On 12th May, a group of young people from Brighton & Hove headed to Goodwood Motor Circuit to race an F24 kit car they had built from scratch. This was a great collaboration between TDC, Sussex Police and St Giles Trust and the group achieved fantastic results on the day. TDC’s Claire Burchell co-ordinated the project, working with David Garrett who managed the project on the ground. David tells us more…
“Started in 2011, the Greenpower Education Trust Formula-24 races are won by the car completing the most distance in 90mins. The car’s young drivers built the kit car in an 8 week rush for the May 12th season opener. Quickly recovering from a difficult practice, the team finished their first race in 9th position in their class (out of 56 cars). They weren’t helped by a 30min red flag delay for a multiple car collision which saw some drivers leaving the track with the medical crew. A swift driver change after the restart saw the Kit car rapidly rise up the field as the sides of the sun-baked 3.8km Goodwood Motor Circuit were littered with retired cars.
A slower start to the second of the endurance races led to hopes the batteries of the electric single-seater would give the team a boost in the latter stages. With the car climbing from a frustrating 47th place to 13th in class, time ran out as the car was once again reeling in experienced rivals. With the 6 cars above all finishing within 0.01km race distance of our Kit Car, a 7th place finish was just out of reach.
Most of the competitors are from secondary schools who have been entering one or more cars for several years. That didn’t deter the team, who turned up with a carrier bag of tools and a no-fear given attitude. Part steel chassis, part reclaimed bath panel; the 80kg four-wheeler recorded an average speed of 20mph. Informed by ‘competitive research’ in the paddock, new gearing should see average speeds of 25mph+ at the next race on June 30th with the team targeting a top 3 finish.”
