F1 in Schools World Championship finals

Well done to our sponsored F1 in Schools team, Team Fusion (seen below competing in this month's World Championship finals).



Although Team Fusion couldn't beat off the stiff competition to claim overall victory, they did fantastically well to reach the World Championships & we are immensely proud of their achievements, in design, technology & all-around business skills. 

A team from the USA were the eventual - Unitus Racing from James Madison Middle School and Southeast High School, were delighted, and surprised, to be crowned with the title at this sixth World Finals event, after beating the 24 student teams competing.  The team were congratulated by Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver, Jenson Button, after the awards ceremony.  Button said of the team’s success, “Wow, it was a long journey for these guys, but I suppose it’s like anything you want to achieve, it is a long journey. A lot of people would also say that the journey is the reward as well. I’m sure it has been for these guys, they have had a great experience designing the car and congratulations to them. I hope they’ve enjoyed this experience and enjoyed their trip to Singapore.”

Organiser Andrew Denford said:
“We’ve had a fantastic World Finals this year, with the quality of the teams outstripping last year and all the judges being highly impressed with the professionalism, commitment and innovation that has been put into the development of their F1 cars.   There has been intense competition at this event, with hundreds of hours of work being put into each teams’ entry, as they strive to build the fastest, most innovative car with high precision engineering. The initiative mirrors the real world of Formula One, with the team’s professionalism extending to the pit display, uniforms, merchandise and commercial funding, with judges allocating marks for each of these aspects of the programme. The 25 teams have put in superb performances, but there’s always only one World Champion and Unitus Racing are deserving champions, our congratulations to them.”

F1 in Schools is the only global multi-disciplinary challenge for students aged 9 to 19.  The competition inspires students to use IT to learn about physics, aerodynamics, design, manufacturing, branding, graphics, sponsorship, marketing, leadership, teamwork, media skills and financial strategy, and apply them in a practical, imaginative and exciting way. 

If you feel inspired to take part, find more details at http://www.f1inschools.co.uk/ & maybe you too could be jetting off for the World Championship finals next year...

The Mecha-lobster...

We've had some interesting enquiries this week, but I think Thomas Rooney from the University of West England wins hands down!  He needed some bearings to use for his underwater robotics project:

"The aim is to create an underwater robot capable of utilizing home built thrusters and mechanical spider legs , later on I have plans for using it as a underwater test rig and developing a sensor for measuring and reacting to underwater currents. As the final year project of my degree I will be working with the university's sonar module to enhance the software we created for the SAUC-E event and add compensation for physical movement caused by the underwater enviroment."



We've sent him some of our plastic corrosion resistant bearings & look forward very much to hearing how he gets on with them!

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Schaeffer's Spanish Adventures...

Looking good Schaeffer - oh to be even one-millionth of a percent as cool as you... :0)

You can now keep up to date with Schaeffer's latest exploits on Facebook - visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/Schaeffer-McLean/

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Rc plane meets real plane...

RC Plane Meets Real Plane @ Yahoo! Video

You have to feel a bit sorry for both pilots - imagine trying to superglue that lot back together!!

To Paris by bike, to help our heroes...

Meet local ex-serviceman, Martin Brewster. 

He is just about to set off from his home in Chadlington to cycle to Paris, via London where he will join 300 other cyclists participating in the 4 day ride to the Arc de Triomphe. He is participating in The Royal British Legion's 15th annual "Pedal to Paris" bike ride.

The 55-year-old, who served for 25 years in the RAF, wants to raise as much as possible for the British Legion.   He said: “I know the British Legion desperately needs the funding, and being ex-service, I sympathise with the cause of the injured servicemen and their families.
In France, the event will come to an end with a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Mr Brewster will return to London by train, and plans to cycle home from there.   In total, the married father-of-one will cycle about 500 miles in six days.

In 2003 Martin also cycled to Paris to raise £1,500 to help the British Legion fund its work.   He said: “Sadly, seven years on, due to the present action in Afghanistan, I see that the sacrifice of servicemen and women and the suffering of their families continues apparently unabated.   This shows the continued importance of the work done by the Royal British Legion, which needs to raise about £75.5m each year to spend on its vital welfare work.   Unfortunately, the need for the British Legion work grows almost daily, as we still see these reports of servicemen being killed in Afghanistan.”

Mr Brewster, who was a squadron leader, retired from RAF Benson in 1996.  He had previously served at RAF Brize Norton (just across the road from us!), from 1992 until 1994.
The keen cyclist, who now works as an IT manager for the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, has vowed to donate his month’s pension from the RAF of £800 towards the cause.   This year he will be joined by Miss England, Lance Corporal Katrina Hodge and former England football manager Graham Taylor.  Also joining in are Legion President, Sir John Kiszely and almost 300 other riders on the 4 day trip.

Martin hopes to raise a total of £2,010. 

To help him raise just that little bit more, please visit www.bmycharity.com/martinbrewsterp2p2010,

call him on 07783 051087,

or send an email to martin@mgbrew.co.uk

Good luck Martin!!

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