The Pod Movement

False Hope Final

2010-10-17T17:13:00.000+01:00

With the Rotary Racer & The Pod Movement having managed four podium finishes in the last two races & with Team Fusion having qualified at their best recent position, we all had high hopes for the 2010 final.

Several team members travelled down on the Saturday for scrutineering at the new Greenpower centre followed by a good sing along at the hog roast thanks to Alex & Dan with their guitars.

As the race day dawned, the cars were all prepared, checked over & looking superb with fresh paint glistening in the morning sunshine.

The F24+ race had attracted a field of 20 cars & the race started promptly with Y-Pod?! making a good start along with the other top championship contenders. After a few laps, Y-Pod?!'s driver decided to up the ante & start to overhaul the leaders but suddenly, the power seemed to drop. A hurried pit stop identified nothing wrong so the car went back out on a slow but steady pace, eventually having to settle for 5th place rather than challenging for a podium position. A damaged motor was suspected and a subsequent strip down in the paddock confirmed that a winding had shorted – perhaps not to unexpected as the motor was second-hand when we fitted it to the car. As we drove home that evening, we realised that Y-Pod?! had clinched second place in the constructors championship – a superb result for the years racing…!

The Parade preceded the F24 race & all the teams looked great, we had permission for Y-Pod?! to parade alongside R-PodS SSC so all The Pod Movement cars were together.
Rotary Racer were out for a win but R-PodS SSC had battery issues & knew they would struggle to hold their staring position. Team Fusion were keen to go the distance & give a reasonable showing.
The race started with Rotary Racer vying for the lead , but after a few laps it settled down with the Chipping Sodbury cars all approximately maintaining their starting positions. The race was fairly uneventful, R-PodS SSC was up to fourth place at some point and Rotary Racer was holding onto second until their throttle switch broke, requiring a trip to the paddock & a few places lost.
In the end, Rotary Racer clawed back up to 3rd place, R-PodS SSC had to be content with 8th and Team Fusion managed a respectable 68th place.

All in all it was a great weekend – hard work, but very rewarding… roll on 2011..!

A Damp Day at Dunsfold

2010-09-26T17:11:00.000+01:00

We all had high hopes for a good showing at the famous Top Gear circuit. The Pod Movement were hoping to improve Y-Pod?!'s standing in the F24+ championship, Team Fusion were hoping to improve their chances of qualifying for the final while Rotary Racer & R-PodS ssc were there to enjoy the day. The day dawned dry, but very cold - we had to clear ice off the car before leaving home so it must have been one of the coldest nights so far this autumn. The sun shone briefly as the cars were scruiteneerd & went out for practice but there was a strong cold wind.

After a successful practice to test the new headrest fairing, we managed to get Y-Pod?! on the front of the F24+ grid, ready for the race. As the carts left the grid, Y-Pod?! was left stranded with no drive & had to be pushed back to the paddock. We quickly managed to re-attach the chain, but by then we were a lap & a half down on the leaders. Y-Pod?! started putting in some fast laps to catch up lost ground & very quickly managed to un-lap him self & revitalize hopes for a win. Our hopes were fulfilled when at the half way mark, Y-Pod?! overtook the leading Jaguar-Landrover car & claimed the lead. At this point we all expected Y-Pod?! to slow down & conserve the batteries but the lap times stayed amazingly consistent & it wasn't long before we were a lap ahead. There was a fairly frightening incident when the recovery truck pulled out, just as Y-Pod?! was overtaking a slower car, thankfully the recovery truck held it's line & the two cars passed on opposite sides with horns blaring. Y-Pod?!'s driver must have been enjoying himself when he lapped Jaguar-Landrover for the second time but the track marshals didn't agree & he was black flagged for over-aggressive driving - you can judge the validity for yourself as the event was captured on film - see our Picasa album. Luckily we managed to rejoin the race in the lead & after that, didn’t put a step wrong as Y-Pod?! powered to a three lap lead & joint first place in the championship.

As the F24 grid formed, the sky was darkening & people were watching the sky for rain - thankfully it held of for a time & the race started with a dry track. Rotary Racer took an early lead but R-PodS ssc was challenging & managed to overtake a few times on the back straight. Team Fusion were running well and holding a good position, mid field. The race had started well with R-PodS ssc now leading, but there then followed a series of unfortunate black flag incidents due to overtaking under a yellow flag - I am still not sure if it was driver over-exuberance or inexperienced marshalling but both Rotary Racer & R-PodS ssc were pulled in several times. During all this confusion, the lead changed numerous times & we were all resigned to just enjoy the race & get more driver experience. As the afternoon wore on, the rain started - at first it was intermittent, but as the last hour started, it had settled down to rain steadily. All this time, Team Fusion had been putting in steady laps, Rotary Racer had avoided any further incidents & were now leading the race, & R-PodS ssc was just out of the top ten due to suffering more black flags & then having a tyre bead fail, requiring a trip to the paddock. The rain poured & the race carried on, with & R-PodS ssc now the fastest car on the rapidly thinning track, near the end of the race, R-PodS ssc was barged out of the way into one of the cones, but after a brief stop to check all was well, was back on the circuit. As the flag came down, Rotary Racer had just been beaten to first place but amazingly R-PodS ssc had managed to climb back up to take third. Team Fusion achieved their best mileage this year with 73 miles in a very respectable 18th place & we now have all three teams qualified for the final.

Traditional Taunton

2010-09-19T17:06:00.000+01:00

The Somerset heat was held at a new venue this year (RNAS Merrifield) and attracted a strong field of cars. The circuit was a well laid out triangle, similar to Dunsfold but the main straight was slightly uphill and into a strengthening headwind so it was all set to be a challenging race. There wasn’t an F24+ event so the school was represented by “Team Fusion” (with the Wacky Racer’s old car), “Rotary Racer” & “R-PodS SSC”.

The day was bright & breezy as we arrived and queued up for scrutineering. Pretty soon, all the cars were scrutineered & out for practice prior to a very civilised 12:00 race start. We managed to get all the cars to the start in record time so it was a Chipping Sodbury lock-out on the front row of the grid, with all three cars lined up together.

As the race started, Taunton School pulled out an early lead but were soon to fall foul of the max lap limit, “Rotary Racer” was in second with “R-PodS SSC” in close attendance. The second & third places changed a few times as the slower cars were lapped until the telemetry on Rotary Racer showed a battery fault, resulting in a dramatic throttle back to conserve power. With Taunton suffering a time penalty & “Rotary Racer’s” battery problems, “R-PodS SSC” took the lead. We had a worrying pit stop when it appeared that one of “R-PodS SSC’s” tyres had a puncture, but this was pumped back up & stayed up for the remainder of the race. “Team Fusion” were lapping well at first but suffered the perennial battery problems and had to sit out part of the race in the hope of some battery recovery. They were not alone in this as the headwind caused many cars to suffer & the field dramatically thinned in the last half hour of the race. As the race drew to a close, “Rotary Racer” was wound back up & was lapping well but the Taunton car had broken, so was unable to challenge the leaders, “R-PodS SSC” was in a comfortable position, 7 laps ahead of the field. “Rotary Racer” managed to pull up to second place so it was a Chipping Sodbury 1,2.

This circuit was a great new venue, there was a very friendly atmosphere, the marshals were excellent very good - it was a traditional Greenpower race near Taunton. The pit lane was fairly quiet, so some teams were allowed to do some maintenance in the pits, very much like when we were first involved…. when races were less hectic… & there was more time … all 6 hours of it…!

London Calling

2010-09-12T17:18:00.000+01:00

An Eco Car Spectacular was held at the Mall in London last Sunday & The Pod Movement we’re asked to represent Chipping Sodbury School at the event. This is the first time such an event has been held & was supported by Prince Charles's environmental charity initiative Start.

The Mall was closed to traffic & an interesting array of cars were on display all day with various celebrities milling around and having a drive. Greenpower had been invited to display and had gathered 8 cars from various schools around the country, so had a most impressive collection. We were able to round up 4 team members, and took Y-Pod?! along instead of R-PodS SSC, to avoid the hassle of finding somewhere to park a trailer in central London. The cars on display included the TELSA roadster, the first public viewing of the Citroen Survolt, along with various runabout electric cars by THINK, Mitsubishi, Smart, and Mini. There were loads of electric motorbikes, scooters & a few Segways. One of the more impressive exhibits was a Krieger electric car from 1904, brought along by the science museum - if was pretty slow (up to 20mph), but had front wheel drive and a range of up to 50 miles…!

Most of the morning was taken up with the changing of the guard at Buckingham palace, but this certainly attracted the crowds…! After lunch all the cars drove the length of the Mall & back as a demonstration run before setting up as a static display again. The public were separated by low barriers so were able to talk to the team & discuss the cars & their performance. We managed to attract a fair number of celebrities for photos, including Sir Stirling Moss, Robert Llewellyn, Ellen McArther and Gaby Roslin. The day wrapped up with a final demonstration run, more questions from the crowd & finally, some excellent cupcakes from the VIP tent.

Mallory Mighthavebeen

2010-07-02T17:04:00.000+01:00

For the first ever Greenpower race at Mallory park, we only had Y-Pod?! representing the school in the F24+ race. We were a little late getting our entry confirmed & missed out on the rather crucial piece of information that the paddock was inside the circuit & inaccessible by car once the circuit was in use. We arrived just after practice had started & so were stuck on the outside of the circuit. Fortunately we managed to get the car scrutineered in the car park but even that only gave us 30 mins after practice to drive to the paddock, get the car unloaded, ready & onto the circuit for the start of the race… Amazingly, we were not the last car on the grid, but we were too late for the front row.

As the race started, Brian & Zebedee shot into an early lead with RGS & Y-Pod?! in 3rd & 4th. After a few laps, Zebedee pulled into the pits with totally flat batteries & Brian throttled back in an attempt to finish the race. RGS took the lead with Y-Pod?! not far behind… and that is how it stood for the remainder of the race with Y-Pod?! keeping close but not able to close the gap. As the chequered flag came down, Y-Pod?! was only a minute behind the leader, having to settle for second, but having been on the podium in all the F24+ events, Y-Pod?! was still leading the championship. If only we had been 1% faster it would have been our second win of the year… what might have been…

We came away thinking that Mallory Park was a fantastic new venue for Greenpower, good spectator viewing from all round the circuit and a great setting..!

A Roll, Results & Retirement

2010-06-27T17:01:00.000+01:00

Castle Combe was the first race for ages where all five Chipping Sodbury School cars were present. Unfortunately, Wacky Racer did not have enough drivers so they loaned their car to an independent team founded by some ex Chipping Sodbury members, Chain reaction, who had not completed their car.
Practice is usually an uneventful time so we were all surprised to see the ambulance go racing out soon after it started, with sirens blazing.
It transpired that Rotary Racer had rolled at quarry corner, thankfully no-one was hurt but the car had suffered damage & was excluded from the race.

The F24+ race started on time & as expected Zebedee & Brian pulled out an early lead with the Tything Tornadoes & Y-Pod?! close behind. A the end of the first lap, Y-Pod?! had pulled into third place and the positions remained set for the remainder of the race. Just before the finish, Zebedee & Brian lapped the Tything Tornadoes, with Y-Pod?! half a lap behind in third.

In F24, with Rotary Racer out of the race, Zebedee & Brian were unchallenged for the lead. Having dropped the gearing on R-PodS SSC for the Castle Combe hill, we were amazed to find ourselves in third place. We held this position for much of the race, occasionally dropping behind the Simple Trug clone, Maltings Missile.
Despite working hard on their car all over the winter, Team Fusion had to rush to complete their car for the race. After getting through scrutineering, their race started with high hopes, only to be dashed at the start line as their car stopped with a detached chain. They managed to get back out, but a combination of tyre and brake problems resulted in a burnt out motor and a rather sad retirement.
Wacky Racers car went well, achieving a respectable 20th place, pretty good as their car was a last minute rescue.
The race was drawing to a close & we had scheduled one last pit stop for R-PodS SSC. Unfortunately as we entered the pit lane we were stuck behind a very (very) slow car loosing nearly a lap in the time it took to negotiate the pit lane. To make matters worse, it transpired that the driver of this car had only stopped for a drink..!
We were sure this additional delay had cost us third place but were very pleased to find that the Simple Trug clone had stopped on the last lap, allowing us to take our first podium of the year…

A good result for the school given the disastrous start for two of the school cars. We came away with two third places and retained the Renishaw cup for the best placed Gloucestershire car.

Goodwood Goodwin Goodspin

2010-06-20T16:52:00.000+01:00

Three Chipping Sodbury School cars made the trek down to Goodwood for the Central South Regional Heat in June.

As usual, the weather was good we got the cars scrutineered in record time. Y-Pod?! was rapidly installed on the F24+ grid with little time to spare as we all crossed our fingers as the race started. At the end of the first lap, The Tything Tornadoes crossed the line first with Y-Pod?! in close pursuit. At the end of the main straight Y-Pod?! overtook The Tything Tornadoes, followed closely by Mandrill & this set the scene for much of the remainder of the race. For lap after lap, Mandrill kept close watch, never far behind until the last few laps when Y-Pod?! managed to pull a comfortable lead and claim the first F24+ result of the year.

In the F24 race, the school was represented by Rotary Racer & R-PodS SSC with a significant grid of cars, promising an exciting race. Rotary Racer were aiming to get a platinum award & quickly pulled out a significant lead. R-PodS SSC was struggling to match last years form but was still managing to hold onto second place as the race settled down.
There were some very inexperienced drivers present & we witnessed some ridiculously fast entries down the pit lane. As R-PodS SSC was approaching the pits in the second half of the race, one of these drivers followed us in, far too fast. The marshals gestured for him to slow down but our driver slowed even more, thinking they were gesturing to him… This resulted in our battery pod being rear-ended, thankfully with no serious damage.
As the race drew to a close, we were told that they may be calling our car in as it appeared to have a bucked wheel – it turned out that we had two flat tyres. Our driver carried on regardless, thinking he could get to the pits but eventually the tyre partly came off, resulting in a locked wheel and a very alarming 360deg spin off the circuit.
With R-PodS SSC recovered & new tyres fitted we were back on the circuit & ploughing back up the field. The only remaining incident was a minor collision as a slower car swerved in an attempt to avoid being overtaken – they managed to hit the inside of the driver pod but again the car only suffered a minor scratch.
As the race finished, Rotary Racer took the flag after an uneventful race, we were amazed to find R-PodS SSC had pulled back up to fifth place, an amazing result considering we had two collisions, two punctures & a spin.

Opening Onours

2010-04-25T16:43:00.000+01:00

The 2010 Greenpower season opened in style at the fabulous Goodwood circuit. There were two races on the day, with the season opener as a 1.5hr race followed by the corporate challenge in the usual 4 hr format.

There was a good turnout for the first race but R-PodS SSC was the only Chipping Sodbury team entered, after Team Fusion were unable to attend. At one time, it had looked like The Pod Movement would not be at the event due to a serious illness with one of the team, but a last minute push in the week before the race saw the car ready. Despite the extra power available due to the shorted race distance, there was a max speed limit imposed to reduce the risk of cars going too fast so it was looking to be an interesting race. The main excitement in the race was the issuing of several time penalties to the top teams for exceeding the lap speed limit. At the end of the race, R-PodS SSC had managed to achieve second place despite some seriously old batteries.

The main event was the corporate challenge and Chipping Sodbury was represented by both the Rotary Racer & R-PodS SSC. We had intended to launch T-Pod at this event as a third entry, but this has been delayed due to illness, so we brought Y-Pod?! along (with Alex) but unfortunately only as a static display (both of them). As the race unfolded, Rotary Racer was storming round but R-PodS SSC was putting in some disappointing lap times compared to last year. The race was again fairly uneventful despite being the first race that the younger members of The Pod Movement had run with out the help of any of the older team members. As the flag came down, Rotary Racer achieved a well deserved 3rd place, and unfortunately R-PodS SSC had stopped on the circuit, having eventually to settle for 9th place – still not bad considering the level of the competition.

As the awards were presented we were well pleased to be presented with the most innovative use of materials for R-PodS SSC. The school came back with 3 trophies – a great collection of opening honours…!

Fantastic Final 4 4

2009-10-18T14:32:00.002+01:00

After a fantastically successful year, Chipping Sodbury School have managed to top all their achievements by becoming National Champions with three podium finishes at the National final.

This was a fantastic final for the four school cars that qualified this year, we started the day with the following positions:
Y-Pod?! joint third in the F24+ championship.
R-PodS SSC & Rotary Racer qualified second & third on the F24 Grid with Wacky Racer in a respectable 30th place. The schools fifth car, Team Fusion was only completed for the last hour of the last heat so were unfortunately unable to be there.

The cars lined up on the grid with Seaford College's SCO7 and Zebedee from Sandbach High School keen to re-assert their grip on the championship. At 1pm the start flag was lowered and by the first corner Zebedee was first with Rotary Racer and R-PodS SSC not far behind. Around 3 hours into the race Zebedee suffered a puncture after a racing incident this gave them a small delay allowing Rotary Racer and R-PodS SSC to move into 1st and 2nd places. Towards the end of the race all the cars were slowing, and the nervous energy was growing, but our cars managed to get the balance of speed and energy just about right. Rotary Racer managed to achieve 1st place, with a millage of 120 miles in 4 hours. R-PodS SSC couldn’t achieve the pace they had set earlier in the season so had to settle for 3rd place, only just missing out on a 2nd place to SCO7. Wacky Racer was running well in about 10th place, but failing batteries lead them to a still respectable 41th place. An excellent race and a fine end to the F24 season.

The F24+ races are for the older students and are held alongside the F24 races. To add extra spice, there is a manufacturers championship with the points from the best two heats added to those from the final. Our car "Y-Pod?!" was upholding the school honours and as the final approached, there were only two points separating the top four cars. The race started promptly at 10:30 and all eyes were on the "Shell" corner to see who would come around first. As expected, the championship leader "Zebedee" from Sandbach High School came into view first with the other three championship contenders, including our "Y-Pod?!" close behind. After a few laps the race had settled down & we were holding a secure third place, only to loose it at the half way mark when we pitted to change drivers. As the race drew to a close, the top runners all started to struggle with expiring batteries but "Y-Pod?!" was continuing at almost the same pace. On the last lap we managed to overtake the race leader & un-lap ourselves, finally taking a very respectable third place.

Greater London Glory

2009-09-27T14:31:00.000+01:00

The last qualification race of the year was the Greater London heat, held at the Top Gear circuit, Dunsfold park. There was a substantial grid for both the F24 & F24+ races, so with a number of 'big name' schools present, we were not expecting a fantastic result. Team Fusion were debuting their new car, Rotary Racer had a new driver & The Pod Movement were mainly after driver experience in traffic.
As with this race last year, the drive down was foggy, but the forecast was good. The sun was shining well as the cars went through scrutineering & there was very little wind. Team Fusion had to perform some remedial work before getting through scrutineering, but managed to get out for a brief practice. Unfortunately, their practice ended with a steering problem, but Seaford College offered to take the car back to school & rebuild the steering. Both the Rotary Racer team & The Pod Movement had been testing batteries before the race & found them to be well down on capacity, so a good showing was looking even more in doubt.
For once, Y-Pod?! didn’t manage to get on the front row of the F24+ grid, so we were starting from the middle of the field. As we expected, ‘Simple Trug’ shot into a clear lead with Y-Pod?! soon half a lap behind, the rest of the field was strung out behind with only ‘Super Swoosh 3000’ in real contention. After a few laps, ‘Super Swoosh 3000’ came in with chain problems, so our second place was looking fairly secure. At the half way mark, Joe handed the car to Alex and things started to get a bit more interesting as ‘Super Swoosh 3000’ was now back out on the track & lapping fast. Given the state if our batteries, we were unable to make any impression on ‘Simple Trug’ who took a well deserved win, we managed to keep second, and maintain our joint 3rd position in the F24+ championship.
With a bit more planning, we managed to get both Rotary Racer & R-PodSssc on the front of the grid and as the flag fell, they both quickly pulled ahead of the field. Rotary Racer managed to pull past R-PodSssc on the main straight but some inspired driving by Issy, saw R-PodSssc re-take the lead before the end of the first lap. There then followed a tense half hour as both school cars repeatedly swapped the lead, taking it in turns to be held up with slower cars. After the first round of pit stops, R-PodSssc had managed to pull out a lead on Rotary Racer and that was how it remained for the mid portion of the race. Seaford College eventually returned with a repaired car for Team Fusion and they rejoined for the last hour of the race, by this time, the batteries on R-PodSssc were failing this allowed Rotary Racer to take the lead. Things were getting tense with several fast cars on the circuit & us wondering if R-PodSssc would make the end of the race, Team Fusion were lapping reliably and regularly overtaking R-PodSssc. Thanks to their sophisticated electronics, Rotary Racer had been able to conserve energy & were lapping steadily at the front.
As the race drew to a close, many cars on the circuit were slowing, Rotary Racer kept lapping steadily & took a well deserved first place, along with the fastest lap of the day, R-PodSssc managed to hold onto second, only missing out on the fastest lap of the day by a few fractions of a second. Despite only being on the track for a quarter of the race, Team Fusion achieved a reliable run with two cars behind them (including one from Seaford College) - with 7 teams not even managing to even make the race, it is a credit to Team Fusion.
In recognition of the assistance they gave, Seaford College were awarded the 'Spirit of Greenpower' award - an amazing effort to help the school – a big thanks from all of us.

Astounding Aintree

2009-09-22T14:30:00.000+01:00

As with last year there was only one lone car & driver making the long trek up to Liverpool for the F24+ race. The forecast was for showers, our batteries were very much down on capacity & with Brian & Zebedee both entered, we very nearly stayed at home. As it was Alex's last season, the Aintree track is superb & everyone seems very friendly up there, in the end, we decided it was worth the journey.

The race started slightly early and despite both Brian & Zebedee jumping the start, 4 cars were all in line as they entered the first corner, as they went up the hill, Brian & Zebedee were slipstreaming each other & pulling away. Alex thought he wouldn't see them again for a while but as Y-Pod?! rounded the last corner before the main straight, he found Brian & Zebedee only just in front & Y-Pod?! gaining. As they all came back into view from the paddock, we were astounded to see that Y-Pod?! was in front with all three cars almost nose to tail. Zebedee soon re- took the lead, followed closely by Brian, with Y-Pod?! hot on their tails. That was the last we saw of Zebedee for a while as they suffered battery connection problems, so for the next few laps, Brian & Y-Pod?! swapped the lead as the two cars were faster on different parts of the circuit. Alex decided that given the poor state of the batteries, he had better throttle back & accept a likely second place, so it looked like becoming a fairly dull race after the early excitement. Just as we were putting the lap board out to mark the half way point, Brian came off the circuit into the paddock - Y-Pod?! was not far behind so we were now in the lead…! After a lap & a half, Brian rejoined the race & slowly started to haul in our lead, Zebedee was back out & storming around but had lost too much time to be a threat to our position. With 5 minutes left to go, Brian had almost caught up but was going almost as slowly as us. As the cars came back into view for what we hoped would be the last lap, Brian had crept past & Alex was faced with a choice between conserving the batteries & to allow another lap or going for it & re-taking the lead. Alex decided on a final push, so as he rounded the last corner he was in the lead but the batteries were almost finished, the person finishing the race was still consulting with the timekeepers so disappointment set in, as we were sure Brian would take the lead if the race went for another lap. At the last moment the time ran out & the chap ran to the track side & waved the chequered flag - we had won our first F24+ race of the season & made it two wins at Aintree in a row… well & truly astounding!

Great Western Race

2009-09-13T14:29:00.000+01:00

Our local race saw all four school teams represented, but unfortunately team Fusion had not managed to complete their car so were there to help with marshalling, rather than racing. Wacky Racer were hoping to better their qualification mileage of 84 miles with a few changes & slim tyres. Rotary Racer were aiming to achieve their 2nd consecutive win at the circuit but had some new drivers to train. The Pod Movement were hoping for reliability with Y-Pod?! in F24+ and R-PodS SSC in F24, the main hope was to try & maintain their second qualification place for the final.

The F24+ race started promptly with a reasonable field of 8 cars. As expected, Brian & Zebedee took an early lead with Y-Pod?! not far behind and the other cars further back. After a few laps, the back cover started coming off Zebedee but the driver showed no sign of slowing till they were eventually forced back into the paddock with a puncture & to have the back taped up. This left us to take over second place. The rest of the race was fairly uneventful & we held second place till the end, despite our driver change. We were surprised to see the car stop immediately after the chequered flag & later found out we had two punctures in the rear tyres - luckily they only happened on the last lap so we managed to hold onto our second place.

The F24 race started well with Zebedee pulling into an early lead, closely followed by Rotary Racer and R-PodS SSC not far behind. As the race panned out, Zebedee was pulled off the circuit with a sheared wheel bolt - not helped by the bumpy nature of the track. This allowed Rotary Racer into the lead and R-PodS SSC into second, with Wacky Racer doing well further down the field. A rapidly improving SC07 soon overhauled R-PodS SSC so we gave up hope of a 1 - 2 finish & started to think a 1 - 3 might be possible. Wacky Racer had been doing well but along with many other cars, suffered a puncture and lost a lot of time changing tyres, by this time Zebedee was back on the track & scorching around the circuit.

As the race drew to a close, Zebedee was overhauling R-PodS SSC and we started to think our third place was in doubt - on the last lap our fears were realised as we were overtaken, having to be satisfied with fourth. Rotary Racer didn't falter & held the lead continuously since Zebedee's problems - Wacky Racer finished a disappointing 26th place after their punctures but had some consolation in that they were ahead of both the Furze Platt cars and only 11 miles behind TSR4.

The weather was wonderful and it was a truly Great Western Race…!

Goldwood

2009-07-12T14:27:00.000+01:00

Three school teams made their way to Goodwood for the Central South Heat. The weather forecast had been bad all week but we drove down in reasonable weather with high hopes for a good day. Wacky Racer were racing their 2008 car and looked great with their new logos on their overalls, Rotary Racer were debuting their new car (only finished the day before), while The Pod Movement were racing "Y-Pod?!" in F24+ and "R-PodS SSC" (after some hasty repairs) in F24.

The F24+ race was a disaster (for the second consecutive year) with the car failing on the start line due to a chain coming off, this was soon fixed but we were a lap & half down by the time we re-joined the race. The first stint with the first driver went well with the car flying around & a suspected race fastest lap, but the batteries seemed to be fading so the first pit stop was a bit early. The second driver took over but soon came back in with what appeared to be flat batteries. This was soon traced to a bad connection (burning a hole through the surrounding wood) so the car was back out again & storming around. The eventual result of fourth place was a bit disappointing but they had both enjoyed the driving & dispite the car only being out for 50 minutes (of the 90) it was a mere 1 lap off second.

The F24 race started on time with a very substantial grid lined up and both Rotary Racer & "R-PodS SSC" on the front of the grid. At the start, our second S car soon pulled away to an impressive lead with Rotary Racer close behind. Due to a misunderstanding, R-PodS SSC came in to pit half way through the first driver’s session and this gave the lead to the Rotary Racer, only for R-PodSssc to take it back at the next driver change. With half an hour to go the positions were the same with R-PodS SSC having pulled out a 2 lap lead over the Rotary Racer. The last few laps were very tense, with R-PodS SSC needing a battery change right at the end. At the chequered flag R-PodS SSC crossed the line in first place, with Rotary Racer a lap behind in second. This race was the first F24 race R-PodS has ever won and it is the first time in 3 years that The Pod Movement has automatically qualified for The National Final.

We were happy enough to have got a school 1,2 finish at Goodwood but to really add to our result R-PodS received the “best presented team” award and Y-Pod?! received the “most innovative use of recycled materials” award. A medal haul of 3 awards at one race is the best result The Pod Movement has had in its 5 season history.

With all this action happening at the front of the field it is easy to forget about the 3rd Chipping Sodbury team racing. For only their second 4 hour endurance race, the Wacky Racers did very well. They showed excellent reliabiltity (Except from a minor issue leaving the grid), finishing a highly credible 9th place.

Grrrrrrockingham

2009-07-02T14:26:00.000+01:00

The Pod Movement were the only school team to make the trek to Rockingham with their two cars "Y-Pod?!" and "R-PodS SSC". Unfortunately one of our regular drivers couldn’t make the race so we 'borrowed' Gareth (one of the Rotary Racer drivers) for the event - a chance for him to try one of their competitor’s cars first hand… Our usual van wasn't available so we had been building a trailer for the few weeks before the race - this was only finished at 1:00 on the morning of the race so car preparation had to take a second place with unfortunate consequences...

This race was held on a week day as part of the learning grid initiative, so apart from the impressive field of 48 cars, there were plenty of spectators who were there visiting the learning grid events. Both cars were quickly through scrutineering & Y-Pod?! was asked to demonstrate the correct pit stop maneuvour during the drivers briefing, unfortunately this took longer than expected, so the car was late of the start of the race and had to start from the pit lane, losing at least half a lap. The F24+ race was uneventful with Y-Pod?! managing to claw its way back up to fourth place, with third in sight if the race had continued.

The F24 race started well with "R-PodS SSC" in the lead after the first lap, soon to be overhauled by Zebedee (from Sandbach school) who shot into an unassailable lead. After 3 hours, the situation was the same with "R-PodS SSC" in a very secure second place & everyone started talking about how dull the race was… this is always a bad thing to do, for at the next pit stop the motor twisted & the chain came off… a weld on the motor mount bracket had failed but we managed to brace it with a spanner, cable tied in place to stop it falling out. The car was back in the race & we were soon back in second again only to have another unscheduled stop with a puncture - after this was fixed we had dropped to fifth place with less than half an hour to go. All was going well & we had even briefly overtaken the race winner when we had a second puncture & had to be retuned on the recovery truck. At the end we had managed to make up a place and achieve fourth.

A final thanks to Gareth for standing in & driving so well in a strange car...

Chipping at the Challenge

2009-04-26T14:25:00.000+01:00

On Sunday 26th April four cars from Chipping Sodbury School’s Greenpower team travelled to the Goodwood racing circuit to take part in the traditional opening event of the season.

There were two races on the day, the first was the Season Opener, open to all cars and a 90 minute race with only one set of batteries. Team ‘Wacky Racers’ carried the flag for CSS and pitted their wits in a field of 23 cars from schools across the UK. At the end of 90 minutes they came home in a highly credible 8th place having completed 15 laps totalling 36 miles. This was a tight race with the winners completing only 3 laps more and many seasoned cars behind them at the finishing line.

The second race of the day was the Corporate Challenge. This race consisted of the top 15 cars from the National Final racing against 11 entries from various companies in the UK. This year saw entries from Jaguar/Landrover, Renishaw, MajorLift and Prodrive amongst others. CSS fielded three cars in this 4 hour endurance race, Rotary Racer, R-Pods and S-Pod all took to the line with not only a keen rivalry between themselves but also extreme rivalry against regular opponents from other schools from across the country.

The race itself was a hard fought nail-biter. Rotary Racer and R-Pods had the front of the field firmly in their sights as they fought for a high position throughout the race. At the end of four hours R-Pods won through with a stunning 2nd place finish behind a corporate entry from Greenpower’s own scrutineers. Rotary Racer had a highly respectable 4th place, equalling their distance in the Final, behind another Corporate entry from Fordingbridge. They also picked up the IMeche Best Engineered Car award. Despite some early mechanical problems, S-Pod climbed the field recording some strong lap times and covering over 93 miles. The relatively lowly position of 14th place reflected the quality of the field, but even this was ahead of the National Final winner and both Jaguar/Landrover, Renishaw and Prodrive

Significantly, Chipping Sodbury School’s R-Pods and Rotary Racer were the top two placed school entry cars in the country. R-Pods achieved the feat of 50 laps which has only been achieved by 2 other cars in the history of Greenpower’s 4 hour endurance race. Neither of which will take part in the rest of this season’s events.

As the 2009 seasons takes off CSS are superbly positioned as leaders of the pack and looking forward to a promising (if somewhat nerve-wracking) season.

Revival Final

2008-10-19T17:41:00.001+01:00

Both the F24 & F24+ finals were held at the Goodwood circuit on Sunday 19th October. The school had only managed to get two cars qualified for the main race but to show there were no hard feelings, several members from these teams came down to help with marshalling etc… All the school cars were scrutineered on the Saturday as this left us free to enjoy ourselves at the hog roast & camping on the Saturday night.

Sunday morning saw us all troop down to the circuit to prepare the cars & get the new drivers out for a few laps practice. The F24+ race started slightly early so a couple of cars had to start from the pit lane. From the start, we could see that Y-Pod? had a problem as it was lapping over a minute slower than it had been going earlier in the year. TSR-4+ was in the lead with Brain and Bentley following closely behind as a three car snake. At the half way mark, we swapped drivers and managed to sort the car so it was now back on the form it had displayed earlier in the year. Unfortunately, by this time we had lost nearly two laps on the leaders and despite being equal or faster on every lap after the change, we only managed to pull back half a lap and so finished a lap & a half behind in fourth place. This disappointing result dropped us from joint first in the championship to third place - disappointing because we could have done better, but then pretty good for the car’s first season.

An amazing 80 cars were wheeled out for the main F24 race - we managed to get Y-Pod? beside R-PodS for the parade, so with Rotary Racer, the school was represented by three cars! The race started on time with most cars getting away cleanly and we were amazed to see R-PodS up near the front, dicing with the leaders. Rotary Racer was not far behind and at the half way mark we were all ecstatic to see the two school cars up there in second & third place. This was with 80 cars on the circuit, not to mention the greater number that had failed to qualify. As the race progressed Rotary Racer & R-PodS swapped places several times, usually during pit stops and the tension was building. As the race drew to a close, Rotary Racer was going faster than ever thanks to their electronic control system, whilst R-PodS had slowed slightly. As the wining car came through the line, there was less than a lap separating the cars in second to seventh place. Rotary Racer had held on to it's pace & managed a fabulous second place, whilst R-PodS, despite being only half a lap behind, had dropped to 5th.

Overall it is an amazing result for the school. 3rd place in the F24+ championship, with two cars in the top 5 of the F24 final. We have lots of plans to improve the cars further … bring on the 2009 series!

Dominating at Dunsfold

2008-09-28T17:40:00.000+01:00

The school took four cars to compete at the Greater London heat at the Top Gear circuit on the Dunsfold aerodrome. Y-Pod? was competing in the last heat of the F24+ series and we had three cars in the F24 race; Rotary Racer, R-PodS & Team Fusion.

The journey down on Sunday morning was unsettling as we woke up to dense fog. It was patchy all the way down but soon cleared to give a fantastic sunny warm day. All the cars were quickly through scrutineering and out for practice as with several new drivers, this was an important part of the day.

The F24+ race started without the team from Bentley as we heard that they had damaged their car a few days before and hadn’t made the race. Our main competition was from Woosh, who were just behind us in the championship. As we had two drivers, it was Important that we pulled out a lead to allow for the delay of a pit stop. At the half way point, all was going to plan as we lapped Woosh for the second time, just before having to pit for the driver change. We started to watch our lead slip away but rejoined the race with almost a lap lead and were feeling quite happy until we were pulled in to the pits with the drivers helmet above the roll bar. After squashing him down, we re-joined with our lead cut to a few metres. There then followed a few tense laps before Woosh started to drop back down with batteries failing and we managed a clear victory, putting Y-Pod? in joint first place in the F24+ championship.

The Pod Movement (R-PodS's team) were the first to start queuing for the F24 race & started on pole position. The first lap was fantastic with R-PodS in the lead from the start, Rotary racer soon caught up & the next 45 minutes were nail biting as the two Chipping Sodbury cars diced for the lead on a crowded track. TSR4 briefly overtook them both but soon dropped back out of the battle. R-PodS came in to pit first having held onto the lead for much of the first session, and at this point the race positions became confusing as all the cars started pitting. Rotary Racer managed to keep going at the same pace throughout the race and won the event outright. R-PodS had some troubles and stopped on the circuit at one point, dropping them to 5th place at the end. Team Fusion had carried out some extensive modifications to their car, removing the hub gear & fitting a single gear drive, like the other school F24 cars. They enjoyed their best race for some time, finishing with over 70 miles and only just failing to qualify for the final. The Wacky Racer team had hoped to compete but the entry list was closed before they entered, so it was disappointing that some teams, having gained a entry to the race, failed to turn up.

At the prize giving R-PodS was awarded the best presented team award, so we came home with a good stash of trophies for our new trophy cabinet. All in all, it was a great day out & good practice for the final in a few weeks time.

Goings Good at Aintree

2008-09-10T17:38:00.000+01:00

This was the first Greenpower event at Aintree and with it being on a week day and a long journey, the school was only represented by 'Y-Pod?' in the F24+ event. The venue was great with the circuit being fairly smooth & very level with only the strengthening wind to worry about.

Practice was delayed some time as the marshals were not very quick to get on the circuit but we managed a few laps to check the car over before stocking up on a well deserved bacon roll. At the start, Y-Pod? was quick off the line but was overhauled by Brian (who had won the last F24+ event) before the second lap. The Bentley car was fairly soon out of contention with electrical problems that delayed them on & off for most of the race. It was good to see some new teams in F24+ but most had done little testing so were not up with the top cars. After an hour or so, Bentley was seriously motoring & they had put in the fastest lap of the race, Brian had held this honour until then, so they were signalled to speed up & take it back. They managed to re-take the fastest lap within a couple of laps, but paid the price, as their batteries soon started to die, this allowed Y-Pod? to reel back the two lap deficit and take the lead. At the end, Brian had to be recovered and Y-Pod? managed a relatively easy victory, despite swapping places with Bentley several times on the last few laps.

Airbus Bustle

2008-07-19T17:37:00.001+01:00

The second 'kit kar kapers' event was held just before the summer break in the filton carpark by Concorde. Chipping Sodbury School had four cars up against numerous seagull based kits that had been built by other local schools. The event consisted of a series of 3 lap heats with 4 cars in each heat, leading to a runners up final & the main final.
While all this was going on, there were events for goblins in the centre of the circuit, so there was constant activity.

As with last years event, the circuit was very tight so overtaking would be tricky, but after a 1-2 finish last year, the school had high hopes for the event. It was the first time R-PodS had competed in a sprint & we knew the wide car was not suited to this type of circuit.
Team Fusion were hoping to have sorted their gear problems and the Wacky
Racer team were ready for their first experience of a sprint.

The tension mounted through the heats with Rotary Racer & R-PodS winning most of their heats. The Wacky Racer was doing well & managed one heat win, while Team Fusion were holding their own against stiff competition. The Wacky Racer made it to the runners up final, whilst both Rotary Racer & R-PodS were in the main final. As we expected, the final race came down to overtaking, both our cars had a poor start & were faced with two cars ahead of them. After some time they both made it past the second place car but couldn't find a way around the eventual winner, having to settle for second & third place.

Was is a good event? An unqualified yes. Very different to the usual racing and requiring very different driving skills. It was a bonus to get a best presented team award for team R-Pod, to go with their second place.

Roasting at Rockingham

2008-07-01T17:36:00.000+01:00

The Rockingham race was held on a weekday & as the school teams are mostly run by parents, this race was solely supported by Y-Pod? and a lone team member.

The car was virtually un-touched since the last race (only two days previous), apart from modifying the offending sprocket to make sure it didn't come detached again. We started well with a brief spell in the lead before being quickly overhauled by TSR-4+, there then followed a tedious plod around the oval in full sun, getting hotter & hotter. The Bentley team managed to overhaul us & we dropped to third place, but were hoping that they had pushed things too far & would suffer from battery fade at the end of the race.

As the laps ticked by & the heat increased it all became a tedious slog with no corners to think about or require any arm movement... at the end, the Bentley team were hardly moving but managed to creep across the line with a pit straight length of lead, so we had to settle for third. As in all racing there are loads of "if only" stories, but despite the tedium, we would have loved to have one more lap & a second place!

Goodwood Gremlins

2008-06-29T17:35:00.000+01:00

Unusually for this particular heat, the school was only represented by team R-Pod, with the cars "Y-Pod?" and "R-PodS" competing in F24+ & F24 respectively. The only change to "Y-Pod?" was to fit a 'Watts-up' device to the car so we now knew what current we were drawing, "R-PodS" was virtually untouched since Castle Combe.

We passed through scrutineering with no problems & quickly ran "Y-Pod?" up & down to make sure the 'Watts-up' meter was working properly - all was well & we were confident of a good result. Our confidence was soon shattered as the cars pulled away for the F24+ race - "Y-Pod?" was left trailing well behind with no power. We pulled the car to one side & all seemed well so we started off again, only to grind to a halt a bit further down the track. After recovering the car, we found that a set-screw had come loose & a sprocket on the lay shaft was just free-spinning.... it was easily fixed but the recovery had cost us 30 minutes of the 1.5hr race & put us into last place. Once the car was back on the track, Alex set about catching up but despite consistently putting in fastest lap times, & overhauling 3 cars, we only managed to pull back to 6th place. If we had managed to fix the car only slightly earlier, we would have managed another lap & 3rd would have been possible.... if only......

The F24 race was quickly underway & soon settled down to a text-box event with pit-stops flowing smoothly and drivers settling into a steady rhythm. We were half way into the last hour & about to change to a new set of batteries that would easily get us to the end of the race when it all went wrong. The car pulled into the pits too close to the wall so the battery trolleys couldn't be used - in the confusion, the battery connector wasn't fully pushed home - the car started off well but stopped at the bottom of the pit straight. The recovery crew did an excellent job in getting the car back quickly (thanks guys) and we were soon back on the track for the remaining few minutes of the race. After this drama, we were staggered to have equalled our corporate challenge mileage and qualified as the top Chipping Sodbury school car in 8th place.

4 Teams, 5 Cars, 5 Awards

2008-06-22T17:34:00.000+01:00

All of the Chipping Sodbury teams had high hopes for the castle combe heat, Rotary Racer had made improvements to their car and were hoping to improve on their season opener mileage, Team R-Pod would be debuting their new F24+ car (the school’s first) called Y-Pod?, while at the same time hoping to re-live the success they had with R-PodS at the season opener, Team Fusion had got the bodywork finished on their new car, so were hoping for a good race, and the brand new team, Wacky Racers, were looking forward to their first race, and hoping they would do well.

After scrutineering, most of the sodbury cars went out onto track for practise. Team R-Pod sent out the new Y-Pod?, as it had only been finished at 10:20pm the night before there hadn’t been a chance to test it, so they were very relieved to see it speed back into view after managing it’s first lap.

At 11:00am the first ever F24+ championship round commenced, and as the cars left the start line, Y-Pod? managed to pull into first place and hold it for most of the first lap until TSR-4+ over took it on the main straight. Y-Pod? and TSR-4+ then swapped between 1st and 2nd place for most of the race until the clot driving Y-Pod? messed it all up. The driver changed up a gear going down the main straight and heard a painful crunching noise from the back, so slid off the track, looked inside, only to find that it was all fine and that the chain hadn’t come off. After managing to get going again, Y-Pod? ended up with second place – not bad for car that two weeks before the race was a bare steel chassis! Bring on the next round!

After the marshals had had a half hour tea break, the F24 race could start. The four top spots were swapped around between four cars for most of the race, Rotary Racer, R-PodS, Turbo Tortoise, and Brian. At one point, nearing the end of the race, Rotary Racer was in 1st with R-PodS in 2nd, so it looked like chipping sodbury might be on to a 1,2 finish, unfortunately it was not to be. R-PodS’s batteries died at the end of the race dropping it down to 4th place. Rotary Racer kept hold of their 1st place though, and pulled through to win with a two lap lead over 2nd and 3rd place. This win also meant that they could keep hold of the ‘Renishaw Best Gloucestershire Car Award’ for the third year running.
Despite spending some time in the paddock, Wacky Racer did well in their first race and achieved 16th place and 53 miles. Team Fusion got 23rd place and, coincidently, the same mileage as Y-Pod?

After already getting three ‘position based’ awards, all the teams were delighted when the four teams were awarded, jointly, the best presented team award, and team R-Pod was awarded the best engineered car for R-PodS. All in all a very successful day!

Blue Peter Blues

2008-04-27T17:33:00.000+01:00

The 2008 season started with two events at Goodwood, a 1.5hr handicap race in the morning, followed by a 4hr ‘corporate challenge’ in the afternoon.

The handicap race was open to all with additional laps being credited to teams depending on their performance last year, with all the new teams starting with the maximum 7 lap lead (equivalent to over half an hour head start).
Chipping Sodbury School was represented by team Fusion who had just finished building their new car in time for the race. After lapping well at the start, gear problems lead to a seriously burnt out motor and a spell in the paddock. They were not alone in suffering this fate as most of the time throughout this race, the smell of burnt out motor was drifting around the paddock! After some frantic work, Fusion was fitted with a new motor and was back on the circuit, where it remained for the remainder of the race finishing in 20th place.

The main race was the inaugural ‘corporate challenge’ where companies were invited to compete with the top 15 school cars. As we had two cars in the top 10 at last years final, Chipping Sodbury School was represented by team Rotary Racer & team R-Pod. The Rotary Racer team had finally finished their all new car with added electronics but retaining the tried & tested single speed drive. R-PodS had been re-painted black to suit our new sponsor (David Reid Homes) and was looking fabulous with the chequered flag graphics. As the gears in R-PodS had given trouble throughout last season & lost us a few places in the final, the car had been converted to a single speed drive for this race.
There were around 15 corporate entries & these ranged from ‘badged’ school cars (such as GR Racers) to complete new builds (such as the local Renishaw team). The two big names were Bentley (competing with a team of apprentices) & the BBC’s Blue Peter (competing with the West Somerset Community College). Our school had Renishaw team with advice & a school visit to see our cars in construction, so we were hoping they would do well.
The race had an uneventful start and settled down with R-PodS lapping slightly quicker than last year, while the Rotary Racer was slightly slower as it was a new car & had been geared to finish rather than to be ambitious. As the race progressed, the Renishaw car suffered a broken battery isolator at the first pit stop & the Blue Peter team was recovered & spent some time in the paddock. The Rotary Racer suffered a puncture late on in the race & this pushed them down the order but they managed to hold on to 9th place. R-PodS had a fault free race to finish a magnificent 5th and achieve the schools first 4hr gold certificate for mileage, they also managed an interview with Blue Peter – a great start to the season.
There were two new drivers, Ben was in his first race with the Rotary Racer & Issy had her first race in R-PodS, the only down side was that Matthew had spent half the recent holiday sanding & painting R-PodS but was ill on the day of the race so had to stay at home…. What bad luck!

Favourable Final

2007-10-14T17:25:00.000+01:00

The Last race of the season was the F24 and F35 National Final at Goodwood Motor Circuit, Chichester on Sunday 14 Oct. We started with R-PodS is in 8th position, Rotary Racer at 9th, and Team Fusion at 54th.
We persuaded the organizers to let us take C-Pod to show off in the display so once again we had four cars present at the final.
The F35/Streamliner race was well supported & team R-Pod had made a ‘bubble’ for R-PodS (using Rotary Racer’s broken canopy from last year). Despite a slow start, R-PodS was in third place when it failed to appear on the pit straight as expected. We heard over the marshals’ radios that there had been a collision on the far side of the circuit. It turned out that Ruby had clipped the front of R-PodS when overtaking & spun in front of the car, Ruby was out of the race but to our amazement, R-PodS was totally unscathed. We were expecting to have to straighten the car out but it continued & held onto an exciting second place.
The main F24 race was uneventful, R-Pods was lying in a steady 6th place with Rotary Racer not far behind. Team Fusion had overheating motor problems & despite a frantic motor change with R-PodS spare motor they were forced to retire and accept last place. Rotary Racer were struggling with intermittent power switch problems but managed to keep going & move up to 8th place. R-PodS was going well until one of the pit crew spotted that the car had been moved to top gear, dramatically increasing the current draw. It took several laps before we could bring the car in & sort out the problem, by which time we had used far too much energy & had to conserve all we could, coasting as much as possible. We struggled on & managed to keep hold of 10th place which was remarkable considering how slow we were going at the end.

Top Trouble

2007-09-22T17:24:00.000+01:00

The top gear circuit was the venue for the Surrey Regional Heat, where team R-Pod took two cars, R-PodS and the all new C-Pod. We were competing in the F24 race with R-PodS, while C-Pod was built to compete in Formula Catapult - a 200m drag race in a car built with a car battery & standard car starter motor.
C-Pod had been built over the summer using parts from the old S-Factor car and had been entirely designed & built by Alex & Joe, with help & support from Sam. There hadn't been time to fully test C-Pod, so it was not surprising that it didn't perform flawlessly - it managed 3rd place but most disappointingly, the parachute failed to open, so it is back to the drawing board.
The main F24 race started well but R-Pods had yet another puncture after the second driver change. The remaining race was fairly uneventful but there just isn’t time to catch up in a four hour race so we came a disappointing 9th. Again it was good experience for the new drivers and we managed to improve their driving considerably.

Trials & Tribulations

2007-09-15T17:24:00.000+01:00

Our favorite Greenpower circuit is the Darley Moor motor bike track in Derbyshire with its narrow track & exciting bends. This is the setting for the North West Heat where both team R-Pod & the Team Fusion made the trip north for the race.
As the new school term had started, team R-Pod had two new drivers to gain experience & hopefully drive in the final. The day started badly for R-PodS with a rubbing tyre that cut short practice with the new drivers (later traced to a missing bolt). As the cars waited to go out & form
the grid, the drivers noticed that R-PodS had developed a flat tyre. A frantic tyre change followed and the car managed to get out on the grid in pole position.
It proved to be a disappointing day as Team Fusion had a binding brake leading to a burnt out motor. Despite help from Sandbach School & the loan of a replacement motor, they had to sit out most of the race. R-PodS faded towards the end with serious battery trouble (in later testing it was found that the batteries were 40% under capacity). The new R-Pod drivers had experienced a race but R-PodS only managed 6th place (but was on the same lap as the fourth place car), wile Team Fusion in 21st.

Sussex Success

2007-07-08T17:23:00.000+01:00

The Sussex Heat was held at Goodwood and the only school team to attend was team R-Pod. Our new car, R-PodS, wasn't eligible for the streamliner race so we only competed in the main F24 category.
It was an uneventful race, but our batteries were failing towards the end - we managed to achieve 5th place, but more importantly, we managed to push our mileage up & qualify as the highest placed Chipping Sodbury car for the final.

Castle Combe Challenge

2007-06-24T17:21:00.000+01:00

The Castle Combe Heat was the first full race of the year & was nearly called off when the heavens opened during race preparation. All three Chipping Sodbury cars were present, with the all-new R-PodS making its first appearance. The race was fairly uneventful with two cars in the top 4 for most of the race. Towards the end, one of R-PodS drivers thought he could manage one more lap before pitting to change batteries but unfortunately, he stopped half way around. The car wasn't recovered until after the race, but despite this, R-PodS managed 6th place, Rotary Racer finished in 3rd & Team Fusion in 16th.
Rotary Racer won the top placed Gloucestershire car award & R-PodS won the prize for the best presented team- all in all a very successful race for the school.

Need for Speed

2007-06-22T17:22:00.000+01:00

While R-PodS was making its debut at Castle Combe, R-Pod was on display at the Goodwood festival of speed. As we had raided the car for most of the useful items to fit to R-PodS, we had to make some dummy wheels for display purposes. The Greenpower stand looked great with a good selection of cars and it attracted a lot of interest.

4th Noel

2007-06-05T17:18:00.000+01:00

To pass the time when not racing, we took R-Pod to the Bath & West Show and entered a competition for alternative fuel vehicles. We were up against all manner of vehicles including a solar power boat that had crossed the Channel. We were very pleased to take 4th place and had photos taken with Noel Edmonds.

Four Hour Fortunes

2007-04-29T17:19:00.000+01:00

The official 2007 season opener was held at Goodwood and was to be the last outing of R-Pod as the new open cockpit car had to be ready for the race at Castle Combe.
The racing started in the morning with a 1.5 hour F35/streamliner race. There was a disappointing field and several cars either failed to make (or leave) the start line. It was an uneventful race and R-Pod came home in an un-challenged first place.
The main F24 race was to the now shortened 4 hour format. The side window had to be removed for R-Pod to be eligible, and they joined the grid with Team Fusion. This was the first race to the new rules without charging & most teams coped well. Some teams enjoyed the reduced race time & lack of panic in the pit lane towards the need of the race but we thought that the racing had lost an important element. The race was doubly disappointing for the school; R-Pod suffered a tyre blow-out near the start, and with no time to recover, had to settle for 13th place. Likewise, Team Fusion had a disappointing outing & came 21st.

Concord Collision

2007-03-28T17:17:00.000+01:00

Our first race this year was an F24 sprint & Goblin race organised at Airbus, in a car park next to Concorde.
Airbus had sponsored a number of schools to build Seagull 'kit' based F24 cars, this race was to give them their first run and to see how they performed against the more established cars.
The sprint races were separated by several Goblin driving tests with Goblins from local primary schools. The Goblins included cars from Old Sodbury & Raysfield that had been built at Chipping Sodbury School. The Goblin Races culminated in a 5 lap race on the full spring circuit where Old Sodbury triumphed.
All three F24 teams entered, with Rotary Racer & R-Pod dominating the proceedings. Team Fusion had some gear problems but came 2nd in one race beating most of the kit cars.
The final was a close and exciting between Rotary Racer & R-Pod with the competitive Seagull cars fighting for third. Whilst trying to overtake on the narrow track, Rotary Racer collided with R-Pod, spinning R-Pod into the centre of the circuit. R-Pod miraculously managed to rejoin the race in the lead but Rotary Racer suffered bent steering in the incident. This left R-Pod to carry on to a clear win and despite the bent steering Rotary Racer managed to hold on to a well deserved 2ndplace.

Glorious Goodwood

2006-10-15T17:11:00.000+01:00

With all 4 Chipping Sodbury cars qualifying for the Formula 24 National final it was going to be an exciting race. Rotary Racer was looking to maintain the performance that saw it qualify in third place, R pod was a keen as ever to improve and prove it was capable of bettering its Gold performance at the Avon heat, S Factor was in buoyant mood after winning the Dorset heat several weeks earlier and the Aderley Flyers were looking for a good race consolidating the year's efforts.

Also up for grabs was the best presented team award, R Pod had pulled out all the stops for this with a variety of show stopping displays and Rotary Racer would have won the biggest banner award if there was such a thing.

At eleven o'clock precisely the race got under way, as expected the streamliners came round first but Rotary Racer and R Pod were mixing it with the best of them, after an hour Rotary Racer lost it's canopy which slowed it down slightly and R Pod was putting in consistent lap times despite trying out a new driver as Sam “one of the regular drivers” had broken his fingers in a push bike accident and was unable to drive.

At the mid point in the race Rotary Racer had slipped down the field a few places due to a couple of incidents such as the chain coming off and a few excursions onto the grass but was still running strong, R Pod was still churning out the laps but S factor was not performing as expected as a hike in the gear ratio was proving to much for the batteries and the Aderley Flyers had suffered a broken weld and a puncture.

As the race drew to a close and the batteries started to fade, Rotary Racer had crept back up the field and was in a race with two other cars for fourth place, R Pod had done well and was holding on to tenth place but the old problem of fading batteries was causing a few worried looks, S Factor had slipped down the field as the batteries couldn't cope with the increased gearing and the Aderley Flyers had fixed their problems and put in some solid laps.

At Five o'clock the chequered flag came out and the race was over, the Rotary Racer lost out in the battle for fourth by two laps and finished a very respectable sixth, but better still it had increased its milage from Castle Combe to 168 miles, R Pod finished in tenth place also increasing it's best milage to 154 miles, S Factor was 54th with 117 miles and Aderley Flyers managed 75th place and 60 miles.

Dunsfold Deluge

2006-10-01T17:10:00.000+01:00

We arrived at the Top Gear circuit all excited to be driving on the hallowed tarmac. The perimeter road frightened us as it was in such a poor state but the actual circuit was fine. The race used only half of the figure of 8 circuit as someone seemed to think it would be dangerous if the cars had to cross in the middle....? Anyway, before scruitineering we had the first torrential downpour with the wind ripping several Gazebos & tents away. We decided to wear our old (small by now) blue overalls & keep the red ones dry to try & stop the car misting up. The race started badly as our pusher (who will remain nameless to protect the guilty) was in a dream & forgot to fully turn the key..... We had hardly touched the car over the summer & the Velcro was getting fairly worn on the window - the strong wind blew it out fairly soon but it was recovered & was fine (the advantages of polycarbonate). Our drivers enjoyed the circuit & it had examples of some of top gear's escapades parked near the hangers. Our first pit stop took ages as we hadn't practiced since the last race but we improved for our second stop & first driver change. After the second recovery of the window (which we now taped in to stop a third loss) we were getting into a good rhythm when the race was stopped due to the crash. After the troubles & two extra pit stops, we had we were amazed to claim a 5th place, beating all the F35 cars!
We had a quick practice after the race as Matthew had joined the team & it was his first F24 race since graduating form the Old Sodbury Goblin (winner of the 2005 Goblin race of champions & the 2006 slalom).
When the race was cancelled, we sat in the van with the wind and rain around us, drinking tea & chatting while the other teams packed away.... overall, a memorable day despite all the wind & rain.

Darley Delight

2006-07-15T17:08:00.000+01:00

Last Saturday saw the last heat in this year’s calendar before the school summer break. Two cars from Chipping Sodbury School travelled up to Darley Moor to compete against 26 other cars battling for one of the three qualifying places for the National Final.

The race started at 11am following the Sport Relief Mile (and a half !). It was a highly competitive race that had its incidents and temperatures soared causing many pink faces by the end of the day. However, it was all worthwhile as R-Pod took first place and the chequered flag at 5pm for the first time in its eight race history, ensuring it reached the final by right. Over the six-hour race it covered 96 laps of the 1.5 mile circuit covering a total of 144 miles.

The Alderley Flyer also completed the six hours – no mean feat on four car batteries. It completed 54 laps covering a total of 81 miles and now awaits completion of the other heats in September to see if it qualifies for the final as one of the furthest distance runner-ups.

Going For Gold

2006-07-02T17:06:00.000+01:00

Rotary Racer and R Pod entered their home heat on Sunday with high expectations, both cars have come within a whisker of Gold at recent races and Castle Combe would be their best chance yet. They did not disappoint, Rotary Racer “in its latest form” was flying, achieving 162.8 miles and a brilliant second place. R pod suffered fading batteries in the last part of the race but got the Gold with 151.7 miles and fourth place. Well done to both teams, a fantastic effort.

Lets not forget Chipping Sodburys other teams, S factor came within a whisker of a Bronze on their first outing with 99.9 miles, they might have achieved a Silver had they not spent some time in the pits with a steering problem. Alderely Flyer managed 77.7 miles and found out afterwards that they had gear selection problems and were stuck in bottom gear.

Susex Setback

2006-06-18T16:52:00.002+01:00

The team arrived at Goodwood with high hopes, we knew that R-Pod suited the track well. It was father's day so we made a banner and bought some champagne for the dad's (which is why, if anybody saw us, there were a group of adults drinking around the R-Pod paddock at ten in the morning!). This was going to be our first race with 4 wheel covers & we set off well, all in good spirits. We were brought down to earth on the third lap when the car coasted to a halt opposite the pits. We recovered the car to find the motor had dropped off & was tangled around the drive chain. We sent one driver running around in the heat to try & find a new motor while the rest of us took the wheel cover off to see what had broken. We discovered the two motor bolts had pulled through the aluminium bracket so set about finding longer bolts to pass through a cross member underneath. We had just about worked out what to do, when the driver came back having found someone & obtained a new (but now unnecessary) motor. After fixing the motor, we set about enjoying the race & getting experience with the modified car - getting a 5th place & the same mileage as in the handicap race (with half an hour less time) was a good way to end the day.