Race Report

Being at school at 7am can only mean one thing - another Greenpower heat. The team is now a two minibus outfit and we were joined By Mr. Neal and Mrs. Machin to help with (minibus) driving duties. Many thanks to Mr. Neal for all his help with the building of the car and loan of his trailer. The whole team wish him all the best on his well-deserved retirement.

A glorious sunny day greeted us at Bedford Autodrome, although one with a strong wind blowing! The facilities at Bedford were very impressive, with proper pit garages for each team and a real pit lane.

Following scrutineering Franc N. was let out for a few practise laps, a chance for our newest driver Will to get further experience in the car. After practise our horn developed a small problem which was fixed just in time to make the start grid.

During the race Franc N ran extremely well all afternoon, only stopping for scheduled battery and driver changes. The improvements made over the summer were very successful, solving the fuse problems which plagued us at Essex and Kent. Luck kept the punctures at bay! We were running in a reasonable 10th place during much of the first 2 hours but then began to make up places as other cars slowed, having drained their batteries too quickly or had other problems, eventually reaching 7th place, only 6 laps away from 6th. In total we completed 120 laps covering 67.2miles - equivalent to the trip from Colchester to London. The strong winds certainly favoured the most aerodynamically efficient vehicles, of which Franc is undeniably not one! Despite this our chosen speed/gearing was ideal for the conditions, finishing as we did with our four batteries exhausted completely.

We are pleased to have been presented with the IOM3 (Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining) award for Most Innovative Use of Materials. This is the second time this season that we have received this prize. Apart from a soldering iron and a little insulation tape for the horn, we needed none of the tools or spares we'd taken – a definite first for us and a sign that Franc N. is maturing into a very usable reliable vehicle.

Next Event: Goodwood Final
After a tense wait for the final heat of the season, it is now confirmed that Franc’s mileage at Bedford was high enough to place us in the Greenpower Formula 24 Final, held at the Goodwood motor racing circuit in October.

Watch this space!

Read the official race report and see final standings on the Greenpower website:

• Greenpower Bedford 2007 Race Report

Race Pictures

Next Event: Goodwood National Final