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4^th July 2006 (Source: EEMS )

Fiona Leggate, 25 year old Lincolnshire driver of the E85 powered Boston Bowl Thurlby Motors Astra run by Tech-speed which competes in the British Touring Car Championship, brought along her racing car to show the competitors and supporters at the Formula Schools Finals on 20 June at Silverstone motor racing circuit.

EEMS, the Government’s Energy Efficient Motorsport initiative, supports the Astra Touring Car running on E85 (the 85:15 bioethanol : petrol blend now being sold in the UK for flexi-fuel vehicles) as a demonstration that alternative fuel can be competitive in motorsport, and children and teachers were fascinated to learn that the car runs partly on fuel made from vegetables such as sugar beet.

The Formula Schools competition has been running for 10 years, with 87 competing schools and 1000 schoolchildren this year. Through the initiative, schools receive all the hardware to make two starter chassis of radio-controlled racing cars and are linked with a technology-based company to help them create their car. Formula Schools has gained approved status from The Learning Grid, a DTI initiative.

At the end of a whole day’s racing on their own specially created circuit at Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix, defending champions Quarry dale School retained their trophy in a thrilling final, holding off the challenge of Kirk Hallam, who trailed by only half a point going into the final GP race.

Oxford Brookes University supported the competition and invited many motorsport companies to exhibit on the day. These included the Williams F1 team, Prodrive, Renault and Kawasaki, The University of Hertfordshire brought its Formula Student car. As well as The Learning Grid, education initiatives attending included The Smallpeice Trust.

Fiona was on hand to present trophies to the winners. ‘It’s unusual for me to be at Silverstone with the racing car and be standing still all day!’ she smiled. ‘I’ve been really impressed and surprised by the time and effort the teams have put into their models, and the competition has been so strong - I’ve really enjoyed watching the races. Good race engineers are hard to come by and a platform like this to get kids involved is fantastic. They are learning so much by taking part.’

Fiona’s next three races are at Croft, Sunderland on 16 July and will be televised on ITV.

-ends-

PHOTOGRAPHS can be downloaded from http://www.bromyard.com/eems/
Copyright-free for editorial use.

For more information, contact Janice Minton, EEMS Press Office
Tel +44 (0)1787 880820, mobile +44 (0)7803 050266
E:
Website eemsonline.co.uk

EDITOR’S NOTES

Formula Schools: http://www.formulaschools.com/rules/about.htm

The Learning Grid’s vision is that:

• teachers and lecturers work with their pupils and students to enhance their science and engineering education through high-quality, hands-on activities suited to every age range and level of ability;
• young people are inspired to develop their understanding and enjoyment of engineering and science; they experience working in a team and have the chance to compete against the best; they regard engineering as a fulfilling and rewarding profession and a valuable career;
• employers in engineering, manufacturing and science-based sectors are able to recruit and retain young people with practical experience and the right skills; they remain globally competitive in part because of the quality of new recruits available to them in the UK

The core activities of the Learning Grid are the assessment, funding, development and promotion of engineering and science-based activities for young people. Many of these base their appeal on the excitement of motorsport and the Learning Grid uses its links to motorsport and other advanced engineering sectors to attract the interest of young people and celebrate their achievements. See more on www.learninggrid.co.uk

The Learning Grid and Energy Efficient Motorsport (EEMS) are initiatives supported by Motorsport Development UK. See www.motorsportdevelopment.co.uk

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