AUSTRALIAN TEAM CROWNED F1 IN SCHOOLS WORLD CHAMPIONS
Dated: 22/09/2011
AUSTRALIAN TEAM CROWNED F1 IN SCHOOLS WORLD CHAMPIONS
The Australian National Anthem rang out and glittering gold confetti showered over Pentagliders, from Brooks High School, Tasmania, as the Australian team lifted the Bernie Ecclestone World Champions trophy and were crowned 2011 F1 in School World Champions in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, today. Staged at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, Kuala Lumpur in the presence of the Malaysian Deputy Minister for Education, Datuk Ir. Dr. Wee Ka Siong the event was a fitting finale to highly professional pit displays, innovative engineering designs and extremely close racing,
The Pentagliders team comprising 18-year-olds Tristan Mcarthy, Amy Winter and Nathan Clark with Jack Ball, 17, fought off intense competition in this global student technology challenge, beating 22 teams from Australasia, Europe, Asia, Africa, America and the Middle East to be crowned World Champions and win coveted Automotive and Motorsport Engineering degree scholarships at City University London.
Pentagliders also won the Fastest Car Award, recording a time of 1.084 seconds, and the Best Engineered Car Award on route to taking the 2011 F1 in Schools World Champions title. Team Manager, Amy Winter, said of the team’s success, “It hasn’t sunk in yet, we’re just blown away to have won. I’ve been working towards this for five years and Pentagliders has been a team for over two years. It’s taken us that long to win the Australian National Finals, then we come here and win it on our first attempt, unbelievable!”
Amy says that the win is not just for the team, saying, “I think we’re a special team as we’re not just in it for ourselves, but for others as well. We mentor young students entering F1 in Schools and help them with their cars. It’s great that a small team from a small place like Tasmania can show people that we can achieve great success. Just because we’re from a small places doesn’t mean we can’t do big things.”
One of the engineering gurus of the team, Tristan McCarthy reckons their winning edge came from the car design, as he explains, “After the National Finals where we had the fastest car and won outright, we focused on improving the details media/page_content/News Articles/2011/World Finals 2011/21092011- 1524 (web).jpg
of the car, especially the aerodynamics and the friction. I think a special coating on our wheels, the nearly mirror finish of our paintwork as well as our wing designs all helped us to have the best car.” The City University London Scholarship prize is an attractive option for Tristan as he says, “Aerodynamics is my passion, so this is an opportunity which I’m very tempted with. At the moment, I just can’t quite believe we’ve won, but the scholarship is definitely something I will consider.”
Runner-up to the victorious Australian team was German National Champions, BETAGREEN, from Grootmoor Gymnasium, Hamburg. The all-boys team also won the Best Research and Development Award with judges noting the quality of the R & D programme they used for the development of their whole car especially the front wing. Last year’s World Champions, the USA team, UNITUS Racing from South East High School, Florida and James Madison Middle School, Virginia, took third place on the podium.
The host nation, Malaysia featured in two awards, with Velospeed SIC, from Sekolah Menengah Sains Hulu Selangor, taking the Team Portfolio Award and Axis, a collaboration team from Dubai College, UAE and Aminudin Baki Secondary School, Malaysia, collecting the Team Identity Award.
Canada took the knock-out racing glory, just pipping C-Force from Scotland in the finals of the highly competitive head-to-head racing element of the F1 in Schools World Finals. The Golden Geckos from Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School, Brandon lifted the Knock-out Racing Award.
Cyber Express F1 Team from Gymnázium J.K.Tyla, Czech Republic, were presented with the Outstanding Sportsmanship Award, which they won for the fair play they showed when distractions put off their opposition in the knock-out competition and they allowed a re-run.
Dynamic from St. John Payne Catholic School, UK, set a new record with back-to-back Verbal Presentation Awards. Having won the trophy in 2010 they beat stiff competition to win it again in 2011.
Fflam, a team from Ysgol Botwnnog, Wales, took the Best Sponsorship and Marketing Award, with Best Newcomer Award being presented to Dresser Racing from Kongsberg High School, Norway and the Collaboration Team trophy was awarded to Trident Racing, a joint initiative from Sebastopol College, Australia and Raffles Girls’ School, Singapore. Ireland collected two trophies, with Octane Racing from Dundalk Grammar School collecting the Best Team Website Award and the Best Pit Display Award.
The Innovative Thinking Award was presented to Team RedShift from Dubai College, UAE, with the judges commending the team on their superb rear wing design which showed the depth of thought put into developing the team’s car design.
Phoenix Team Kenya was a first time participant in the F1 in Schools World Finals. Their journey to the event took three days via Nairobi and Bahrain, including a 10 hour stopover en route and the students being tasked with homework to complete during their travel. The team learned how to use Solid Works CAD/CAM software in an impressive two weeks and arranged for their car to be manufactured in the UK. All these feats earned the team a well-deserved award, the award for Perseverance in the face of Adversity.
The F1 in Schools Technology Challenge is contested in 34 countries around the world, with 17,000 students participating in the competition. The Australian team had won through Regional Finals and a National Final in their home country to book their places in the World Finals held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to coincide with the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix being held this coming weekend.
The essence of the F1 in Schools challenge is for teams of students to research, design, test, manufacture and race a miniature Formula One car, using some of the advanced technology employed within the F1 teams in the real world. All the teams competing this week have spent hundreds of hours producing their models in their pursuit of beating their competitors to claim the World Champions crown. The event took place at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 19th – 21st September with the assistance of a host of sponsors and supporters including the Malaysian Ministry of Education, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, City University London, Denford Limited, Sepang International Circuit and Hilton Racing.
FULL LIST OF AWARDS AND WINNERS
2011 F1 in Schools World Champions supported by City University London
WINNER Pentagliders, Brooks High School, Australia
Second placed Team Award supported by the Malaysian Ministry of Education
WINNER BETAGREEN, Grootmoor Gymnasium , Germany
Third placed Team Award supported by The Institution of Engineering and Technology
WINNER Unitus Racing, South East High School and James Madison Middle School, USA
Best Engineered Car Award supported by Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
WINNER Pentagliders, Brooks High School, Australia
Collaboration Award supported by Team Lotus
WINNER Trident Racing, Sebastopol College and Raffles Girls’ School, Australia and Singapore
Fastest Car Award supported by Petronas Mercedes GP
WINNER Pentagliders, Brooks High School, Australia (run time: 1.084 seconds)
Verbal Presentation Award supported by Williams F1
WINNER Dynamic, St John Payne Catholic School, UK
Team Identity Award supported by Ferrari
WINNER Axis, Dubai College and Aminudin Baki Secondary School, UAE and Malaysia
Knock-out Racing Award supported by Sepang International Circuit
WINNER The Golden Geckos, Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School, Canada
Pit Display Award supported by Toro Rosso
WINNER Octane Racing, Dundalk Grammar School, Ireland
Outstanding Sportsmanship Award supported by Force India Formula One Team
WINNER Cyber Express F1 Team, Gymnázium J.K.Tyla , Czech Republic
Team Portfolio Award supported by F1 Racing Magazine
WINNER Velospeed SIC, Sekolah Menengah Sains Hulu Selangor, Malaysia
Sponsorship and Marketing Award supported by Marussia Virgin Racing
WINNER Fflam, Ysgol Botwnnog, Wales
Perseverance in the Face of Adversity Award supported by Red Bull Racing
WINNER Phoenix Team Kenya, St. Andrew’s School, Kenya
Best Research and Development Award supported by Pirelli
WINNER BETAGREEN, Grootmoor Gymnasium , Germany
Best Innovative Thinking Award supported by Lotus Renault GP
WINNER Team RedShift, Dubai College, UAE
Best Newcomer Award supported by Sauber F1 Team
WINNER Dresser Racing, Kongsberg High School, Norway
Best Team Website Award supported by Denford Ltd
WINNER Octane Racing, Dundalk Grammar School, Ireland
