The Road to Goodwood 2022

Over the last few weeks the team has been hard at work preparing the car for the prestigious Goodwood final event on the 9th of October.

However, the journey started much earlier in the year.

Before our qualifiers, we installed a new eChook (Bluetooth device) to help us view live race statistics throughout our race; a new steering wheel and throttle which would significantly help by allowing us to control acceleration; conserve our battery throughout the race, or speed up for an overtake, all in time for our race at Croft.

On the day, we had to overcome many minor setbacks, including a disconnected motor (even though it was showing fine with a multimeter) which unfortunately delayed us to miss our practice session, and put us onto the track 30 minutes after the start. However, due to the skill of our drivers: Morgan, Luke then Aaron (and maybe some luck) we managed to claw 3rd place for our first race, in the hour remaining (1 and a half hour races).

I can’t say our second race went any smoother, Wilf sped off the line from last into first place for half an hour, consistently holding 1st until his driver change to Jack, who managed to get the fastest lap of the race. The problems started after the change to Josh, who set off well but got black-flagged (told to get off the track), as he was a bit too small and couldn’t properly see over the wheel. Wilf was still in his race suit, so he quickly swapped out with Josh for the final minutes of the race, and drove us to first place.

Day 2 started well. If you count well as; Wilf short circuiting our race batteries (due to a lack of experience handling them), and with a spark and a bit of smoke went our chances of using them for the race. Thankfully, we had a backup pair ready to use for our practice session, and for the race itself. Toby took off in his first section of the race, bringing us up on the initial rush from 7th to 4th, a steady pace through to Aydon. He started off shakily and was going a little wide on corners, so was swiftly taken off the track ready for a little more practice! By that time we had dropped back down to 7th due to the confusion, so over Ben’s 45 minute (maximum you can drive) stint, managed to drive us to 3rd place. The 2 teams above us were caught cheating by swapping out batteries, so we managed to win that race.

But it didn’t matter, if in the second race they could get more laps, they would win instead. They started off poorly with a loose wire causing issues with the motor controller, making Luke have a terrible start. Morgan caught up some slack on his stint, and they managed to resolve the issue by fixing the loose wire on the 2nd pitstop, as Aaron got in the car for the final leg. He managed to drain the battery perfectly, letting it die out as he crossed the line into 4th place.

The win at Croft put us through to the upcoming finals at Goodwood, where our drivers will compete with other qualifying clubs.

With only a week left, we still have a lot to do, but the future is looking promising.