Electric Performance at Greenpower Goodwood International Final
Huge congratulations go to Verity Bond Evans, Pru Goodison, Amelia Gutteridge, Alfie Ross, Mick Ashton, Edward Roberts, Sam Frettingham and Edward Richardson for two excellent finishes at the recent Greenpower Goodwood International Final. Special thanks must also go to Mr Stuart, Mr Batchelder, Mr Boss and Mr Holt for their endless support, enthusiasm, and dedication to the Superformance team.
At 5.30am Team Superformance set off from RGS Worcester to travel to the iconic Goodwood race circuit in West Sussex with a mixture of excitement and nerves. The ‘Greenpower Challenge’ is to design, build and race an electric car and RGS have been privileged to be invited to race on many occasions. This year, 82 teams took part with competitors travelling from Europe and as far as Brazil!
On arrival, the team sprang into action to allow themselves as much time to make use of the practice session as possible. After Team briefing and scrutineering were completed, they took to the track for the morning practice session. This was an opportunity for the drivers to familiarise themselves with the track as well as undertake any last-minute race tweaks. However, Team Superformance’s practice session was more eventful than they anticipated as their second driver pulled the brakes a little too forcefully, causing the brakes to lock, resulting in a shredded tyre. This proved to the team that the brakes were certainly effective!
In the Greenpower event, teams race for 90 minutes with the winner being the team covering the greatest distance. Batteries and electric motors are standardised with each team having to use a minimum of three drivers during the race.
Two races were held during the day. In the first race, our drivers did superbly well negotiating the busy track and were ably supported by the rest of the team during pit stops. With the best teams all present and competing in arguably one of the oldest scratch-built cars, the team were unsure of how they would fare. When the chequered flag was waved, the Superformance team had secured an excellent 13th place.
After seeing the Spitfire based at Goodwood land and having some well-deserved lunch the team were ready for the second and final race. The teamwork on display was brilliant to see, as was the camaraderie shown by the group. In the second race, the RGS team went one better finishing 12th – a fantastic achievement.
Well done to all involved and, with the possibility of a new car for 2023, exciting times for the Superformance Team certainly lie ahead.
Mr Gwilym Batchelder, Head of Design Technology
