Gripen Racing, representing Lawrence Sheriff School, have been crowned the inaugural S-RC Cup National Champions after ten months of competition, engineering development and hands-on STEM learning culminated in a dramatic season finale at Whilton Mill Kart Circuit.

S-RC Cup Founder and CEO Pete Hewage said:

“When we launched S-RC Cup, the vision was simple: create something that gives young people the chance to experience engineering by actually doing it. Ten months later we watched students who started with a standard RC car arrive at the National Final having engineered genuine performance improvements, worked as professional race teams and competed at an incredibly high level. That’s something everyone involved should be proud of.”

Twenty-two teams from schools across England began the championship in September, but only the top ten earned their place at the National Final, where around 50 students competed in the longest and most technically demanding race of the inaugural season.

When the chequered flag fell after 35 minutes of racing, it was Gripen Racing who emerged on top, capping an outstanding campaign that also saw the team claim the Engineering Award, Innovation Award and Sponsorship & Finance Award, underlining their strength both on and off the circuit.

A dramatic finale

The championship, however, was anything but straightforward.

One of the stories of the day belonged to fellow Lawrence Sheriff School team Speed Demons, who produced their strongest qualifying performance of the season.

After briefly holding provisional pole position, they were displaced in the closing moments of qualifying as Gripen Racing, Velocity Vortex and Absolute Zero all found additional pace on their final runs.

The race itself brought heartbreak for Speed Demons.

After a promising opening stint, the team encountered an electrical issue believed to have been linked to a newly installed motor upgrade. Both race batteries discharged significantly faster than expected, forcing an unscheduled early pit stop before the second battery suffered the same problem.

The team were ultimately forced to retire, bringing a disappointing end to what had looked like one of their most competitive race days of the season.

Meanwhile, Absolute Zero, representing City of Bristol College, delivered one of the standout performances of the meeting. Consistency throughout practice, qualifying and the Grand Prix earned the team second place, while Velocity Vortex completed the podium in third.

A professional motorsport experience

The National Final followed the structure of a professional motorsport event.

The day began with driver and team principal briefings before cars were presented for scrutineering. Media sessions and a track walk followed, before drivers completed two free practice sessions.

Qualifying gave each team two three-minute runs to set its fastest lap before the day culminated in a 35-minute Grand Prix, the longest race on the S-RC calendar.

The extended race distance challenged teams to think beyond outright speed, with battery management, tyre wear and race strategy all becoming critical as drivers battled wheel-to-wheel around the 260-metre circuit.

It was the longest S-RC track ever constructed and more than four times longer than the next biggest venue used during the season.

With top speeds estimated at more than 53 km/h along the Whilton Straight, the racing reached a standard not previously seen during the championship. Close overtakes, tactical pit stops and strategic decision-making rewarded teams capable of combining speed with reliability over the full race distance.

Engineering beyond the classroom

Perhaps the greatest measure of the inaugural season’s success, however, was not found on the timing screens.

When the championship began in September, many of the students had never modified an RC racing car.

By the National Final, teams were confidently developing custom gear ratios, experimenting with tyre compounds, adjusting camber and toe geometry, redesigning chassis layouts, optimising weight distribution, installing upgraded motors and developing cooling solutions to improve reliability.

The transformation came after months of practical engineering through the S-RC Education programme, allowing students to take concepts that might otherwise remain in the classroom and apply them directly in a competitive motorsport environment.

But the skills developed extended beyond engineering.

Students were also required to work as teams, communicate, solve problems, develop their identities and, in some cases, secure sponsorship and manage finances.

Alderman Peel High School were recognised with the Best Team Identity Award for their branding, professionalism and presentation throughout the season.

Amanda Moffat, Design & Technology Teacher and STEM Coordinator at Alderman Peel High School, said:

“Our students have absolutely loved taking part. It has been wonderful to watch their confidence grow over the past few months, and they have developed so many skills beyond engineering – teamwork, communication, problem-solving, sponsorship, creativity and resilience. Winning the Best Team Identity Award was the perfect way to finish an incredible first season.”

Learning through adversity

For some teams, the season was as much about overcoming setbacks as it was about results.

Evangeline Clark, Team Principal of Wheely Fast Car at City of Bristol College, reflected on her team’s determination to continue solving problems throughout the championship.

“I’m really pleased with the way we just got up and kept going, no matter how much our car seemed to fall apart. Looking back, that’s probably what I’m most proud of. We kept solving problems, kept learning and never gave up.”

That resilience reflected one of the wider aims of the championship: allowing students to encounter the challenges of engineering in an environment where failure was not necessarily the end of the process, but another problem to solve.

A collaborative effort

The conclusion of Season 1 also marked the culmination of a significant collaborative effort.

More than 60 volunteers from across the UK contributed their time and expertise throughout the championship, helping to deliver events, support schools and inspire the next generation of engineers.

Whilton Mill Kart Circuit hosted the National Final, while Aerospace Bristol, Sheffield Hallam University and De Montfort University hosted rounds during the inaugural season.

The National Champions will also receive tickets to Silverstone International, provided by the 750 Motor Club.

Looking to Season 2

With the inaugural season complete, attention now turns to the future.

Following positive feedback from participating schools, S-RC Cup hopes to expand its championship calendar, welcome more schools from across the UK and create additional regional events.

The organisation is also seeking commercial partners and sponsors to support that growth as it prepares for its second season.

The inaugural campaign demonstrated how sustained, hands-on STEM education could give students the opportunity to develop not only technical and engineering knowledge, but also teamwork, leadership, communication, creativity and resilience through genuine competition.

Applications of interest are now open for schools wishing to join Season 2 as S-RC Cup begins the next chapter of its mission to inspire the future of motorsport, engineering and STEM.

For Hewage, the first season was only the beginning.

“This is only the beginning, and we’re excited to grow the championship even further in Season 2.”

For Gripen Racing, however, Season 1 will always belong to them.

They entered the record books as the first team to do it.

The inaugural S-RC Cup National Champions.