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F1 in Schools World Championships London 2009 |
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The 5th World Championships of the Formula 1 in Schools Challenge was held in London from 24 to 17 September 2009.
31 Teams, 145 participants representing 20 countries took part in the event. They were treated to a multitude of experiences, from a theatre visit in the West End to taking a ride on the London Eye and even a full city tour on an amphibious vehicle through the roads and the river!
Three teams from South Africa participated at the World Championships; Team Stealth from Maritzburg College took 10th overall while Team Zeallous from Stellenbosch High School came 14th but also won the knockout phase of the competition. Team Gear-up from Afrikaans Hoërskool, Sasolburg, in collaboration with Team Scorpion of Germany, came 18th.
The overall winner was Team Koni Kats from Ireland who received the Bernie Ecclestone floating trophy. In second place was Redline Racing from Australia and in third place was AC Racing, a collaborating team from Australia and Canada.
The executive panel of judges under the guidance of Steve Nevey, Chief Engineer of Red Bull Racing, commented on the extremely high quality of the competition this year. This comment was based on the verbal presentations, displays and the quality of engineering of the cars.
The current Formula 1 World Champion, Lewis Hamilton, provided extreme excitement on the final day, by visiting each and every Team and discussing their car designs. He also presented the trophy to the overall winners. Lewis Hamilton is pictured with Mr Bez Sangari, founder of F1 in Schools in South Africa, in front of team Zeallous stand.
Teams are judged in eight different categories for a total of 300 marks. The winning team scored 271.4 and Team Stealth from Maritzburg College scored 224.2.
In five world championships no team has either scored full marks or managed to break the one second barrier for the 20 meter race. This will be the challenge in next years World Championships to be held in Singapore during the night Grand Prix in September.
With South African teams having taken second place in the world twice before, in 2004 and 2005, it’s time now to set our sights on Top Podium Position in 2010!
For more info visit www.f1inschools.co.za
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