http://bbk-online.net/gpt/race53.htm
http://greenpower.coverpage.coveritlive.com/
There is also a Formula 24+ race before ours which features two fellow Cornish teams, GDS and Launceston College who we wish the best luck.
Wednesday 28 September 2011
Western Heat Timing
As always there will be live timing at Castle Combe this weekend, the link is below as is the QR for technophiles:
http://bbk-online.net/gpt/race53.htm
A new feature which is being trialed by Greenpower is a live, interactive news feed from the track side. To check it out follow the link:
http://greenpower.coverpage.coveritlive.com/
There is also a Formula 24+ race before ours which features two fellow Cornish teams, GDS and Launceston College who we wish the best luck.
http://bbk-online.net/gpt/race53.htm
http://greenpower.coverpage.coveritlive.com/
There is also a Formula 24+ race before ours which features two fellow Cornish teams, GDS and Launceston College who we wish the best luck.
Sunday 25 September 2011
Western Heat Arrangements
Next Sunday (2nd October) sees us traveling up to Castle Combe for the Western Regional Heat. With a decent grid place under our belt from Merryfield, we will be using Castle Combe as a bit of a gamble, pushing our gearing a bit further. We will definatly go faster but there is a real risk of coming up short and draining the batteries too quickly. A lot more emphasis will be on the drivers to take smooth lines and efficiently avoid traffic but I am confident they can manage it.
For those of you who want to join us, Castle Combe is just off the M4 between Bath and Chippenham and is well signposted from Junction 17. The schedule for the day is as follows:
0730 - Teams arrive and sign on
0815 - Scrutineering opens
0900 - Team briefing 1
0930 to 1030 - Practice
1040 - Team briefing 2
1100 to 1230 - F24+ race
1300 to 1700 - F24 race
11730 - Prize giving
This is the last chance for teams to qualify so the field will be packed with cars desperate to put some great milages in, 57 cars have signed up for the race, including Megazord, the team that has finished one place ahead of us in both our heats this year. Also competing is Brian, the teams favourate car (after RLR1 of course!)
For those of you who want to join us, Castle Combe is just off the M4 between Bath and Chippenham and is well signposted from Junction 17. The schedule for the day is as follows:
0730 - Teams arrive and sign on
0815 - Scrutineering opens
0900 - Team briefing 1
0930 to 1030 - Practice
1040 - Team briefing 2
1100 to 1230 - F24+ race
1300 to 1700 - F24 race
11730 - Prize giving
This is the last chance for teams to qualify so the field will be packed with cars desperate to put some great milages in, 57 cars have signed up for the race, including Megazord, the team that has finished one place ahead of us in both our heats this year. Also competing is Brian, the teams favourate car (after RLR1 of course!)
Friday 23 September 2011
Merryfield Gallery
There is now a gallery for the Somerset Heat up there in the galleries section or you can click HERE.
Much thanks needs to go to Mr. Crawley who took most of the pictures, there are some excellent ones in there and you can really get a feel for the changeable conditions on the day.
I also wanted to congratulate the team on how well they handled the open evening last night. With all three adults in the team otherwise engaged they were pretty much left to their own devices and in doing so demonstrated what a professional and independent group they really are. Well done team!
Much thanks needs to go to Mr. Crawley who took most of the pictures, there are some excellent ones in there and you can really get a feel for the changeable conditions on the day.
I also wanted to congratulate the team on how well they handled the open evening last night. With all three adults in the team otherwise engaged they were pretty much left to their own devices and in doing so demonstrated what a professional and independent group they really are. Well done team!
Wednesday 21 September 2011
Richard Lander School Open Evening 2011
This Thursday (22nd) is the school's open evening. There will be members of the team on hand all evening to talk about the car and our successes this season as well as our plans for future development.
Doors open at 5 and stay open til 8. Feel free to drop in and see us, the car and team will be in room Mr. Beech's workshop, room 115.
Doors open at 5 and stay open til 8. Feel free to drop in and see us, the car and team will be in room Mr. Beech's workshop, room 115.
Sunday 18 September 2011
RLR1 at Somerset Heat 2011
Our races just keep getting more exciting! A superb effort from the team secured our second podium of the season, bringing home a well earned bronze with the silver so tantalisingly close.
Spirits were high at 5 in the morning as the team met to make the trip up to RNAS Merryfield. With qualification for the guaranteed from our performance at Newquay, this race was all about grid position, a good performance here would move us closer to the front of the grid. We were unfortunately missing Mr Lloyd-King who is expecting a baby any time now.
After making good time on the journey, we arrived with plenty of time to set up our paddock at a leisurely pace, giving us plenty of time to walk the track, get some data and get focused for the days racing ahead of us.
With setup and practice out of the way, it was time to get settled on the grid. We were starting from the 3rd row in a race with 31 competitors, the quality of the other cars was daunting, including the current provisional pole position car, Rotary Racer. Gareth was in the driver's seat for the start, a strong driver and more than capable for the hazards of traffic that comes at the start of the race. After gaining us several places, 40 minutes later, Gareth's time was up and we were 6th.
Next up was Ben for another 40 minutes. The quality of the cars at this end of the race were proving difficult to contend with, but Ben was more than a match for them putting in our fastest lap and taking us to 4th during his run, despite the odd light shower.
With Ben's time up it was time for the long, 80 minute stint, this time going to Becky. She soon settled into a groove, keeping pace with the cars in front, slowly eating away at their lead. It was during Becky's run that the sky really opened up, the downpours were mercifully short but heavy when they came. some of the cars began to struggle with the conditions and the front runners began to bunch up (except Rotary Racer which was ahead of the pack by a country mile) but with our wide track and cool headed driver, our lap times were barely affected.
A cold and wet Becky was finally swapped out for Jacca to continue the chase for 3rd place. Our consistency paid off eventually as MPH put in a few dodgy laps allowing both Megazord and ourselves to pass, we finally had a podium place but we were closely followed by a familiar team, Hummingbird from Plymouth Girls' School.
As the race was entering the final stages, success or failure would depend on how well the teams had managed their batteries throughout the race and Megazord was struggling. At only half a lap ahead of us they made their pit stop, allowing us to take the silver medal position but we had to stop ourselves and it had to be quick if we wanted to keep the position. Unfortunatly some dodgy pit lane marshaling lead to a blocked pit lane and our hopes for 2nd were slipping away as the car stood stationary some distance from our pit crew. We finally got the car in and the team did a great pit stop but it wasn't enough and we emerged back in 3rd place by some way, Lucky for us it was Harrison behind the wheel and if anyone could catch up it was him. After putting some distance between himself and the 4th place car, sights were set on Megazord once again. With only 20 minutes or so their lead was shrinking, we were catching them! As the last few minutes of the race ebbed away we were back to within half a lap and Megazord's batteries were failing, but sadly the checkered flag came down before we could get them, all we needed was a few more seconds as they ended up crawling across the line but it was not meant to be.
The team continues to go from strength to strength and this has been our best result ever with a race distance of 85.5 miles we have jumped from 59th to 20th on the final grid. We also brought home the IMechE 'Best Engineered Car' award to add to our impressive trophy collection.
Spirits were high at 5 in the morning as the team met to make the trip up to RNAS Merryfield. With qualification for the guaranteed from our performance at Newquay, this race was all about grid position, a good performance here would move us closer to the front of the grid. We were unfortunately missing Mr Lloyd-King who is expecting a baby any time now.
After making good time on the journey, we arrived with plenty of time to set up our paddock at a leisurely pace, giving us plenty of time to walk the track, get some data and get focused for the days racing ahead of us.
With setup and practice out of the way, it was time to get settled on the grid. We were starting from the 3rd row in a race with 31 competitors, the quality of the other cars was daunting, including the current provisional pole position car, Rotary Racer. Gareth was in the driver's seat for the start, a strong driver and more than capable for the hazards of traffic that comes at the start of the race. After gaining us several places, 40 minutes later, Gareth's time was up and we were 6th.
Next up was Ben for another 40 minutes. The quality of the cars at this end of the race were proving difficult to contend with, but Ben was more than a match for them putting in our fastest lap and taking us to 4th during his run, despite the odd light shower.
With Ben's time up it was time for the long, 80 minute stint, this time going to Becky. She soon settled into a groove, keeping pace with the cars in front, slowly eating away at their lead. It was during Becky's run that the sky really opened up, the downpours were mercifully short but heavy when they came. some of the cars began to struggle with the conditions and the front runners began to bunch up (except Rotary Racer which was ahead of the pack by a country mile) but with our wide track and cool headed driver, our lap times were barely affected.
A cold and wet Becky was finally swapped out for Jacca to continue the chase for 3rd place. Our consistency paid off eventually as MPH put in a few dodgy laps allowing both Megazord and ourselves to pass, we finally had a podium place but we were closely followed by a familiar team, Hummingbird from Plymouth Girls' School.
As the race was entering the final stages, success or failure would depend on how well the teams had managed their batteries throughout the race and Megazord was struggling. At only half a lap ahead of us they made their pit stop, allowing us to take the silver medal position but we had to stop ourselves and it had to be quick if we wanted to keep the position. Unfortunatly some dodgy pit lane marshaling lead to a blocked pit lane and our hopes for 2nd were slipping away as the car stood stationary some distance from our pit crew. We finally got the car in and the team did a great pit stop but it wasn't enough and we emerged back in 3rd place by some way, Lucky for us it was Harrison behind the wheel and if anyone could catch up it was him. After putting some distance between himself and the 4th place car, sights were set on Megazord once again. With only 20 minutes or so their lead was shrinking, we were catching them! As the last few minutes of the race ebbed away we were back to within half a lap and Megazord's batteries were failing, but sadly the checkered flag came down before we could get them, all we needed was a few more seconds as they ended up crawling across the line but it was not meant to be.
The team continues to go from strength to strength and this has been our best result ever with a race distance of 85.5 miles we have jumped from 59th to 20th on the final grid. We also brought home the IMechE 'Best Engineered Car' award to add to our impressive trophy collection.
Wednesday 14 September 2011
Future Funding
Fourth blog post this week, its certainly been as busy start to the term!
A massive congratulations has to go to some of the more senior members of our team (if 15/16 can be called senior!) who have done a great job pitching our project to the Head.
Since our inception in 2007 we have run as a completely self financing project with very little funding from the school, we have only been able to run thanks to the generosity of local businesses. This has left us a bit short this year, without the necessary funding for the coming season, putting all our hard work in jeopardy.
This is when Euan, Spencer and Gemma stepped up and approached the head directly and made a Dragons' Den style pitch to secure some school funding for coming season. Inspired by the initiative of these exemplary members of the team the Head has agreed to an epic contribution of several thousand pounds over the next few years, a fantastic result that secures our project well into the future.
These 3 students are all Year 11s so they will unfortunately be leaving the team after the final in October so they will not get to enjoy the fruits of their labours, making their achievement even more impressive. Working hard for the benefit of others fits very well with the ethos of Richard Lander School and these students are fine examples of this.
Well done guys!
A massive congratulations has to go to some of the more senior members of our team (if 15/16 can be called senior!) who have done a great job pitching our project to the Head.
Since our inception in 2007 we have run as a completely self financing project with very little funding from the school, we have only been able to run thanks to the generosity of local businesses. This has left us a bit short this year, without the necessary funding for the coming season, putting all our hard work in jeopardy.
This is when Euan, Spencer and Gemma stepped up and approached the head directly and made a Dragons' Den style pitch to secure some school funding for coming season. Inspired by the initiative of these exemplary members of the team the Head has agreed to an epic contribution of several thousand pounds over the next few years, a fantastic result that secures our project well into the future.
These 3 students are all Year 11s so they will unfortunately be leaving the team after the final in October so they will not get to enjoy the fruits of their labours, making their achievement even more impressive. Working hard for the benefit of others fits very well with the ethos of Richard Lander School and these students are fine examples of this.
Well done guys!
Tuesday 13 September 2011
New Website
The Greenpower website has had a major revamp and it's looking pretty sweet. Not so sure about the yellow text on white though...
Anyway, head over to www.greenpower.co.uk to check it out!
Anyway, head over to www.greenpower.co.uk to check it out!
Monday 12 September 2011
Somerset Timing
With less than a week to go until our next race the team are getting very excited. With another regional heat run last weekend we have dropped further down the grid to 53rd and will almost certainly drop further after the northwest heat on the 15th. The weekend at Somerset however is our chance to address this and gain pack those slipped places.
If you want to join us and cheer us on directions and schedules can be found in a previous post HERE.
If you can't make it but want to keep track of our progress the live timing can be found at the following link:
http://bbk-online.net/gpt/race50.htm
If you have a smart phone or something similar here's the QR:
We are expecting a great performance at Somerset, the car has never been more ready and the team and the prepared, everything is in place for a good result.
If you want to join us and cheer us on directions and schedules can be found in a previous post HERE.
If you can't make it but want to keep track of our progress the live timing can be found at the following link:
http://bbk-online.net/gpt/race50.htm
If you have a smart phone or something similar here's the QR:
Friday 9 September 2011
Preparations for Somerset
After the long summer break we are finally back in the workshop again for some last minute fettling ahead of the next race at RNAS Merryfield in two weekends time. We have finished fitting the new 6 point harness as well as replacing the side impact foam which was looking a bit tatty. All that's left now is to set up the camber and tracking and we are ready.
For those of you who want to accompany us and cheer us on, the race schedule is as follows:
0830hrs – Teams Arrive and Sign On
0900hrs – Scrutineering Opens
0930hrs – Team Briefing 1
1030hrs – 1130hrs – Practice
1140hrs – Team Briefing 2
1200hrs – 1600hrs – Formula 24 Regional Heat
1630hrs – Prize Giving
We will be running this as a long day trip, leaving from school at 5:00 in the morning and getting back between 8 and 9 depending on how quickly the team pack up!
If you want to make your own way up head for the M5 and take junction 25 onto the A358, heading for Illminster. After about 8 miles take the left turn, sign posted for Ilton. Once on this road, follow the signs for 'Buisness Park'. RNAS Merryfield is a short distance beyond the business park. To check out the route yourself click HERE.
For those of you who want to accompany us and cheer us on, the race schedule is as follows:
0830hrs – Teams Arrive and Sign On
0900hrs – Scrutineering Opens
0930hrs – Team Briefing 1
1030hrs – 1130hrs – Practice
1140hrs – Team Briefing 2
1200hrs – 1600hrs – Formula 24 Regional Heat
1630hrs – Prize Giving
We will be running this as a long day trip, leaving from school at 5:00 in the morning and getting back between 8 and 9 depending on how quickly the team pack up!
If you want to make your own way up head for the M5 and take junction 25 onto the A358, heading for Illminster. After about 8 miles take the left turn, sign posted for Ilton. Once on this road, follow the signs for 'Buisness Park'. RNAS Merryfield is a short distance beyond the business park. To check out the route yourself click HERE.
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