Selby College take home the winner’s trophy at Greenpower Street Race

After weeks of preparation and hard work, Selby College was delighted to win the Formula 24+ race at the Greenpower Street Race held in Hull City Centre on Sunday. The College’s car came in a whopping 6 minutes and 6 seconds ahead of the competition!

Our students arrived bright and early at 7.30am yesterday morning to ensure they got some test runs on the circuit, in anticipation for the UK’s first electric car closed-road-race which was organised by the Greenpower Education Trust in collaboration with Green Port Hull.

The students involved in the project include Dan Callon, aged 17 from Brayton, 16-year-old Sam Bygrave from Thorpe Willoughby, Liam Dunn, also 16, from Burn and 17-year-old Lauren Askin from Knottingley.

Their self-build Kit Car, which was designed by the Trust, enables students to take part and race at motorsport venues at Greenpower organised events across the UK and further afield, with the international Final previously taking place at Rockingham Motor Speedway.

The Selby College students were provided with the Formula 24 car, which can reach speeds of up to 30mph, thanks to an initiative by Drax Power, who also gave age appropriate Kit Cars to a number of other local primary and secondary schools, including Barwic Parade Community Primary School, who were led by the Engineering department’s teaching staff and used the College’s facilities.

The racing team, who have been coming in to College early and even during the Easter holidays to test and make last-minute technical alterations to their vehicle are all currently studying for a Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma in Engineering on a combination of Mechanical and Electrical routes. The group have been supported throughout the project by dedicated Engineering staff including Subject Area Manager Graeme Woodhall and fellow Lecturer Mick Wilson.

The project aims to inspire young people to excel in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects, as well as encouraging more girls to head into a previously very male dominated industry.

To make the win even more special for one of the aspiring engineers, Dan, who drove the car over the finish line has also been given the amazing news that he has successfully gained an Apprenticeship with Drax once he completes his studies at Selby College!

Speaking of the race, Dan said: "It’s been a great experience building the car with the rest of the team and then driving it was amazing. I can’t believe we won but it was the perfect ending.

“I’ve learnt so much while we’ve been building the car. I can’t wait to move on to the next stage of my career with my Apprenticeship at Drax. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Sam, who was the first to drive on the day, said: “It’s been really enjoyable with everyone working together to get the car built and ready for the race. We’ve learnt a lot from this project. I’ve never driven a car like this before!”

Fellow student Lauren, who helped build the car, added: “It’s been a good experience and really fun to build.”

Graeme said the competition was a real family affair in the end with the students’ parents joining staff to cheer them on at the finishing line. He said: “We are so pleased with the amount of support we have had in the lead-up to the race, Liam’s dad even provided the trailer to get the race car to the circuit!”

Liz Ridley, Deputy Principal at Selby College, said: “We are absolutely delighted, winning the race is a fantastic reward for all of the hard work that the students and dedicated tutors have put into this project.

“The best part about it is that it doesn’t stop here, more of our students will benefit from this initiative, because we can dismantle the car and get new students to re-build it each year. We are extremely grateful to Drax for all of their support.

“Our whole aim as a College is to give students the experience and skills they need for their future careers and it’s brilliant that Dan has this opportunity with Drax. We wish him all the best, as we do all our students.”

The race team will be officially presented with their winner’s trophy at a special Hull Street Race Awards Dinner, hosted by Greenpower and Green Port Hull on Tuesday 21st May at the Guildhall in Hull to give all of those involved a chance to celebrate their achievements.