The CSI along with Cummins were Associate Platinum Event Sponsors with the IMechE being the organising committee support engineers.

These events are organised in order to encourage pupils to consider STEM careers.

For most of the day the weather was OK and started with a morning Goblin junior event incorporating 15 cars. The main senior event (11-16 years) for the IET Formula 24 distance race was the afternoon endurance race which lasted for some for 4 hours and involved 35 cars.

Attendance complete with snack bars etc. and a buffet for sponsors was very good and the CSI banner was on display adjacent to the IMechE etc. All entries were from schools around and beyond the Cleveland area.

The schools and pupils taking part were full of enthusiasm and the day included assembly exercises for students as well as presentations and various lectures from the Greenpower team.

There was a wide range of various builds and designs of cars all incorporating different features . Sub frames were made from various materials including wood, DSC 0207e-s aluminium, mild steel etc. in order to keep the weight down. The only mandatory common features are the batteries and motor which are specified by Greenpower. F24 denotes two 12V batteries and for the endurance race you have three sets of batteries and up to three drivers which are changed in pit stops.

Kits for building the cars start at around £2700 but schools have great difficulty in raising such funds and Leila Elliott of CSI spent a lot of time going round and talking to various schools and students as well as the Greenpower team.

Lap times and status were recorded and displayed on lap tops throughout the event. Quite professional. Pit stops, repairs, battery and driver changes were so interesting to watch. Fancy keeping a car running round a race track for 4 hours !!!

Health and Safety was a priority as these car travel round the track at speeds up to 30mph. There were quite a few adult stewards around organising pit stops etc.

The CSI sponsored Longfield Academy, Queen Elizabeth College and Richmond Schools on the day. Queen Elizabeth was in the 24+ category for the over 16's and the others were in the F24 category. Longfield had two cars and one of them came second in the kit car category, they were 7th overall in the second race. Richmond won the IET Engineering Prize for the best engineering of the day and they also had the second fastest lap speed overall. At the end of the event at around 5pm the winners were announced.

DSC 0180e-sThree will go forward to the National Finals at Goodwood.

For more information on the Greenpower North East Regional Heat and the National Finals Event please look at the Greenpower Education Trust Website. It is very comprehensive.