The challenges and excitement of being a member of the KSBMotorSport Team

The challenges and excitement of being a member of the KSBMotorSport Team...

What is the Greenpower?

Greenpower is a UK based charity which gets young people enthusiastic about science and engineering by challenging them to design, build and race an electric car. The races are an endurance-based series meaning that each race is a measure of how many laps you can get done in the space of an hour or an hour and a half for the F24 Team. This means balancing your speed with your battery consumption to try and ensure that your car finishes the race with enough power left in the tank.

Where are the races held?

The races are held all over the UK and there are 11 of them, varying from full sized racetracks, such as the Goodwood Motor Circuit where BMW UK test their cars, to RMB Chivenor Airfield, where taxiing routes and runways are incorporated into a racecourse. We don't attend every single race, as we would have to be traveling all across the country, however, local races include, Goodwood, Chivenor, Dunsfold and Castle Combe. There are 12 races that take place throughout the season, which last from April to October, with Goodwood happening at the start of the season and then hosting the invite only Finals, where we will be competing on the 13^th October. However, the races usually occur around once or twice a month with the springtime often hosting the most races with 4 this year occurring in May.

How many teams are involved?

The number of teams always depends on the season. Year after year, new teams join, and other teams leave, which always makes each season unique and interesting as you never know quite how advanced the new teams might be. This season there are 44 teams, including UK and International teams such as a Portugal and a Brazilian team.

Where are we on the Leaderboard?

This season, we are currently tied in 1^st place with 3 other teams all with 20 points. Throughout the season, we have been battling with the same 3 other cars, with all of us having a time in 1^st place on the leaderboard. This means that the upcoming race, the Goodwood Finals, will be ultra-competitive as we’re all going to be striving for 1^st place in order to get the championship title.

How many classes are there?

The classes are separated into 2 main divisions, Kit and Scratch. The Scratch division cars are built from the ground up, have very little regulations and are the lightest and fastest cars out on the tracks. The Kit division is what we are in currently, and are all built around a kit that we are provided with, however, the kit can be modified and enhanced for our benefit with the only real difference being the large steel frame that we must keep and work around.

Within the Kit division there are two subdivisions: Formula 24 and Formula 24+ which separates the 11 to 16 year-olds from the 16 to 25 year-olds, correlating with our 2 cars, with one being a junior car for the 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th Form, and a senior car for the Lower and Upper 6^th Form.

Joining the KSBMotorSport Team

The KSBMotorSport activity is run through the DT Department by Head of Design & Technology, Mr Hart. I haven't been a DT student since 3^rd Form, but I found out about this activity in the 5^th Form and knew I had to join the team. When it comes to what I get out of my involvement, I do want to go into this type of industry in the future, and so the ability to have this on my CV is fantastic. I also have an exceptionally strong passion for cars and motorsport, so the ability to detach myself from my academic studies, work in a team and have a clear way to expand upon this passion along with others, is such a good experience, and I really do advise anyone who is interested in this area to just come along and see what it is like.

When is the club on?

Mr Hart runs the club in the DT Department and the times for the seniors in F24+ is Fridays from 4.30pm to 5.30pm, whilst juniors in F24 work on Thursdays from 4.30pm to 5.30pm. At the moment, the F24+ team has about 8 people on the team all working in different areas, whether that be driving, securing sponsorship, working on the electrical side of the car or working on the mechanical side of the car.

Getting involved with our team is really easy. Pupils can either sign up at the Activity Conventions each term, where we have the car on display, or pupils can come along on either a Thursday or a Friday from 4.30pm to 5.30pm, see what they think, and if they like it, they can let their Matron, Tutor, or House Master or Mistress know and they can get signed up to it. I would also say that pupils shouldn’t be deterred from it if they are not a DT student as neither am I.

Securing sponsorship

This season will be our third as the KSBMotorSport Formula 24+ team, however, it has been the only time where we have been won 2 races in a season, and the only time we have had a legitimate chance of winning the championship. All teams in Greenpower must be funded through sponsorships who pay for things such as, developments, entry fees, and adaptations to regulations before the start of each season. This is actually a really interesting dynamic to the team as it requires a whole different skill base and means that we must be money conscious of what we do to the car. We need to be on the ball with securing as many sponsorships as possible. 

If you would like to sponsor the KSBMotorSport team, please click here to go to the online Sponsorship Donation Form.

Our goals for the future

Ultimately, our goals are to keep our car competitive, to win at Goodwood this October 13th, and to keep this activity going as long as possible so that we can keep on winning. We would love it if you came along to support us at the Goodwood Final.

Read more about our KSBMotorSport achievements here.

If you would like more information, please email the team.

Dylan  - KSBMotorSport F24+ Team - U6^th Form, Lyon House

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