the west country track before the weekend had begun. The BBQ commenced with some members scurrying to make their very own pop-up restaurant while others undertook the ferrying of between 100 - 150 freshers from pub to HQ for a day of socialising, eating, and most importantly, recruitment of future race engineers! The end of Ding’s ‘Kings speech’ to the newcomers marked the start of our race weekend. As freshers walked on down the drive feeling enthusiastic at the prospect of joining OUMF, we got to work packing our showcased projects away, loading the two race cars onto their trailers and sorting who was to go in who’s car to get to Castle Combe circuit before dark…but only just! Arriving at the circuit at sunset, we had to hurriedly unload the trailers and promptly set off to make it to the Bell Inn in time for the team dinner. Afterwards, with our stomachs full and aching from laughter, we headed back to the circuit to unload some of the van to make room for Ding to sleep in it, and pitched our tents, ready for a 6am wake up. Though most voted against it, Eddie Scheer, Evan Dunbabin-Wray, Christos Karakitsios and myself honoured our tradition and embarked on a windy track walk to partake in certain superstitious rituals en route to ensure race day was as fruitful as possible!   On a wet Wednesday afternoon, the OUMF team departed for the Goodwood Motor Circuit, with the Riley 1.5 trailered securely behind Ollie’s dad’s Land Rover Defender. The journey was made in persistent rain, which seemed to be following us down south. Upon arrival, the team established their base at the campsite, marking out the OUMF area before erecting the Le Mans tent. This task was made more difficult by frequent heavy downpours, leaving most of the team drenched by the time camp was fully set up. The paddocks were then organised into a functional workshop space, with tools, equipment, and spares arranged for use over the coming days. With the essentials in place, the team headed to a nearby country pub for a well-earned dinner, which provided a chance to dry off, warm up, and discuss the plans for the weekend ahead.
The famous Gold Cup weekend marked OUMF’s return to the spectacular Oulton Park circuit after two years - and the racing was as exciting as ever. The beautiful thing about racing historics is its like hopping into a time machine and travelling back to the golden age of racing. We took our Riley racer to compete in the Jack Sears Trophy, and “Little BeWT” the Sebring Sprite in the Dunlop Allstars. Of course, the mighty Ding Boston in the driver’s seat.   1. Acquiring A Data Logger
Data Logging has become one of the most important aspects of modern motorsport and being quite keen on becoming a race engineer I thought it was high time to dive into it. Looking around the HQ of the Oxford University Motorsport foundation I saw two primary forms of acquiring data: 1. The Vbox which only outputs video and speed via a gps and 2. A Motec data Logger from 2003 that sadly no longer fully functions. Not letting myself be defeated so soon I went to Ding with my query and he duly reminded me that I may have an opportunity to get a new data logger at the race retro motorsport show. Upon looking at the list of stands at race retro my ambitions to acquire the squiggly lines was re-lit with Haltech being in attendance. At race retro we were met by Martin Stelleman and Mark Luney who both jumped right on board in my quest to learn proper race engineering and graciously allowed OUMF to ‘have a play’ with a Haltech Nexus S2. Not getting too personal, but my excitement was through the roof. 11 analog inputs! 6 SPI’s! A MAP sensor!?!? Once the Haltech (which is what I will refer to the Nexus S2 as from now on) was with us we put it on display at the Practical Classics Restoration Show at the NEC with many ooo’s and aahh's from not only the students in the club but many a show goer. I was just ready to crack on and get the thing into one of our cars!  In true OUMF last-minute fashion, the weekend kicked off with an email sent out at 10:39, requesting the team to gather for an 11:00 start at the barn. As cars rolled down the drive and students poured out, a warm blanket of sun saw the team don sunglasses, hats, and suncream – a welcome change from the dark, wet evenings we had all grown used to while working on the projects over winter. As the first race of the season – and the first ever race for some of the lucky freshers to make the team (myself included) – a buzz of excitement filled the barn and yard during the final preparations before departure. We secured the race cars onto the trailers, shut the van doors for the last time, and all piled into the convoy vehicles (smallest person goes in the middle seat!), stopping briefly before the circuit for a Sainsbury’s pit stop for some student essentials – beer, energy drinks and sweets.
The 20th of October marked the final round in OUMF’s 14th year racing in the HRDC. Our Riley One Point Five competing in the ‘Jack Sears Trophy’ and the Austin Healey Seabring Sprite in the ‘Dunlop Allstars’. This event would be impossible without the support of the HRDC’s Race Director, Julius Thurgood; him being a key player into letting us race at some of the UK’s finest circuits. This weekend to many of the new freshers, including myself would be their debut race weekend, meaning Ding had his work cut out to pick out a team with the 92+ different members who had joined the club the month prior. The week of Silverstone a list was organized, being a team of 9 previous members to be supported by 10 freshers to ensure the weekend would run as smooth as possible, along with giving the opportunity to see how the freshers would fit in the team and compare to many professional race teams there that weekend.  The Team and cars in the Silverstone pits
The preparations for me began on Thursday evening when I arrived having been away from OUMF due to the start of my placement. It was good to be back at the barn and part of the team again. The team gathered to give our trusty Riley a final once-over before the big weekend. Everything was looking good and by Saturday morning, the Riley was primed and ready to go. We packed up the van, loaded the Riley, and hit the road at 4 PM, bound for Brands Hatch with excitement and optimism.
 A trailer wheel rolling past the van while leaving the HQ was not the best omen with which to start a race weekend - but luckily the OUMF race team is not superstitious! Attempt 2 to leave went much more smoothly, and the team made their way north-east to the very technical Snetterton 300 race circuit in Norfolk. The team had just returned from Belgium the previous weekend, where we had scored a notable success with a Class win with our rally Riley 1.5 in the FIA Ardeca Ypres Rally. Almost as soon as we got off the DFDS ferry, we had continued the race prep our 1959 Elva Courier, in the hope of running it at Snetterton 5 days later. While it was quite the valiant effort to try and get the ol’ girl ‘good to race’, it was eventually decided to put a much less time-constrained effort in on the car after Snetterton. This meant the team fully committed to taking our Sebring Sprite and Riley 1.5 racers, our tried and tested machines which only required a quick refresh instead of a full buildup!
On reaching the circuit near Norwich, we set up our pit at the track and then made our way to the pub for some grub. However, after previous all-nighter of race prep took its toll on many of the team, and upon our return to the track, a rare occurrence took place…the exhausted OUMF’s were all in bed by 22:00!
The OUMF team’s plan was to leave on the afternoon of Saturday 29th July for Oulton Park’s signature Gold Cup, as our race in the Riley - The Jack Sears Trophy - was on Sunday 30th July…or so we thought until 1pm on the Friday afternoon! At that point it was realised that the race was ACTUALLY on Saturday 29th! Now most of you, I’m sure, might say that once the simple mistake is realised, it's an easy fix: ‘just’ pack and leave immediately for the circuit, right? Well, yes, but at this point the team was heading out to collect a semi-dismantled TVR Wedge that had been
Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit |
 | After some great results throughout this season, everyone old and new on the team was excited for the final weekend of the HRDC season where the OUMF Riley 1.5 racer would be competing in the HRDC ‘Touring Greats’ and ‘Allstars’ races. Alongside the racing on the Sunday, the team were invited to visit Halls Garage on Saturday. |
 Photos By Nikita Volkov | The unexpected news of our invitation to debut the Riley 1.5 racer at the Goodwood Revival took the team very pleasantly by surprise, some time after our return from an astonishing performance on the Ypres Rally in Belgium in the Riley rally car. After all, the Revival is without question one of the most prestigious, exclusive and well-known events in the world of historic and classic motorsport, and it was a tremendous honour, and a privilege, to be asked to compete. It is famous for evoking the atmosphere of racing events back in the 1950’s and 1960’s, as well as attracting some very famous names, and indeed, some very famous cars. Needless to say we couldn’t wait to see our student-built Riley racing on the same track as 250 Ferraris, D-Types, pre-war Alfa Romeos and the cigar- shaped Grand Prix cars of the 60s. |
