Electric motorsport is expanding to all corners of the world and at all levels. It is not only about categories with professional pilots, but there are also competitions made up of amateur runners of all ages, also reaching educational programs to promote sustainability.
This is the case of the “Greenpower Iberia-Bridgestone”, a series of electric races in which the participants range from 9 to 25 years old. It is an educational project that was born in England and is now being carried out in different countries of the world, in which students from different educational centers have to design and build their own electric car.
The prototypes that are made by students in teams and after school hours, allow the development of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills, since they design and build their own cars to be able to measure themselves between groups of similar age, always around electric and environmentally responsible cars.
Related content: ST. Helena arrived in Senegal with the logistics of the Ocean X Prix on May 29 and 30
Once the applicants have their car ready, they enter a very peculiar tournament in which the objective is the number of laps they are able to take on a pre-established route, with a combination of electric motor and batteries of the same scope for all. The body design is open, as well as its mechanical and electrical aspects to improve its performance.
The winner of the tests is the one who manages to travel the most kilometers without draining the battery, so it is not the fastest driver who wins, but the one who manages efficient vehicle energy management.
The origin
The birth of the GreenPower Bridgestone has its origin in the Greenpower Education Trust foundation, which began in the United Kingdom in the late 90s, with the intention that children from 9 years old had the opportunity to learn and put into practice technical skills, strengthen leadership and work as a team, with the aim of building an electric vehicle
The work does not end there, since students must also acquire knowledge in sales and communications to be able to obtain their own resources and sponsorship, and thus make their participation in the competition a reality.
Image: Facebook Greenpower
In 1999 Greenpower Bridgestone organized its first competitions with local teams in Goodwood and Silverstone, England and since then teams from around the world and events in countries such as the United States, China, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Poland have joined.
This year, the project reaches its twenty-second edition with around 60 races each year. The project was born with the ambition to transform the enthusiasm that motorsports arouse into inspiration for young people to develop their skills.
Read also: Romeo Ferraris team, satisfied with the PURE ETCR tests
At present, more than 10,000 students from educational stages from Primary Education to university participate in its activities.
This Sunday, May 16, Spain will host the first test of the international circuit of electric and ecological vehicles in which a dozen teams from different educational centers in the Iberian country will participate.
Written by I Jhonattan González
