Teenagers had the formula for success after building their own winning race car

The sleek red and black F24 race cart was built from scratch by the Inver Racers - a team of eight pupils from Inverclyde Academy.

The team have been taking part in a West College Scotland and Developing the Young Workforce initiative and attended the college to learn engineering skills.

They had to run their race team like a business, raising money and securing sponsorship from local businesses.

The teens were crowned as Scottish champions at the Greenpower Challenge competition in East Fortune, after emerging victorious in the Kit Car category and finishing first in both races against teams from all over Scotland.

They are now invited to race against teams from across the world at the final in Silverstone later this year and are looking for the community's help to get there.

Kyle Knox, 16, says winning has inspired him to pursue a career in engineering.

He said: "It was great to build up the car from a basic frame.

"We learned so much - about health and safety, how to fix the car and how to win the race.

"It felt great to win out of 24 teams in Scotland."

His team-mates David MacKinnon, Christopher McClure and Christopher Arthur, also enjoyed the experience.

David, 15, told the Tele: "The best experience was getting to race the car, because we worked so hard to build it.

"Seeing it going round the track was the best experience.

"This has opened a new door for me into the engineering world."

Colin McLaughlin, a lecturer at WCS and a leader on the Greenpower project, says he is proud of the team.

He said: "It was with great delight I watched the teams representing the college achieve such success in this highly competitive forum."

Bob Davidson, Developing the Young Workforce programme director, highlighted the support the project has received from local businesses and its impact on those involved.

He said: "Big thanks to River Clyde Homes for supporting the programme.

"This initiative has grown from a fantastic motor vehicle focused learning experience to a potentially life changing opportunity where young people are learning real life skills that employers want."

Now the team are set to race at the international final at Silverstone in October.

They need to raise money to get to the final and to pay for a practice race in Aberdeen in June.

Anyone who would like to support the team can do so via their Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/inver-racers-1

The team are also seeking sponsors, who can get in touch by emailing paula.leca@dywwest.co.uk