Abu Dhabi, UAE, 14th May 2013: With less than six months to go until the 2013 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Marina Circuit was the scene of another F1 this week when it hosted more than 200 student competitors in the 5th annual F1 in Schools UAE National Finals presented by Mubadala.
Supported by parents, education officials and VIPs, competition between the 37 Senior and Junior teams was fierce as they went head to head in a bid to secure the title of UAE Professional Category Champions. As a result, three teams – ADROIT INFINITUM from The Indian High School in Dubai, Strike Automobiles from The School of Research Science in Dubai, and All-female Emirati team Popcom from Al Shohub School for Girls in Abu Dhabi – of the UAE’s best and brightest will represent the country in the F1 in Schools World Finals in Austin, Texas later this year.
Abdulla Al Shammari, F1 in Schools Manager at Yas Marina Circuit said the competition highlighted both the level of talent of UAE students as well as its growing Formula One fan base:
“Every student here today at the F1 in Schools National Final is a champion. If the dedication, passion of the students, and the quality of the work on display here today is any indication, the future of F1 and motorsport in the UAE is very bright.”
The two-day competition saw teams participate in a series of competitions that included team presentations, a team pit stop display, and head to head racing. At the end of the day, ADROIT INFINITUM, a team from The Indian High School in Dubai, was named the UAE Professional Category Champions 2013. In addition to the overall champion title, the team won Best Engineered Car but it was another team from The Indian High School, VELOX, who earned the Fastest Car Award.
ADROIT INFINITUM’s Team Manager Malvikha Manog said the team was thrilled to be able to represent the UAE later this year at the F1 in Schools World Finals. “This is supposed to be our last year to participate as a student as we are going to grade 12, a very important educational year for us. We are so happy that we did it and we won! The feeling is great for all of us.”Malathy Mansingh, the F1 coordinator and supervisor of the technology department at the Indian High School in Dubai, said the school started participating in 2010 and have represented the UAE in the World Finals previously: “The kids, through this programme, learn a lot of life skills: team spirit, problem solving and learning how to take the loss and the win equally. I see the students that are involved in this program become so mature and I can argue that they can run their own business and more importantly they enjoy learning.”
Ruba Al Attas, the 16-year-old Finance Manager for Team Popcom confirmed the value of participating in F1 in Schools. “F1 in Schools is a great experience. It’s a learning experience,” she said.
Taking top spot in the F1 Junior Challenge 2013 Competition was Blazing Flames from Al Yasmina School, Abu Dhabi. The team was very excited about their win. “My heart was beating so fast during the competition,” said 10-year-old team member Hindh Imad. “It feels really good to win,” added team captain Riley Forbes.
Since 2010, more than 2,500 UAE students have participated in the F1 in Schools programme in the UAE. The programme aims to introduce engineering into the classroom through the excitement of F1 racing sees student teams develop and build all aspects of an F1 team. In addition to designing, building and racing small scale F1 cars, the teams are also tasked with designing a team identity, collateral and uniforms as well as securing sponsorships and marketing their teams.
Members of the Professional Category Champions 2013 team, Ardroit Infinitum, Indian High School Dubai. Malvikha Manoj - Team Manager, Radhika Gupta - Marketing Manager, Mohamed Nassif - Manufacturing Engineer, Dhruv Kapoor - Design Engineer, Rahul Gupta - Graphic Designer and Jonathan Paulson, Resource Manager Supervising Teacher is Ms Malathy Mansingh.
