Thursday 18 May 2017

F1 in Schools team Tiro Racing, photo diary...

Ever wondered what it takes to win an F1 in Schools National Final?  🏆
Well, take a look at these photos from Tiro Racing team & wonder no more 😄

All hail the UK F1 in Schools England National Champions 2017!!  


We are delighted to sponsor Tiro Racing,  a team of six engineering apprentices from Kingston College, SouthWest London, competing in the 2017 F1 in Schools competition.

Meet the Tiro Racing team!

They first competed at the London and South East Regional Final, held at the CEME centre in Rainham, East London on the 8th February. Here, against 25 other teams from around the region, they emerged in 2nd place in the Professional Class as well as winning the award for the best team 
identity.  Due to this success, they then qualified to represent the area at the UK National Final.


The F1 in Schools UK National Final took place at the internationally acclaimed Silverstone GP Circuit on the 29th and 30th of March 2017. The National Final consisted of the best 30 teams from 11 different regions across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The level of competition over the two days was extremely high, with quite possibly the highest standard ever reached
for a UK National Final. The stakes were undoubtedly high with the top 3 placed teams overall, along with the Home Nation Champions, being able to progress further in the competition to the World Finals...
Tiro Racing showing off their trophies.

After the two days of competition, Tiro Racing were crowned English National Champions and were awarded with the prestigious Best Engineered Car, as well as being placed 2nd overall in the UK.


England Winners!!!


Tiro Racing's "Best Engineered Car" 2017...
Therefore, they go on to represent England at the forthcoming 2017 F1 in Schools World Finals in Kuala Lumpur in September, with the goal of becoming World Champions.  Additionally, they are the first ever apprentice team in the history of the 14-year competition to reach the World Finals!

 
Tiro Racing meeting with local MP meeting James Berry...

MP James Berry (centre) being presented with his very own Tiro Racing team top





Tiro Racing facing the judges panel at the F1 in Schools National Finals

Demonstrating the car to the judges...


Ready for launch...
  
Ready to race!!

The pit display, part of the branding & team image that Tiro Racing were judged on


Tiro Racing are such a dynamic team of young people & we'd like to wish them every success in this fantastic STEM event - we hope that we can help them to progress to the top in the forthcoming World Championships in September! 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

To keep up to date with the latest news from the team you can visit the Tiro Racing website, 
or you can follow them on Twitter (@TiroRacing) or check them out on Facebook 💫



Thursday 11 May 2017

Aaron Skippings, SMB's very own downhill skateboarding whizz...

Our technical whizz Aaron Skippings is also a downhill skateboarding whizz!  Last weekend saw the  tremendously successful downhill skate event "Rumble at the Peep", a British Regional event (which adds national BDSL ranking points to competitors' profiles) which was organised by Aaron himself!!


Aaron hard at work at SMB...


The event was attended by 30 national competitors, so there was a really strong challenge for the top spots, but Aaron managed to pip everyone else to the post & came first (boo-hiss to those that say it was rigged!! 👅).

Top of the event, Aaron (pictured left) celebrates & finishes top of the BDSL rankings too!


This small but dynamic sport is always looking for new starters to join the fray - if you're interested in getting into the sport you can start by visiting the BDSL FB page for more information, or just dive straight in & go to HogHill Event at Redbridge Cycling Centre in London (which is specifically designed for beginner riders).

A slight verge detour on the descent - Aaron cruising past on the right of the picture

Hitching a ride back uphill after the downhill! Credit to Kai Menneken for the photos...

Later on this year, Aaron is heading off to Canada to compete in the L'Ultime Descente - Top Speed Challenge - the aim of this crazy game is to skate down the one of the steepest descents in the world, without killing yourself, at around 75 miles per hour - easy, right?!  We'll nervously bring you all the news from this challenge in September...

Aaron in our technical suite at SMB...
Until then, you can see what Aaron's been up to in the last year or so in this little slideshow: