The dozen fast-trackers from Year 9 at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School have spent a year building a racing car and entered their first event last Wednesday at the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire.

Their team, Quixotic, were placed ninth out of the line-up of 17 and won a large set of Scalextric for being the best organised pit team at the Greenpower event.

“There were many moments of excitement, not least when the motor overheated in the early part of the race and had to be cooled by pouring a large quantity of water over it to prevent it destroying parts of the car,” said ICT teacher David Bird, who has led the project.

The team’s six drivers all completed fast laps without accident, clocking up 58 laps - almost 70 miles - in four hours of racing

The rest of the squad provided pit support and logistics.

Mr Bird said this first event for the QEGS team was ‘a very successful outcome’ as most of the opposition had been racing several seasons.

The Quixotic car is powered by four car batteries – the only source of energy allowed in the Greenpower competition – and will next be in action at Newark in September, hoping to secure a place in the national final at Goodwood.

“This has been a terrific opportunity for young people to gain entry to the exciting world of motor racing and learn a lot about engineering,” Mr Bird said.

One of the team members, Louise Spence, said they had ‘high hopes’ of qualifying. “We’ve put loads of effort into this project and want to see it go all the way,” she added.

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