JP Racing 2023

Sandown Race Reports

On Saturday 15th of July, the Year 6’s went out to Sandown Racecourse to compete in the 2nd HPV race of the year. Jells Park Primary School brought 4 vehicles to the race, Shazzam, Vanquish, Raptor and Phoenix. 

At Sandown, I raced in Raptor. I was excited to race because I made the team for Raptor, and I knew I’d get my fastest times in that vehicle. I also enjoyed timing my teammates. It was heaps of fun talking to them through the walky-talky, telling them their times and encouraging them.

I think the experience was great, but also challenging. Not only being in the pits and supporting everyone, but also while in the vehicle. It was a super fun challenging drive going through a 3k track for 40 minutes straight. Also being there with your friends made it even better.

In my opinion, I think the track was average. Some of the things I didn’t like were all the little bumps and the huge hill. Because the track is meant for the race cars, (V8s), the track was a little bumpy and had a few small holes on the road. The challenging part of it was the gigantic hill. It was very steep and seemed to go on for 1k! Although it was hard, it was a good opportunity to challenge myself and make sure I did my best for the team.

Having the parents there with all their support was helpful and made me push hard to do my best on the track. They made a little food stand in our garage with noodles and hot chocolates which helped to warm us up on a cold Saturday morning.

At the end of the day all 4 vehicles finished in the top 9. Shazzam finished 9th with 48 laps, Phoenix 6th with 53, Vanquish 4th with 55 and Raptor 3rd with 58 laps. 

Overall, I think JP racing is an awesome experience so far. I have really enjoyed the racing, teamwork, friendship, and challenging myself to do my best no matter what happens. I am really looking forward to the next race at Casey Fields, then the big race at Maryborough.

Sam M

At the start of the day I was feeling nervous and excited because my last race experience was not very good due to some unfortunate circumstances. 

The Sandown track was much better than Kilsyth, this was because the track was much wider, therefore it wasn’t as congested with vehicles. This made it easier to race and take corners at speed, even when raining; it also decreased the likelihood of being bumped or crashing. This made me feel more confident whilst riding. Although, there was one time that I felt my back wheel skidding uncontrollably around one corner which was a little discouraging.

The most difficult part of the course was certainly the hill at the back although it did give me the opportunity to overtake some of the opposition teams which kind of felt good. If you look on the bright side though, it did push us harder and in a way taught us that there is always a little bit more energy left in you to give for the greatest outcomes.

Our teams finished the race with Raptor 3rd on 58 laps; Vanquish 4th on 55 laps; Phoenix 6th on 53 laps; Shazzam 9th on 48 laps. This was out of 11 teams in our category. First on 69 laps was EcoRush from White Hills Primary school which is a total of 11 laps ahead of our best team.

As a conclusion of the day I would like to state that it was one of the best experiences of my life and I am grateful for the opportunity of participation in this event. It was a really enjoyable fun day, even though you had to stand around for a while, it was still a chance to laugh and spend time with your friends and when it was our turn in the vehicle trust me, the level of exhilaration was most certainly high for everyone. Thank You to the teachers and everyone who has helped coordinate this event for it to happen. Thank You to Mr Jenkins and Mr Zach especially for transporting everything required to participate from school to Sandown racecourse.

Amelie F