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Scrapheap Challenge

time dedicated:100s of hours

location: Luton & Hitchin, Uk

year: 2007

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Preparation Diary

Build Diary

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Competition diary - Written by Mark B

The final chapter….? 

Nearly two weeks before the event, Mark B was sent to the USA, not the best way to support the final preparation of the Leading Edge Dragster.  Fortunately, friends supported and many thanks must go to John at BM Technika for providing the workshop and extensive support in preparing the dragster throughout its build. 

Returning around midday the day before the event, Mark B did his best to stay awake while Giani, Dan and Alan did the painting and Mark M completed the final version of the axle.  The steering mechanism was completed (rope and inner tubes!) and the final assembly complete.  (see Preparation Diary)

Finally departing late evening with John and Dan towing the trailer and dragster, the M1 was minutes away, but it wasn’t going to be minutes getting to Wroughton with the M1 at a standstill.  Spotting the congestion, John set off on a detour that soon got him to the M25.  Meanwhile Mark and Mark took the scenic route with their partners, not the best decision, in hindsight.  Hours later, the dragster arrived at a very dark Wroughton and the team promptly found the beer tent having dropped off the dragster next to the drag strip.  Spying the opposition revealed a multitude of green powered vehicles and one particularly impressive entry.  Meanwhile, M & M got ever closer and then faced the challenge of finding food and drink for the rest of the team.  Finally arriving close to midnight, the Security team did their best to ensure the Security and Safety of the venue by refusing entry.  Undeterred, intense negotiations resulted in entry being allowed but with great care to avoid crashing into parked cars and tents.   

Having worked there way through one crate of beer, the Team were hungry and enjoyed their feast.  With discussions of the opposition, it was clear they were in for a good days racing.  Erecting the tents in the dead of night and finally getting their heads down around 2am was perhaps not the best preparation, but they did sleep well!! 

The morning of the event started with heavy clouds in the sky, a stark contrast to the blazing sunshine the previous day. 

Driving across to the drag strip, it became clear to all that there are many ways to achieve green propulsion – pedals, springs, air motors, water and elastic of course.  All the teams had entered in the spirit of Scrap Heap Challenge, with one team being able to find the most incredible scrap; it’s quite clear that people in the Bedford area are incredibly affluent and throw away some extremely valuable scrap. 

With the sun now blazing down, the film crew continued with more shots and interviews as the vehicles were moved into their pit positions and readied for action.  A walk around the pits revealed the ingenuity of all the teams and a great sense of camaraderie. Having completed the Producers briefing, it was time for the Fire Brigade to escort the ‘Ladies’ to their chariot and racing begun. 

With race four postponed due to technical difficulties with the army’s springs, the Leading Edge Team were called to the start line.  Wheeling the three wheeled machine down the track, the Compare introduced the two teams and explained why Leading Edge were apparently starting half way down the track.  Meanwhile Dan and Mark worked hard to get the rope wrapped around the axle and began to stretch the elastic.  As they pushed the dragster back, things started to creak and stretching the elastic beyond previous practice runs became ever more difficult.  In the other lane, the team moved their gleaming catapult system into position and began winching.  With Mark and Dan struggling to wind up the elastic, one of the tubes broke away from the frame, undeterred, they continued to push the dragster back into its starting position.  The other team then moved their elastic powered dragster into position and started to wind up the on board elastic propellant.  With Mark and Dan nearing the start line and the tension far beyond any previous trials, the frame started to bend and drag along the ground; other teams came into help and dragged the dragster across and into position.  Mark and Dan, fought to hold the dragster in position while the other team winched their dragsters elastic to full stretch. 

Finally both teams were ready and it was time for the Cameras to move to ‘Kryton’ and announce the teams should ‘go on the green light’.  Mark and Dan moved to their positions and prepared to push start the dragster.  The lights went from red to amber and paused for an age, before finally going green.  Mark and Dan pushed for all they were worth and propelled Mark down the strip, finally releasing Mark B to glide down the strip with nothing but the stretched elastic to power him.  Beside them, the other team released their launch mechanism and propelled their dragster out of its catapult stand and down the strip.  With Mark B in the lead, the exhilaration was incredible, but the other team were closing fast, clearly releasing their onboard propellant system.  With the finish line looming, Mark B adjusted his seating position in an attempt to become more streamlined; who was he kidding!!  Both teams flying over the line, it was not clear who had made it first.  Continuing to fly down the track, both teams turned and rolled to a halt at the finish line. 

With the other team members joining the dragsters, it was still unclear who had won, hearty congratulations ensued having raced to such a close finish.  The Film Crew and Lisa Rogers arrived shortly after, still unclear who had won.  Interviews followed and the winner was finally revealed – the other team, by 0.23 seconds!?!?!  Returning to the pits, the crowds in the grandstand gave a hearty cheer, a highly appreciated reward for all the effort. 

The day continued, with some wacky propulsion systems propelling their way to victory through the knock out heats and the eventual winner – the same team that had beaten us, only this time it was no competition, they absolutely trounced the opposition.  They then moved on to challenge the All Stars team with their pedal and flywheel powered vehicle that must have weighed at least a ton, probably two tons with all of them on board J Again, it was no competition as the winning team deployed their parachute before the finish line to save too much embarrassment for the All Stars team who were struggling half way down the track. 

On reflection, the whole team, their helpers and supporters had an excellent day and thoroughly enjoyed the weeks of preparation building up to the event.  Regrettably, not all teams had access to the same quality of scrap and that certainly showed in the quality of the winning car.  Being beaten by only 0.23 seconds was disappointing and also satisfying as it proved that with limited time and no money, it is possible to compete at the front but at the end of the day scrap can cost money and some people are prepared to pay for it.  The team set a goal of matching an Olympic sprinters time over 100m, they actually set a time of 10.3 seconds (8.26 seconds over 80m), a great achievement. 

It seems a pity to just scrap the dragster, so the team are now desperately considering the best way to give it a fond farewell.  Does a speed record for elastic powered dragsters exist?  Does Jeremy want to race an elastic powered dragster?  Perhaps ebay would secure some more funds to go to Charity?   Watch this space… 

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