The Billingshurst-based energy solutions group has been working with West Sussex County Council’s Youth Service to support two Purple Bus teams from Storrington and Petworth Youth Groups, which have been taking part in the Greenpower Trust F24 international competition.
The teams worked hard throughout the season to design, build and develop two electric racing cars to race against teams from across the region, and ultimately qualify for the international competition at Rockingham Raceway.
Following practice sessions and their first competitive race at Goodwood, the teams had time to refine and develop improvements to the car, and to improve how well they worked together as a team, before entering their second race at Dunsfold Park. There was then a painful wait for results from elsewhere to find out whether they had qualified for the International Finals, over the weekend of 6-8 October.
However, they weren’t content to sit around, hoping for good news. During the wait, the teams researched engine performance improvements; visiting Shoreham’s Ricardo Engineering to get every bit of guidance and information they could to improve their cars’ performance. Then, two weeks before the final, the teams found out that both cars had qualified.
Dan Sneller, Project Manager for the Purple Bus, says, “Having worked with these young people since March 2017 it has been great to see them develop as a group and individually. We set them the task of researching what Greenpower Trust is and what other teams do. We worked with them to explore group dynamics and group roles, looking at what it means to be a part of a successful team.
“One of the team’s tasks was to plan for the International Final, in preparation for qualifying. They had a set budget which they had to allocate for accommodation and food for the weekend. It became very clear to them that the budget provided them was not enough and they had to look elsewhere to gain extra sponsorship. This was something I had planned to develop their problem-solving skills and encourage them to approach local business for support. The Energys Group was amazing at supporting the young people throughout this, helping them to a very successful international final, in which they placed 53rd in the world – which was an outstanding achievement and one they should be very proud of.”
Energys Group’s Managing Director Kevin Cox commented, “We have been thrilled to support the fantastic work done by the Purple Bus kit car teams throughout their design, build and racing in the Greenpower Trust’s annual challenge. We’re so proud of them for qualifying for the international final and for their outstanding result. Young engineers are the future for innovation in so many fields, including ours in energy solutions and we look forward to seeing these pupils develop their careers in science and engineering.”
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