Author: The Greenpower Team
Race in Spain with Greenpower Iberia
UK teams, as well as those based in other parts of the world, are invited to join Greenpower Iberia at two race events in Spain planned for October 2019.
The first of these is the International Eco Rally Championship event in Bilbao, organised to the corresponding FAI regulations by the Real Peña Motorista Vizcaya, which is being held from the 11th to 13th of October. The event is focused on alternative energy vehicles, and in addition to competing teams, will also include exhibitions by automotive companies and Formula E and Formula Student teams.
Greenpower Iberia, Greenpower’s partner in Spain and Portugal, has been invited to participate in the event, and in recognition of the success of their programme in schools and universities will be presented with an award for educational innovation by industry, education, and innovation networking organisation Bizkaired whilst there.
UK and other internationally based teams that would like to attend will be hosted by Greenpower Iberia, and will have the opportunity to exhibit their cars whilst there (although not to race).
The second event planned for October is a race event at the famous Navarra Circuit in northern Spain (http://www.circuitodenavarra.com/), which hosts a range of international motor racing events, including the FIA GT1 World Championship.
Greenpower Iberia organised its national finals there in June, where the IMechE Iberia branch also awarded the prize for the best engineered car. A range of events will be organised here and at other circuits in 2020, but details are being confirmed for an F24 and F24+ event on Sunday 27th October, for which an indication of international participation is required to finalise the date and event format. Any UK or international teams interested in taking part are urged to contact Greenpower Iberia as soon as possible (contact details below).
Paul Riley of Greenpower Iberia said: “Although both of the events in October are scheduled to take place just before and after the International Final at Silverstone Circuit on 17th October, they will be a great opportunity for UK teams, including those that don’t qualify for the final, to meet and race against Spanish teams or showcase their cars to an enthusiastic audience of electric car fans.
“For other teams who have travelled from outside Europe to attend the international final in the UK, the race events in Spain offer the possibility to participate in two or three international events helping to justify the cost of their journeys.
“We hope many UK and other teams join us at the events”.
Greenpower Iberia was initially launched in 2017 in the Basque Country region of Spain, and despite limited support from local government and industry there, it has seen strong support from schools. The schools arrange their own financing, organise events on their own premises, and support their teams to create presentations in English.
In the Cartagena region, the initiative has been supported by the local university that has financed the purchase of nine car kits for secondary schools and technical colleges. They are also negotiating access to urban circuits and the region’s own Cartagena race circuit.
Greenpower Iberia now boasts more than 50 teams across Spain, including in Valencia, Asturias, Catalunya, Valladolid, and Madrid, and the hope is that other teams and regions will come on board soon.
Further afield in Portugal, the PSEM race team (run by the Students Association of Instituto Superior Tecnico in Lisbon) has enjoyed huge success since first taking part in the programme in 2013.
As an exemplar team they have won the Siemens prize on multiple occasions and are now setting up a second team, both of which will be competing in the International Final in October, as well as being a role model for Goblin and F24 teams that are incorporating Greenpower into their curricular programmes.
For more information on the forthcoming events in October in Spain, contact Paul Riley of Greenpower Iberia at priley@kidskitcar.org
