St John’s College wins National Gravity Racing Competition in Krugersdorp

Bramble Hill, Eagle House, Parktown Boys' High School, and Ruimsig Academy were among the schools at the National Gravity Racing Competition.

2 hours ago

Asanda Matlhare 2 minutes read

St John's College National Gravity Racing Competition participants in July 2026. Photo: Supplied — St Johns College National Gravity Racing Competition participants. Photo: Supplied

St John’s College placed first at the recent National Gravity Racing Competition hosted by Alma Mater International School in Krugersdorp.

The event is a high school STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths) engineering competition. High school teams design, build, and test full-scale, gravity-powered cars with no engines or motors. The vehicles race down a steep downhill track relying completely on physics and teamwork.

Eight teams from six schools participated, including Bramble Hill, Eagle House, Parktown Boys’ High School, and Ruimsig Academy.

Benjamin Lee drove for St John’s, with Alexandre Lyle, Jason Shi, and Benjamin Anderson handling engineering, logistics, and pit crew duties.

Lyle said being part of the team was a genuinely special experience and that he had ‘an absolute blast every step of the way’.

“Working alongside such fantastic people made the journey incredibly fun, and walking away with the win was the ultimate payoff for all our hard work,” he said.

Parents assisted with welding machines, transport, parts procurement, catering and shop drawings.

Benjamin said that in the months leading up to the event, the learners designed and constructed their gravity racing car with an independent wishbone suspension system and 66cm mountain bike wheels running on custom stub axles.

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“After many sleepless nights, the gravity racer finally emerged for its first test run down the driveway only a few hours before race day,” he said. “We all breathed a sigh of relief when I found the brakes just in time to avoid smashing into the front gate.”

The rest of the night was spent on wheel alignment and re-adjusting the brakes.

Between races, Shi and Lyle kept checking for flat tyres and loose bolts on the suspension system.

The driver added that Anderson coded a combined speedometer and video recorder application for the mobile phone mounted on the dashboard of the gravity racer.

“This app was surprisingly useful when it came to reviewing race footage and deciding where to go faster in the next race. We shared in the disappointment of the Parktown team when a bad crash almost put an end to their racing weekend, and then marvelled at the ingenuity of their pit crew who had the car back in the race in under two hours.”

The final results were: