CZECH REPUBLIC STUDENT TEAM CELEBRATES AWARD SUCCESS AT 2011 F1 IN SCHOOLS WORLD FINALS
Dated: 26/09/2011
CZECH REPUBLIC STUDENT TEAM CELEBRATES AWARD SUCCESS AT 2011 F1 IN SCHOOLS WORLD FINALS
Cyber Express F1 Team, a team of students from
Gymnázium J.K.Tyla, Hradec Králové, celebrated after winning the
Outstanding Sportsmanship Award and receiving the Force India Formula One team
trophy at the 2011 F1 in Schools™ World Finals held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
last week.
Dominik Zitný, Igor Olle, Iveta Krausová , Jiří Provázek and Ondřej Králík formed the Cyber Express F1 Team to compete in F1 in Schools, a Formula 1 linked technology challenge which tasks students with creating a miniature Formula 1 car. Winning through Regional Finals in their home country, they then won the Czech Republic F1 in Schools title, to secure a place at the World Finals. The team won their award for the fair play they showed when distractions put off their opposition in the knock-out competition and they allowed a re-run.
Jiří Provázek, Team Manager, Cyber Express F1 Team, reflects on the competition, “We’ve had a great time in Malaysia and were thrilled to win an award. We don’t think we did anything special; it was the fair thing to do when we accepted a re-run, and I think any other team would have done the same thing in our position. But it was great that our fair play was recognised by F1 in Schools. There was a lot of pressure during the competition but now that it’s all over we can relax and look back on a very special experience, which will be something we will always remember.”
Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman, F1 in Schools , says of the team’s success, “This year’s F1 in Schools World Finals has been the most competitive in the history of the programme and all the teams have risen to the challenge admirably. Cyber Express F1 Team showed great maturity and excellent fair play during the knockout racing and are very deserving of their award. As ambassadors for their country and of F1 in Schools, they are excellent and demonstrate just how beneficial it can be to compete in the Challenge. I’m sure they will all go on to have further success in their careers ahead.”
The Australian team, Pentagliders, were crowned 2011 F1 in Schools World Champions at yesterday’s Awards Ceremony. They fought off intense competition, beating 22 teams from Australasia, Europe, Asia, Africa, America and the Middle East to take the title, the Bernie Ecclestone World Champions trophy and coveted Automotive and Motorsport Engineering degree scholarships at City University London.
Runner-up to the victorious Australian team were German National Champions, BETAGREEN, from Grootmoor Gymnasium, Hamburg. 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 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.
Each team of between three and six students brings together their work to present to a judging panel with a verbal and written presentation to support their model car, which is raced on a specially designed test track. At the World Finals each team takes along a pit display, three identical cars and portfolio, as well as having prepared a presentation for the judges. The cars race on a 20 metre track, with the cars covering the distance in just over one second, a speed barrier which is yet to be broken by any student team since it was set by Team FUGA from Northern Ireland at the 2007 World Finals with a time of 1.020 seconds.
