The CERTINA brand, connected from its earliest years with strong innovation, is proud to be an Official Partner of the Bern Formula Student (BFS) project. This exciting series, mentored by the Bern University of Applied Science, was created to encourage student innovation, the development of new technologies and to promote greater contact between the student community and industrial players.

The main focus of the BFS project is the development of a fully-electric racing car that, fairly predictably, drew instant attention from the motorsport-driven Swiss watchmaker CERTINA. The 2015 version of the BFS car named “Berna” achieved good results last year and the unveiling of the next-generation “Giura” on July 15 aligns even greater expectations: the BFS team has set out to reach a top-five finish within the coming five racing seasons. The BFS project brings together the enthusiastic work of a team of around 30 students, working within the larger global Formula Student framework run by the Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE), with more than 500 student-teams worldwide.

CERTINA’s contact with motor racing dates back decades and, through the years, has included MotoGP, Formula 1, the ADAC GT Masters series and, of course, its huge ongoing presence in the World Rally Championship (WRC) and partnership with the Abu Dhabi Total World Racing Team.

The connection between CERTINA and Bern Formula Student is built on strong common interests and affinities. After all, the highly-demanding fields of watchmaking and car racing both require the best in engineering, innovation and production technics. CERTINA President Adrian Bosshard says it best, “The values behind this exciting and youthful project are very similar to our own corporate values, with precision, reliability and innovation at the forefront. We look forward to a strong interactive connection between BFS and our brand, which will benefit both our sectors.” 

“We’re extremely happy to have a major global brand such as CERTINA on board,” adds BFS’s Co-founder & CEO, Luca Placi. “It heightens awareness in our project and feed ongoing synergies in the important field of renewables. Plus, we’ll also get to share some great fun racing, in the process.”