31 teams from 20 countries confirmed for 2009 F1 in Schools World Championships
Dated: 07/08/2009
The engines are revving and the lights are about to turn green with the confirmation that 31 student teams from across the globe are preparing for the 2009 Formula One in Schools World Championships. Twenty countries are represented in this global technology challenge with teams of students between the ages of 19 having designed and manufactured scale Formula One cars in a bid to be crowned World Champions. Touchdown in London, England is only seven weeks away for the teams who are travelling from as far as Australia and China to compete in this coveted technology challenge.
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The 2009 World Championships will take place at The Royal Horticultural Halls in Westminster, with National Champions from each of the entered countries taking on the best in the world to win the Bernie Ecclestone World Championship trophy and scholarships at City University London. The event kicks off on15th September and takes the students through three days of tough racing and nail biting competition before the winners are announced on Thursday evening at an exclusive awards celebration set to be held in front of a star studded motorsport audience.
Great Britain is expected to be one of the nations to beat, as they try to emulate the success of F1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button from Brawn GP, a team headed by one of F1 in Schools patrons, Ross Brawn. The UK is represented with teams from Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland., and with the current World Champions, Team Pulse, residing on the British shores added to the ‘home advantage’, then the British teams are surely amongst the favourites.
2006 F1 in Schools World Championship winning country Australia will be represented two teams, who will make the epic 10,000 mile journey around the globe. This year Redline Racing from Canberra and Biohazard from Sydney have won places in the World Championships. Noosa District State High School will also be forming a collaboration team with a Canadian school to compete as AC Racing.
The Middle Eastern region is represented by three teams, with Team Veludicrous from Dubai College, winning the UAE National Championships in May to secure a place in London. Also from the region are Team Epic from Bahrain, who are proudly supported by Gulf Air, and Team Neon from Oman.
With 20 different nationalities represented at the World Championships, the event will be a truly cultural affair. Also joining will be teams from Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Korea, Malaysia, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa and the USA are all represented in the challenge, which globally has over twelve million students taking part each year.
Several countries will be joining forces in the unique ‘collaboration team’ challenge. Team Hybrid will combine students from Lochgelly High School in Scotland with East Cobb Middle School from the USA, making this the third year that the students from across the ‘pond’ have merged. For each team the two sets of students will not meet until they arrive in London on the Sunday before until that point they’ve work online and via CISCO Webex to communicate and create their cars, making their challenge even greater.
Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman of the F1 in Schools Challenge commented, “The race is truly on for the teams now, it is the final stretch before they all head to the
“Everyone at F1 in Schools is really excited about the World Championships being in London this year, it gives the students a unique opportunity to witness the British culture and we are proud to host the event at the home of the current World Champions.”
The Challenge encourages students to design and build a scale Formula One car out of balsa wood using CAD/CAM software. The car is then raced down a 20 metre track powered by compressed air canisters. The teams also replicate a Formula One pit garage/display for their cars, create team wear, merchandise and raise sponsorship to be able to afford to travel to the
The teams will arrive in the UK on the 13h of September, with their visit including a cultural day exploring the highlights of London and a welcome ceremony, which includes a gift exchange event where students exchange small token gifts representing their country. After the introductions to the city and the World Championships, it’s on to the main event with the teams setting up their pit displays ready for judging. During the three days of competition the teams will be judged on their display stand, design portfolio and presentation, as well as their team identity, quality of research, manufacturing and design. And this is all before they even take to the track and race their scale model cars. This global initiative tests teamwork as well as core educational subjects, enthusing the students and giving them a unique opportunity to put into practice many areas of the curriculum.
