KENYAN STUDENT TEAM CELEBRATES AWARD SUCCESS AT 2011 F1 IN SCHOOLS WORLD FINALS
Dated: 26/09/2011
KENYAN STUDENT TEAM CELEBRATES AWARD SUCCESS AT 2011 F1 IN SCHOOLS WORLD FINALS
Phoenix Team Kenya, a team of students from St
Andrew’s School, Turi, celebrated after winning the Perseverance in
the Face of Adversity Award and receiving the bespoke Red Bull Racing trophy
made from Formula 1™ car parts at the 2011 F1 in Schools™ World Finals held in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last week.
Clive Wanamunno, Daniel Wakabi and Finlay Roberts formed Phoenix Team Kenya to compete in F1 in Schools, a Formula 1 linked technology challenge which tasks students with creating a miniature Formula 1 car. 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 their well-deserved award, the Red Bull Racing award for Perseverance in the face of Adversity.
Daniel Wakabi, Team Manager, Phoenix Team Kenya, said of competing at the World Finals, “It has been a big struggle for us to come to this event, but we are so pleased that we made the effort to come here as it has been the best week of our lives. We have met some lovely people and made friends who will always be very special to us. The help that we have been given has been incredible, with everyone offering to share their knowledge, so we’ve learned a lot. We hope that we can go back and use the experience to build another, better, car and that we can come along to the next event, as it has been an amazing experience.”
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. We were delighted to welcome Kenya to the World Finals for the first time and appreciate their support of F1 in Schools. Daniel, Clive and Finlay are super guys, with a great attitude and warm personalities. 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.
