Race Report

The formidable Essex heat has gone down in the history of Greenpower as the car killer! You need true grit, determination and endurance to stay the course. Last year the team made it to second place despite suffering with 3 punctures! Philip Morant's luck did not go well from the moment we arrived at School to collect the Batteries that had been on charge over the last 2 days. However, on opening the garage the Team was greeted by 6 batteries connected to a charger with power light on! It was switched on when we left it two days before... Upon checking the batteries we found them to be less than a full charge. The team was kindly lent 2 sets of race batteries by the Plume school and Tendering Technology College. Without their help the team would not have been able to race.

The Team was well organised and able to get into practice early. However, they learnt a hard lesson by not connecting the batteries! Once we had got past that little set back, all the drivers got to go out and tackle the tight 180 hairpin. For the start of the race the team lined up on the grid ready for the push. Once the flag was down Franc was off, well not quite. Remember that lesson they had learnt - well, perhaps they hadn’t! Once again one of the batteries was not connected and Franc stayed on the line. With nearly a lap down Franc was off to catch up and catch up it did. With Kai at the wheel Franc was able to gain on the cars in front by taking the hairpin at great speed. A couple of laps in and Franc was no-where to be seen, and then it came in on the trailer after breaking a battery strap. The team got to work on fixing the problem, having to compromise on the speed of changing the batteries with the safety and security. Once again the Tendering Technology College came to our aid. The team lost time in the pits knocking them close to the back of the field. Franc went out once again and it was flying 3rd fastest on the track and wading through the traffic. It looked like the team was going to do it the hard way! On the first driver change the car was pushed out the blocks but those batteries were causing some problems needing to be clamped down again.

Going into the battery change Franc was now in the top ten with a very slim chance of making the top 5. Could it happen again, a podium finish after such a messy affair? The change was slow but the team worked hard to get the job done in the face of adversity. Fingers and toes were crossed as Franc, in the hands of Harry was catching the cars in front and almost going at top speed around the hairpin. But it would appear the team was going to be plagued with bad luck throughout the rest of the race. First Franc's suspension failed and was folded at an uncomfortable angle. Then the wing mirror came off and the team where sin binned to repair the damage. Two key essentials of a Greenpower tool kit Gaffer tape and cable ties were needed!

Going into the last 30 minutes we were closing on the top 3 by 30 seconds a lap, going up into 6th place after having been last for the first hour. The team were hit by a puncture that now meant they would finish in 6th, just 10 laps off third place.

The bumpy Essex circuit certainly took its toll, with two others cars loosing wheels during the day. Looking at Franc at the end of the race, it was not a pretty sight. If the car were a person the doctor would be saying he would never race again! However in the hands of the Year 7's, they are rebuilding Franc ready for the next race in a week's time, where they hope to complete a mileage of 75miles giving them an outside chance to qualify.

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

• Greenpower Essex Regional Heat 2009 Race Report

Race Pictures

Photography: S. Hodge, N. Tate, M. Barker. All Rights Reserved.