Battery car racers from Ramsgate are the eastern regional champions.

The team from Chatham House Grammar School won the tournament at Bedford Autodrome and now go forward to the national finals at the world famous Goodwood racing circuit on October 19.

The school has pioneered the environmentally-friendly competition for six years with students and technician Lester Edmeades designing and building cars from meagre resources to great effect, remaining in the top ten nationwide.

Mr Edmeades is pleased with the tactical knowledge used in the race success at Bedford.

He said: "From the start several teams went off very quickly and were travelling noticeably faster than us.

"We knew from experience at this short tight circuit that too much initial speed would lead reduced performance in the latter stages of the race because of low battery power. So we resisted the temptation to travel too quickly by reducing our gearing and saving power. This paid handsome dividedness."