Author: The Greenpower Team
Thank you for another great season!
The International Finals held this weekend over the 5th & 6th October brought the 2018 season to a close in soggy but spectacular style. From all the Greenpower staff we’d like to thank you all for making it a great finals weekend. The worse the weather became, the higher the enthusiasm and determination of the teams rose. The atmosphere and spirit of the event across the weekend was second to none. We were blown away as ever not only by the phenomenal racing, but by the brilliant stories of camaraderie between teams, the extreme lengths to which some of you went to be there, and so much more.
The final is but a small part of Greenpower of course, thanks to all of the teams across the country that made every single event great, we’ve loved seeing new and old faces everywhere we go and following the development of teams throughout the year.
As many of you will have heard, after 8 years of being a vital member of the Greenpower team, this was the final season for our Clerk of the Course Josh, we wish him all the best success in his future endeavours.
Next year is Greenpower’s 20th so keep a look out for special events and activities throughout 2019 including a Solid Edge trophy design competition to be announced soon. You are all invited to the party and we don’t want anyone to miss out!
As always the 2018 season would not have been possible without our national sponsors and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank Siemens, IET, Ford, and BMWi for their support.
Lastly we would like to thank everyone that has been involved this year; students, teachers, spectators, volunteers, venues, partners and all, without your dedication and passion Greenpower would not be where it is today and we are blessed to have such an active community.
See you 2019 for another hectic season of racing.
International Finals 2018 Race Reports
The full classified results from the weekend are available online at https://www.greenpower.co.uk/results
Friday
Kit Car Final:
There have been some very impressive teams running kit cars this year, in the end it was the famous black and gold of The Chicken from Bromsgrove School that stormed to victory, shooting out of the blocks not to be caught and setting the fastest lap too. They successfully fended off the challenge of JRB Special and Megazord R-2, the latter plucking the best kit car title from them on day 2. It looks like this race will be a belter next year with Phantom of Town Close School coming 5th in the kit car final, and an impressive 24th on Saturday to earn best newcomer. Students from Bromsgrove gave a presentation on running a successful kit car team on Friday, look out on the website soon for their top tips!
F24+ Lap Race:
The first sign that action in F24+ would be riveting over the weekend was a nail biting lap race. The race was just 20 laps long, down 8 from last year with teams setting blistering times. The best a 2:16 from RENovation on lap 3 at an average speed of 38.7mph. Team Weald GP’s Firebird, resurrected from the ashes after severe damage at Dunsfold, pushed the pace with RENovation. Firebird got the jump off the line but RENovation overtook opening a 6 second lead by lap 6. Firebird came back strong, closing the gap lap after lap, retaking the lead with 4 to go. One second split the pair heading into the penultimate lap. It was RENovation however who paced themselves to meet the chequered flag first, retaking the lead on lap 19 and eventually stretching it into a 5 second gap. The podium was rounded off by Renishaw's REC-349.
Saturday
F24 Race 1:
The first drama on Saturday was an immobile championship defender, RLR3 sat on the drenched grid of race 1 as over 65 cars streamed past. The 2018 championship was truly thrown wide open. It was not a Sandbach car however leading as might’ve be expected. Bluebird of the Weald School soared around Rockingham at an incredible speed until dropping off on lap 23 and slowly grinding to a halt. Bluebird’s fastest lap was 13 seconds faster than the next quickest, Mr Basil Slicker. Southleigh Racing’s Apex was next to push the pace and lasted 2 laps more than Bluebird before suffering the same fate, ending up 2nd. Terazord from Bristol Grammar School performed well throughout the race and was the fastest lapping car in the lead pack, finishing a solid 3rd. Sandbach’s Mr Basil Slicker took up the lead and hung on to take the flag, and most importantly put the championship into their grasp with a distance of 39.7m.
F24+ Round 12:
The championship in F24+ was going down to the wire, a win for ZeV, RENovation, Silesian Bullet II, or Stealth III would secure the title. The appearance of red hot Firebird was a spanner in the works to add to the tension. It was Stealth III that set the bar early on, lapping at an incredible speed, setting multiple 2:29s. Silesian’s Bullet II was first out of the running, unfortunately retiring after lap 8. Firebird was the next fastest car, consistently bettering ZeV’s lap times until lap 17 when it slowed. RENovation stayed in the mix driving a steady race but had fallen off ZeV after lap 7. The tension built towards the end of the race. The first drama was a 15 second drop in lap time by Stealth III, a clear sign they were about to drop off the cliff giving Firebird the lead. ZeV continued to catch Firebird but was unable to take the win. RENovation in turn could not put pressure on ZeV, so it was a race win for Firebird, with ZeV bringing the title to Jaguar Land Rover based on the championship standings. It’s been a great season and no one could have called the eventual champion. 2019 looks set to be one of our most competitive F24+ grids in recent history.
F24 Race 2:
RLR3 got off the line successfully in race 2, the championship defender was finally in the running. Conditions had improved a little with rain stopping but bitter temperatures in the realms of 3°C. Once again Bluebird flew off into the distance, swapping the lead with Apex during the pit stops. Mr Basil Slicker and RLR3 matched each other’s pit strategies exactly, coming in on laps 6 and 12. Terazord with a slightly later first stop kept pace with the leading pack. As Bluebird dived in a similar fashion to race 1, Terazord pitted and RLR3 assumed the lead. RLR3 and Mr Basil Slicker split slightly with the Sandbach car dropping back in the final hour. Terazord was next to fall off the pace with a slow lap 26. As RLR3 and Mr Basil Slicker came around to start lap 28 the teams knew it all came down to what happened the dying moments of race 2. RLR3’s times fell towards the end but with the gap built up and a slowing field they held on to cross the line ahead of Mr Basil Slicker with both setting a distance of 42.6m. The title is once again heading home to Cornwall.
IET Formula 24 + Lap Race:
IET Formula 24 International Kit Car Final:
IET Formula 24 Race 1:
IET Formula 24 Race 2:
IET Formula 24 Champion:
Kit Car:
IET Formula 24+ Round 12:
IET Formula 24 + Championship Shield:
Best Presented Team:
Best Newcomer:
Portfolio Award:
Siemens Digital Award:
IET Engineering Award:
Spirit of Greenpower Award:
Siemens Engineering and Design Award (IET Formula 24, IET Formula 24+):
Best Eastern Region Team:
Best Greenpower Centre of Excellence:
Volunteer of the Year:
Ambassador of the Year:
Best International Team:
Best Presented International Team:
Pit Stop Challenge Winner:
