Team 18 has welcomed Brighton Grammar’s Ad Astra Racing team to its Mount Waverley headquarters as the students prepare to represent Australia at the 2026 STEM Racing World Finals in Singapore.
Ad Astra Racing will compete against approximately 100 teams from more than 50 countries at the World Finals from 3–8 October, held alongside the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.
STEM Racing challenges students to design, manufacture and race a miniature CO2-powered Formula 1 car while also managing the branding, marketing, partnerships and financial requirements of their own team.
Brighton Grammar enters this year’s competition with an impressive record. The school’s Team Lunar was crowned World Champion in 2025, while Ad Astra Racing reached the semi-finals.
During their visit to Team 18, the Ad Astra students toured the team’s Supercars workshop, met Team Principal Adrian Burgess and spoke with staff across its engineering, mechanical, partnerships and communications departments.
The visit allowed the students to explore the similarities between their STEM Racing campaign and a professional Supercars operation, including car design and manufacturing, teamwork, budgeting, commercial partnerships and marketing.
The connection carries an added coincidence, with Ad Astra competing as team number 18 in the global competition.
The team has raised approximately $80,000 of the $100,000 required to compete in Singapore and is now seeking further support from businesses and individuals to make its World Finals campaign possible.
More information on Ad Astra can be found at https://ad-astra.au/.
QUOTES
Jack Tan, Communications Director – Ad Astra Racing
“STEM Racing involves more than 1.8 million students around the world, with thousands of schools participating across Australia.
“The competition involves designing and manufacturing a miniature CO2-powered Formula 1 car, but there is also a strong focus on developing the team’s branding, marketing and partnerships.
“That’s how we connected with Team 18, and it’s quite fitting that we’ve been paired with them because Ad Astra Racing is also team number 18 in the competition.
“Team 18 was incredibly generous in welcoming us to its headquarters and showing us around the workshop. Meeting the mechanics, Team Principal and other members of the organisation, and seeing how a professional motorsport team operates, was an incredibly rewarding experience.
“Our project is based around Formula 1, but for those of us who want to pursue careers in Australian motorsport, Supercars represents an exciting next step. Seeing the cars and the team at work helped us visualise what our own futures in the industry could look like.
“There are so many different roles within a race team. There are opportunities in management, engineering, partnerships and communications, while the workshop is filled with highly skilled mechanics and technicians. It showed us that there are many ways to build a career in motorsport.
“We feel very fortunate to have qualified for the World Finals, but it has taken an enormous amount of drive, motivation and passion from the entire team.
“We’ll compete against approximately 100 teams from more than 50 countries in Singapore. Australia has a strong record in the competition, so we’re hoping we can continue that and return to Team 18 with a trophy.”
Adrian Burgess, Team Principal – Team 18
“It was fantastic to welcome the students from Ad Astra Racing into Team 18 and learn more about what they have created.
“They were an incredibly professional group, particularly for their age. They arrived eager to learn, asked some excellent questions and were genuinely excited about their own program and the opportunities available within motorsport.
“When they reached out and told us they were team number 18 in the competition, we thought it was a pretty good fit and were more than happy to help them.
“Their program reflects many of the same elements we manage every day in Supercars. They need to design and build a fast car, but they also have to develop partnerships, manage a budget, market themselves and work together effectively as a team.
“I started in motorsport at a young age without knowing exactly what the pathway to the top looked like, so it was rewarding to show these students around our facility and introduce them to the different roles within the team.
“It’s important for young people to see what is possible and understand that there are many pathways into professional motorsport, whether that is through engineering, mechanics, management, commercial partnerships or communications.
“They are still working to secure the final funding required to represent Australia in Singapore, so I would encourage any businesses interested in supporting the future of motorsport, engineering and STEM education to get behind their campaign.
“We wish them all the best for the World Finals in Singapore and hope we can welcome them back with a trophy to celebrate.”