Race Report

Rockingham is where the Greenpower qualification heats really get interesting, with over 60 cars attending, all hoping to get one of the top three places for automatic qualification. Due to the high number of competitors the marketing team had seen a golden opportunity to stake their claim once again for the marketing award. The team had set up a display with competitions and prizes and was also hoping to kick off the promotion of the new 2010 Greenpower Calendar (order yours soon)! With regards to the racing, all of the Top Greenpower royalty from 2008 were lining up in the scrutineering queue. Sandbach, Seaford, Trinity, Chipping Sodbury and Philip Morant!

First race of the day was to be the Formula 24+ race. F24+ is a series for 16-25 year old drivers. This is the first season the Philip Morant Racing Team has a car entered with the College Team. Points for the Constructors Championship are awarded on the following basis at each round: 1st – 10 points; 2nd – 8 points; 3rd – 6 points; 4th – 5 points; 5th – 4 points; 6th – 3 points; 7th – 2 points; 8th – 1 point. The three highest scores will be counted, one of which must be from the final round in October. F24+ is run as a 90 minute sprint race, using only one set of batteries. With 12 cars entered it would be interesting to see who got the points on the day.

On the starting grid for 24+ was Caitlin, lined up in Fireblade on the first row. When the flag was dropped at 11am the cars were off. Fireblade came round to complete its first lap and was sitting in 5th place behind Super Swoosh, a fellow Essex built car. Both cars were going to have to get some serious speed to close down on the leading three. Fireblade was going well hitting 2 minutes and 52 seconds a lap. However, the pace in 24+ is something else with cars topping 45mph. At the half way point, 45mins into the race the order was still the same. Zebedee 1st, Simple Trug 2nd, Brian 3rd, Super Swoosh 4th, Fireblade 5th and Y-pod now on the same lap. From here Super Swoosh started to have technical problems meaning we moved up to 4th for one lap until Y-pod over took. The team had been on the phone to the driver explaining that 5th was secure due to being 7 laps in front. This meant we had gained our first 4 points of the season and meant we could call the car in 15mins early to check it over and change the gearing for the F24 race.

We then got ready for Formula 24. Fireblade and Franc joined the 50 strong starting lineup, and from the start it was clear we were on for an epic race with Zebedee taking the lead from the start averaging 40mph. Fireblade was flying too, averaging 34mph with its new gear ratio knocking 8 seconds off its lap time much to Catlin's disappointment! Fireblade was between 2nd and 4th over the course of the first 2hrs and was looking good for over 120 miles. This would have been a new record for the car and a possible platinum mileage, which only one car has ever achieved. Franc was having a good solid run with the Year 7 team, getting 3 new drivers out on the track. Franc was keeping good pace in the middle of the field holding 30th place. The team had to call a few emergency pit stops for battery and driver changes in the hot mid day heat.

After 2 hours of racing the Philip Morant Team were strongly in 3rd still lapping at a very good pace. However shortly after the driver change, disaster struck with Fireblade having to come in on the truck. This was the first time ever for Fireblade. It appeared the motor had got very hot due to the brake rubbing. This meant the team lost 20 mins in the pits and dropped down to 10th place. Franc was also having a hard time with its motor getting hot and the target of 75miles slipping away.

As the race entered the final 20 minutes, the call was made to retire Franc to avoid any damage before Saturday’s race. There was no question of the team that was going to claim first place. Throughout the event Zebedee was topping the list and by the end of the race they had recorded a Record Greenpower Mileage of 142 miles, shattering the previous best of 128 miles. This means we have a lot of work to put in on the development of Fireblade and plans have started for the new car. Fireblade came 5th with 107 miles to its credit and only 4 laps behind 2nd. Having lost 25mins in the middle of the race, this was still a respectable result. Franc came in 32nd with a very large competitive field. The year 7's were able to claim the Best Presented Team with new shirts and overalls, meaning the team have now completed the set of prizes apart from a podium place in the national final!

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

• Greenpower Midlands Heat Race Report

Race Pictures

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