18 October 2009

Greenpower Final, Goodwood

The alarm went off at 2.00am. This is not a good time and I am certainly not at my best. Even worse is that Mr. Keeble is even grumpier and talking to him is like poking an angry bear with a stick. We met for the coach down to Goodwood Circuit at 3.00am. After loading the car and gear into the coach hold we were ready for the off. Thanks to Mr. Sugden and The Friends of King James’s group who paid for the travel, we were travelling down in style with professional drivers Neil and Illy from York Pullman doing all the hard work.

The journey was extremely uneventful and we arrived at Goodwood at 9.00am. We had the small problem of getting the gear across the track as the Formula 24+ race was about to start and the coach would not fit through the tunnel but this was eventually sorted. We found our pit and got set up for the day which largely involved getting a brew on.

All the drivers, except Geek were sent for a walk around the track with Mr. K for a recce. Geek was slotted into the car and taken round to scrutineering. This is always a nervous time as no matter how much you have prepared, if something is wrong, you will not race. I think it’s fair to say that some scrutineers find things wrong that have been passed happily by another a race before. This was the case this time. For some reason they were not happy with the crumple zone at the front of the car. Even though we have foam which is the requirement, and a massive space, they were talking about this not being enough. They finally let this pass with some advice to alter it and promptly found a problem with the rear roll bar. Tightening all the bolts and the strategic application of some tie wraps sorted this out as well! Eventually the car looked like it was going to pass when the brake test was done. It failed this as well! The scrutineer asked for the brake to be put on full and proceeded to push the car backwards and forwards loads of times. Eventually we stopped him and pointed out that the back wheel was completely locked up and the ten skid marks and the flat spot on the rear tyre were all the proof he needed that the brake was actually working! Finally the sticker was put on the car to show that we had got through scrutineering.

The Blade was wheeled back to the pits quickly before they changed their minds and another brew put on! We had loads of time before the parade which was due to start at about 12.30pm. This made it even harder to take when we were pushing the car to the parade to find that a wheel was catching on the bodyshell! Some foam and gaffa tape applied in a strategic position lifted the shell high enough to get the clearance we needed. The car and team looked absolutely mint on the parade largely due to the paint scheme and the fantastic custom hoodies which we bought with help from Claro Precision Engineering, Harrogate Audi and VW and The ImechE. I thought we might be in with a shout of best presented team but it was not to be. The Blade was pushed round to start in preparation for the race.

The parade must have happened in record time as the cars were stood on the grid for quite a while before the 1.00pm start. This gave plenty of time for Mr. Keeble and Dr. Brodie to verbally abuse Radar with the Walkie Talkies we had brought along. Radar’s new nickname is now the cowboy!

The Klaxon to start the race went off at 1.00pm prompt and the Blade was pushed into the fray. David was in the car at the start. As usual the top few shot off into the distance and we found ourselves running around our start number of 22.

The car was pitted on schedule and Sarah was slotted in.

Immediately there was an improvement and we started making up places. After her stint Sarah had moved us into 13th position. Unfortunately Blade had developed an electrical fault which meant the change lights and ammeter display were not working. This meant guessing when to change gear. It was now Geek’s turn and he would also be driving over the battery change.

The board went out and Geek came into the pits only to be sent straight back out again as we did not have a pit number. Eventually this was sorted out and the batteries changed and Geek was on his way again. The car was now running in around 15th place and generally doing consistent 5 minute 30 second laps. Jack was up next. Crossing the start line, Jack was distracted by shouting from the side. Waving and looking at his friends, Jack had not noticed a slower car until the last second! A big swerve and disaster was avoided! A salient lesson for the drivers to pay attention and to keep both hands on the steering! Jack finished his turn for Josh to take over and he would be driving until the end of the race….

Whilst the race is going on there is loads of things to do and see. The exhibition was superb this year and the Bloodhound SSC looks absolutely fantastic! I think its great that we can still come up with ideas like this in this country and hopefully it will be made and crack the 1000mph target. When the car is running well it is also chance to put our feet up a little and many teas were drunk. Keebs provided a fantastic lunch as well!

….the car covered the last few laps in fifteenth place about 30 seconds behind the car in 14th and a further 30 seconds behind 13th. As the 5.00pm finish approached we realised we were catching the 14th placed car as their batteries started to fail. The flag went out to finish the race and we waited to see if we had made it into 14th place. This was the case with the car completing 41 laps, achieving 98.4 miles. A very creditable performance for only the Blades 2nd race.

The car was loaded into the coach for the return journey in double quick time. And again a very uneventful journey (which is how we like it!) back to Knaresborough. A tired and happy team arrived back in school at 11.15pm.

A massive thank you to our sponsors without whose help, projects like this would just not be possible! Claro Precision Engineering Ltd., Harrogate Audi, Harrogate VW, Big Bear Plastic Products Ltd., Harewood Hillclimb and the ImechE.

There are also loads of people in school to thank! Mr. Sugden and the Friends of KJS for providing transport, Mr. Marriott, Mr. Bolger and the staff of the D & T Department for their support. A massive thanks to Mr. Keeble and Dr. Brodie for giving up their sleep and spending the day with me. The bursars, admin team and caretakers. The students from the Young Engineers Club and everyone who has bought a bolt or a raffle ticket!

If you feel that you can help us out in any way with our project, please contact Mr. Hutchinson on 01423 866061 or kjsgreencar@googlemail.com.