It was a win-or-lose situation yesterday afternoon (Thursday, June 20, 2013) at the Moses Mabhida Stadium as the eight teams participating in the Top Gear Festival Legacy Initiative’s F1 in Schools Challenge battled it out on the race tracks for the final time.

The participating schools, Clifton College, George Campbell Technical School, Glenwood Boys High School, Open Air School, Phoenix Technical School, Sivananda Technical School and Umlazi Comtech High School raced each other during last weekend’s Top Gear Festival- but only for fun. Now the final opportunity for teams to showcase their speed, the pressure was mounting.

In the first round, teams went head-to-head both on a manual and an automatic start, all facing the possibility of being knocked out. By the end of this round, the fate of some of the teams had been decided and only the teams with the four highest scores managed to make it to the second round. The competition had gotten tougher in round two as teams endeavored to once again outrace one another for a spot in the final round. Each team sought out to be named the champions of the competition but it was George Campbell Technical School’s Team Torc that eventually proved to have the fastest miniature F1 car in the race, beating Phoenix Technical School’s team Alphega, whom it was competing against in the finals.

This was, however, not the end of the competition as Top Gear Festival Legacy Initiative Project Manager Anna Sacks explained prior to the race that the challenge was geared towards promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, so as to alleviate the shortage of engineers in the country. The competition was aimed at exposing pupils to marketing, aerodynamics, design, manufacture, branding, graphics, sponsorship, leadership teamwork, media skills and financial strategy. Teams were then awarded for their performance in the aforementioned categories.

The prize for Marketing and Sponsorship was awarded to Aeronautique, one of Clifton College’s teams, while Glenwood Boys High School’s Green Machine took the Portfolio and Print Display prize. George Campbell’s Team Torc took centre stage, scooping awards for the Best Engineered Car and the Fastest Car. The Formula, Clifton College’s second team came out on top in the verbal presentations while Team Oasis, from Open Air School, was named the Best Team in the F1 Challenge.

The top three prizes were awarded according to the teams’ overall performance in the challenge and their adherence to the brief of the competition. Phoenix Technical School and Open Air School took third and second place respectively while the grand prize was taken by George Campbell Technical School. As the winners, members of Team Torc each received a tablet courtesy of Sangari Institute and bursaries to study at the Durban University of Technology’s Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment- provided that they meet the full entry requirements for the courses they choose to study.

Proud of his pupils, George Campbell Technical School teacher Jorge Goncalves said winning all three prizes came as a big surprise to him considering the team’s challenges during the competition. “The whole experience during the competition was overwhelming but I am very proud of the boys because they put a lot of effort into their work. I feel they learnt a lot from every task of the competition. Next year, we will definitely participate, probably have two teams too,” he said.

The team members were beside themselves with excitement, seeing that their hard work had paid off. Speaking on behalf of the team, Sasheel Bhugwandeen said, “Our main challenge was not meeting the deadline for the entire project. In the end though, it all fitted to place. We also had trouble getting sponsorship but that also worked out eventually. I must say that team work was essential. When we all worked as one, things came together.”
The competition was a collaborative effort between Top Gear Festival’s Legacy Initiative Project, the Durban University of Technology, Sangari Institute, the KZN ScienCentre and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education.

Lecturers, together with a few students from the DUT Industrial Engineering Department mentored the teams, familiarising them with CAD and CAM, the design and manufacturing computer software teams used to create miniature versions of the F1 car of the future.

Ranil Singh, Senior Lecturer in the Industrial Engineering Department said he was pleased that the challenge was a success. “The schools enjoyed the experience and they learned something new from this. I hope they will encourage other learners to participate next year,” he said.

“This was a fantastic project. It was great to see the enthusiasm, talent and commitment from the schools and students. I am sure that we will find a future F1 designer from this current group. We also look forward to welcoming the winners who received bursaries to study at DUT,” said Alan Khan, DUT’s Senior Director of Corporate Affairs and the Programme Director of yesterday’s event.

– Naledi Hlefane

Pictured: George Campbell Technical School’s Team Torc was the ultimate winner of the Top Gear Festival Legacy Initiative’s F1 in Schools Challenge. L-R: Team Torc members Shekhar Mackraj, Johan Breed, Kemvel Jack, Sasheel Bhugwandeen with their teacher Jorge Goncalves.