Historic Tie at 2005 Final
As all followers of Motor Sport know only too well, the podium positions
at any event are not official indications of the true result! So it
proved at the most amazing Formula Schools final ever.
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Tudor
Grange celebrate their Electric Challenge win in the traditional
manner!
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The temperature was high not only at Silverstone for the Formula Schools
final, but in the minds of the talented young competitors heading towards
the most important day of the scheme in their cramped minibuses; some
having set off as early as 6.00 am.
Had everything been remembered?
Had the cars final preparations been enough?
What was the competition likely to be in their qualifying heats?
Would the pit lane display area be big enough?
Many thoughts to temper the journeys.
But in a few hours all the work of a year or longer would be put to
the test. Points to be earned from what the day was centred on…….
Racing and from any final judges decisions for all the engineering rounds!
First up was the New Curriculum based Electric Challenge with 36 schools
taking part in four heats and a two session final.
The cars were running on a shortened main track so drivers and spectators
were able to get a better view. As it was the first year we expected
a few hiccups and were not wrong. The first heat saw only one reliable
car at the start, whilst others were being worked on in the pits to
compete in their later qualifying rounds.
From this somewhat shaky start the pace increased dramatically to see
some very close racing and many do or die manoeuvres both on the track
and in the garages to remain competitive and to qualify for the Grand
Prix final.
The
final had a full field with the most competitive cars all ready to go
through two closely fought sessions lasting seven minutes each. A pit
stop of five minutes between gave teams the time to replace batteries,
wheels, motors or whatever else had failed in the hostile environment
that is a Race Track. Some teams went for a multiple stop strategy with
battery changes every 3 minutes believing that high speed would give
them the all important highest lap count.
Next up was the centre piece of Formula Schools Activity; the IC class.
To many, this is what the scheme is all about; the noise, smell and
feel of a ‘real’ engine has no substitute when it comes to
atmosphere!
Fast and furious heats for every round ensured no-one knew who would
be in the final until the BRCA (British Radio Car Association) had posted
the results.
This was to set the standard for the rest of the afternoon, with the
Grand Prix Final becoming a three horse race between Langley Park, Kirk
Hallam and Quarrydale.
Without electronic timing it would have been impossible to separate
the top teams when adding up all the points from all rounds.
Garage displays form an important part of the schools’ entry,
providing judges with information on the design and development of their
final entry car, manufacturing problems and solutions obtained; marketing
strategy for sponsorship from local industry either in the form of finances
or direct input to the production of the car and website design. Standards
were generally very high, giving the judges a tough time in selecting
the very best.
As
in previous years, a large number of companies attended Race Day bringing
with them interesting and inspiring stands to further encourage the
students into engineering as a future career. Many of the stands were
inter-active, providing hands-on demonstrations.
Companies such as JCB, Prodrive Ltd, Williams F1, Techsoft, Boxford
were among the various enthusiastic supporters of Formula Schools, as
well as the services; this year in the form of the RAF. Key Motorsport
industry organisations again turned out to provide support and encouragement
including the MIA. There were many representatives from the education
sector including the Learning & Skills Council, Oxford & Cherwell
College, University of Hertfordshire, Oxford Brookes University. All
were there to promote the continuing engineering theme in future education
through progression to Colleges, Universities, etc.
Formula Apprentice attended for the first time, promoting the next
way forwards in a career progression. The presence of Jonathan Eddols
from Williams F1 on the winners podium, gave the ultimate example to
all the budding future engineers that their Challenge was just the start
and with the steps already in place for future progression ie. Formula
Apprentice, Colleges and Universities, they too could be representing
our Motorsport heroes in years to come.
With the Pig Roast, no one went hungry. Once again this hospitality
catering was well received and, in some cases, anticipated! There were
plenty of hot and cold drinks on tap, ensuring all were well hydrated
despite the very hot day.
A
tie on overall points meant that organizers had to make a hasty decision
regarding who should receive the ultimate prize. 2003 winners Langley
Park, who had overcome technical problems to qualify from their heat,
were awarded the trophy despite compiling exactly the same number of
points as Quarrydale School from Notts. That decision was made on the
understanding that Langley Park had achieved the fastest recorded lap
on the day, an achievement which it was felt was a reasonable tie-breaker.
However, as schools decamped to their sweltering minibuses and coaches,
officials from Formula Schools met to pore over various spreadsheets
containing pre-judging results, GP Final positions, and lap times. After
lengthy deliberation they decided that the overall result should in
fact be a tie. This was a fitting end to a remarkable day that saw teams
overcome track temperatures approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit to provide
thrilling racing throughout the whole day.
Away from the IC title, Tudor Grange from Solihull showed that their
win in last year's pilot Electric Challenge was no fluke by winning
the first National Electric Challenge.
And so onto next year
At this point in time it is up to the funding bodies to decide how
much to invest in the future of young engineers so that the work can
be continued.
