Race team back at Silverstone

The Bedford College motor vehicle race team students were back at Silverstone, the home of British motor racing, on 2-4 October. They were taking part in the Britcar Championship, pitting themselves against adult teams in this professional race series.

Students aged 16-18 from the Vehicle Training Centre at Woburn Road Industrial Park in Kempston have transformed a MG ZS road car into a high performance racing car for the televised Britcar Championship, which takes place over eight challenging months and involves visits to all major motor racing tracks across the country, with the final in November at Brands Hatch.

The Bedford College team are keen to see their professional racing car driver stand on the winning podium at the end of the season.

Students James Watson, Marc Buckingham and Antony Leach have been working on the car for over a year and said:

“This helped us understand much more mechanically.  We have learnt things working on this car that we would not normally cover on courses.

“Working on the car is like having an additional lesson.  It gives us a real idea of how an engine works.

“We have traveled to nearly every motor racing track in the country as part of the Britcar Championship and work alongside professional motor racing teams.”

Marc Buckingham has already seen the opportunities that this extra training has to offer, as he has attended a Belgium rally as part of the service crew and the famous Le Mans 24 hour race.

In fact, although all three students originally wanted to be motor mechanics, they can now see great opportunities opening up in the world of motor sport.

Find out more about motor vehicle courses at Bedford College.