Driving Innovation: Oakwood’s Racing Team Shines in Germany

In August, Oakwood’s racing team traveled to Chemnitz, Germany, for the Horizon Educational Hydrogen Grand Prix (H2GP) World Finals, an international hydrogen car racing competition that brought together students from nearly 30 countries across five continents. The weeklong event was as much about innovation and sustainability as it was about racing.

This year’s H2GP World Finals featured three main races: a Prototype race, a Hybrid race, and the inaugural Girls in STEM race. Oakwood has consistently placed in the top three at the World Finals over the last five years—third in Germany in 2018, second in Prague in 2019, first and second in the Netherlands in 2022, first in Las Vegas in 2023, and first in Anaheim in 2024. Continuing this tradition, Oakwood Students Willa ’26, Jack ’25, Jorge ’26, Kai ’26, Franny ’26, and Tali ’26, led by STEAM department chair, Marcos Arias, secured first place in the Hybrid main event. The Oakwood girls also captured first place in the Hybrid division of the Girls in STEM race, a historic new category designed to highlight female drivers, engineers, and mechanics.

For Willa, a three-year team member and two-time Worlds competitor, racing in Germany felt entirely different from last year’s event in Anaheim. “When you’re 15 hours away, you have to figure it out there. The stakes were higher, so preparation and organization were everything.”

The new Girls in STEM race was a highlight. “It was honestly my favorite race I’ve ever done,” Willa shared. “In this race, it was all women. We had to be the drivers, the mechanics, and the problem-solvers. It was really empowering to see what we could do.”

Team Green also entered the Prototype race, an advanced division typically reserved for college teams. Although Oakwood’s high schoolers could only participate as an exhibition team, they still made waves by outperforming many university groups and finishing second overall. When a fried wire left their car temporarily disabled, the team quickly diagnosed the problem, made repairs, and returned to the track within 15 minutes.

While victories were an undeniable highlight, Willa says the connections she made were just as meaningful. “Honestly, my favorite part was meeting people from other teams,” she said. “They were my age but from totally different places in the world. And yet we all had this one thing in common.”

Beyond the racetrack, the competition also showcased hydrogen technology and its role in sustainable transportation. For Willa, this aspect was especially inspiring. “Seeing the future of hydrogen-powered cars and learning about alternative energy has made me want to pursue something STEM-related, maybe engineering.”

Oakwood’s performance at the H2GP World Finals reflects not only technical excellence but also the school’s commitment to collaboration, leadership, and resilience. Whether racing on the world stage or problem-solving in the pit, Oakwood students are proving that innovation and teamwork can drive change. 

Congratulations to the Oakwood racing team for this incredible accomplishment!