Issued: 11 December 2002
Formula 1 Challenge - Race To The Finish
The race is on for the school teams taking part in the Jaguar Formula 1 Design Challenge.
On Friday thirteen teams will be on the starting grid at the Carnoustie Golf Course Hotel, with their prototype F1 cars jostling for pole position in the first Scottish final of this popular national schools contest.
It is at this stage that the competing secondary pupils get the chance to see if their computer designed F1 car has turned into a race ready model, fast enough to beat off the competition.
Students across the UK have been designing and manufacturing, albeit as basic models, what they hope will be the fastest F1 car using the latest CAD software and CAM equipment. In addition to the excitement and novelty of the challenge the competition has the broader aim of interesting young people in the many facets of the car industry.
Waving the chequered flag at Friday's Scottish race will be Hamish Clark, who will be hoping to see something a little sportier than the jeep his alter ego Duncan has to endure on 'Monarch of the Glen'.
Showing pupils how it's really done will be representatives of Jaguar who will have a number of their world famous vehicles at the venue, including a Formula One Grand Prix racing car, just to give the fledgling car designers something to aspire to. And if further proof were needed that car design and manufacture is a potentially glamorous and lucrative business to be in a Jaguar XK8, currently starring in the latest James Bond film, is set to take centre stage on Friday.
The teams competing in the Scottish final have been working on their designs for a few months and with the assistance of Angus Training Group, Scotland's designated test centre for the production of the model cars, they have manufactured working models from their original computer designs. It is these models which will be taking to the track on Friday.
The Jaguar F1 Team in Schools Design Challenge is sponsored by Jaguar cars, Denford, BAE SYSTEMS and EMTA with the Scottish final championed by Angus Council, Scottish Enterprise Tayside (SET) and Angus Training Group with additional sponsorship from GlaxoSmithKline, Michelin and Rossleigh.
Each of the competing teams will receive a memento of the day and the winning two teams will take their place alongside the other regional winners at the UK final in London in January where they will be vying for a the national title and coveted places at the British Grand Prix. Any school wishing to take part in this exciting competition next year should contact Angus Training Group on 01241 873299.