Automotive and industrial component supplier Schaeffler (
www.schaeffler.com) sponsored three teams at this year’s F1 in Schools world finals in Texas.
One of the teams — Enigma UK from Robert May’s School in Hampshire — was the best-performing British team, finishing fourth overall.
The F1 in Schools Challenge is an international competition intended to provide an exciting educational experience, thanks to the appeal of Formula One. It is open to all secondary schools, colleges and youth groups.
The teams each had to design and construct a CO
2>-powered miniature racing car and race it on a 20m track, aiming to cover the distance in around 1sec.
They also had to bring along their pit display and their portfolio, and they had to give a verbal account of their progress to the judges.
Schaeffler subsidiary Barden supplied super-precision hybrid ceramic bearings with a bore diameter of just 3.175mm to the Enigma UK team and the Kinetikos Racing team from Inveralmond Community High School in Scotland, while Schaeffler’s Schweinfurt plant sponsored the Fast Tech Crew team from Alexander-von-Humboldt-Gymnasium.
A total of 39 teams from 23 countries took part in the world finals (held over three days in Austin), and all three Schaeffler-sponsored teams received prizes.
Katelyn Chelberg, team manager of Enigma UK, said: “It’s been great to receive such overwhelming support from both business and industry. We’ve been really impressed by the quality of the wheel bearings we received from Barden, which helped to significantly improve the speed of the car.
“We were also nominated for the Best Engineered Car award for the high quality of the finish of our car and of the wheel assembly.”