Greenpower News (full text)

North of England Sprint

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Next Wednesday 21^st May will see the second North of England Greenpower Sprint take place at the Warden Law Motorsport Centre, Sunderland. Directions are available at www.kartingnortheast.com. Eight Formula 24 cars have registered as well as four Goblin cars. If you have not registered and have a working car, please let us know as soon as possible – we are very keen to see more entrants, so late entries are welcomed!

The format of the day will be as follows:

Arrival from 0930hrs
Practise on Track from 1130-1300hrs
Lunch Break from 1300-1330hrs
Short Sprint Races from 1330-1600hrs

Goblins will run separately depending on numbers. There may be time for some extra practise towards the end of the afternoon.

If you are interested in entering Greenpower this year or in the future, or do not have a car ready yet, you would be most welcome to join us during the times shown above to have a look at some other cars and chat to some competitors.

The site although well equipped does not have much cover, so please be prepared for any weather eventualities. Team members will also need to bring pack lunches.

Should you have any queries, please contact Jeremy Way - jeremy@greenpower.co.uk

South West Event Confirmed

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Formula 24 regional heat plus Goblin event for the South West will take place on Saturday 20th September at the Royal Cornwall Showground near Wadebridge.

In only its second year, this event which is sponsored by Cornwall College promises to be a major occassion on the Greenpower calendar.

See the Race Diary on the Racing menu for further information.

The Corporate Challenge 2008

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Fordingbridge plc sponsored first IMechE Greenpower Corporate Challenge took place at Goodwood Motor Circuit on Sunday 27th April, in a combined event with the Fordingbridge Season Opener 2008.

The Fordingbridge Season Opener was a 90 minute handicap race for any new or veteran Formula 24 or 24+ teams. An excellent turnout of new cars from schools new to Greenpower was a highlight of the day, and these triumphed in the first race with The Leigh Academy's Black Adder holding off Prior's Field School's Wasabi in second place and veterans Foremarke Hall with their new FR-2 in third.

At 1pm the top 15 school cars from 2007 took to the track alongside 12 cars built by companies and organisations ranging from Bentley Motors to the Battery Vehicle Society.

After four hours of hard racing and frequent rain showers, it was 2007 champions Seaford College that took the chequered flag first, ahead of Fordingbridge plc as the top corporate entrant. Third place went to 2004 and 2005 champions Furze Platt Senior School. Other corporate entries included Bentley Motors whose beautifully made car lapped quickly but suffered technical difficulties, and CBBC's Blue Peter with West Somerset Community College which finished 20th.

A great day was had by all involved. Many thanks are due to event sponsors Fordingbridge plc - Canopies for Schools www.fordingbridge.co.uk - and also the many volunteer marshals and officials helping with the race.

Full results for both races are available on the Results page - http://www.greenpower.co.uk/racing/results.php

Fordingbridge Season Opener Handicaps

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The handicaps for this Sunday's 90 minute Fordingbridge Season Opener have now been set. Download the pdf file, right, to see how many laps advantage (if any!) you will receive on the day.

**These may be subject to change**

Prodrive and Greenpower

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We are thrilled to announce that Prodrive, the world’s largest independent motorsport and automotive technology business, has agreed to work in partnership with Greenpower in 2008.

Prodrive will be sponsoring a new “Marketing Award” which will be an amalgamation of the existing Media, Website and Best Presented Awards. The winners will be invited to a VIP day at Prodrive’s offices in Banbury which will include a tour of the rally and race workshops. There will also be seminars hosted by Prodrive enabling the winning team to learn more about engineering and marketing.

We are also delighted that David Richards, chairman of Prodrive, has agreed to become one of our Patrons alongside the Earl of March.

Over the last 24 years Prodrive has worked with Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari, Ford, Honda, Porsche and Subaru running World Rally, international sports cars and touring car programmes from its Banbury base.

Greenpower is going to be a whole new field for Prodrive to enter into and we are delighted to be working with a company with such an illustrious history.

David Richards said: “I believe that motorsport has a vital contribution to make in the drive to reduce emissions from road cars. Greenpower is an excellent initiative to show students the important role engineers play in motorsport and what a positive impact they can have on the future of the planet.”

Media & Website Award Results

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

At last we are able to announce the results of the 2007 season website and media awards, the prize for which will be a joint tour around the Prodrive factory at Banbury.

Whilst many of the team websites are excellent and deserve recognition, Wolgarston High School’s site at www.teamstealthracing.co.uk particularly caught our attention throughout the season and is the winner of the 2007 award – congratulations to Team Stealth!

The media award has been judged this year on number of press articles received through the Learning Grid’s press cuttings service, and Ellowes Hall Special Sports College from Dudley, West Midlands just pipped King James’s school, Knaresborough, for the top position.

We hope the two teams enjoy their visit and look forward to hearing about it in due course.

SEEDA Go Goblin Project Culminates

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Two early-season Goblin events in Hampshire and East Sussex in March marked the end of the SEEDA sponsored Go Goblin project. 30 Goblin cars from Portsmouth competed in a sprint event at the Mountbatten athletics centre, with a further 20 cars from across East Sussex competing at Plumpton College a week later.

Both events were a great success, with all competitors enjoying themselves greatly, having been constructing their Goblin kit cars since September 2007.

From the information we have gathered from this project we will now be able to produce a comprehensive guide to organising and running a Goblin event. This will enable the project to grow across the UK. If you are interested in receiving this information pack once it is completed please contact emma@greenpower.co.uk

New Goblin Parts & Charger

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The only mandatory upgrade for the 2008 season of Goblin racing is the Battery Clamp Strap at £5 plus VAT. This prevents the batteries coming out of the car in the event of an accident, and is a simple lightweight bracket that can be fitted in minutes.

New parts available include stainless steel steering connecting rods which are much stronger and prevent the front wheels coming out of line as the previous versions were liable to bending. These are priced at £5 plus VAT per pair.

We are also now able to offer an excellent battery charger suitable for the Goblin AGM batteries to keep them in tip top condition. This is a 24 volt unit for charging the batteries as a pair, and has a low 1.5amp output. It can be left permanently connected to the batteries if desired as it tops up the charge only when required. Priced at just £25 plus VAT and delivery this will make an ideal addition to your 2008 Goblin campaign!

Event Entries

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

If you are a Formula 24 team that has not yet confirmed entry for the 2008 season, you must do so as soon as possible. To check whether you have entered, or to receive an entry confirmation form, please e-mail jeremy@greenpower.co.uk

Goblin teams will shortly receive by post a list of events open for entries. With this there will be an entry form which will need returning to indicate your interest for the season.

The new Formula 24+ challenge for students ages 16 and over looks set to be a popular category in the coming years. Entries for 2008 are still welcomed. To find out more or to enter please use the e-mail address above.

We look forward to the busy tenth year of events ahead, and hope to see you during the year!

IoM3 Teachers Day at Materials Congress 2008

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This year the Institute's flagship biennial conference, Materials Congress 2008, will be held in Grantham and once again there will be a special event for teachers on Wednesday 14th May.

This special one day event will focus on smart materials and will support the topics in the secondary science and technology curriculum providing teachers with a wealth of information on a variety of different materials.

The speakers will be looking a where smart materials are currently used in everyday applications, such as shape memory alloys in medicine and dentistry, smart glass in construction and smart polymers in impact protection. These technical presentations, given by experts from industry and academia, will cover the how, why and where of smart materials, as well as the origins of the ingredients found in smart materials.

There will be an open session where teachers can ask the experts all those little questions that may have been nagging at the back of your mind for ages, as well as a small exhibiton where you will have the opportunity to talk to the speakers and see smart materials in action.

The final session of the day will look at co-operative learning and how teachers can incorporate the information gathered during the event back into the classroom.

The event takes place at Grantham Lincolnshire on 14th May 2008. Teachers attending can register free of charge.

For more information or to register for the event, please contact Anita Horton on 01302 380908 or e-mail anita.horton@iom3.org