Tiro Racing & the road to the F1 in Schools World Finals 2017...

We are proud & delighted to be supporting Tiro Racing on their road to the F1 in Schools World Finals 2017.

The Tiro Racing team meeting with quite a familiar face recently... 😄

They are such a dynamic group of young apprentices & it's been a real joy to share in their enthusiasm for their goals this year - check out this lovely vid of the team:

They've been doing lots of bearing testing recently & we hope it gives them the winning edge when they compete in Malaysia later this year...

We'll bring you loads of updates on their progress, but in the meantime you can follow them at: 

• Their website http://www.tiroracing.co.uk/ 
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tiroracing/ 
• Twitter https://twitter.com/TiroRacing 
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tiroracing 

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 💫

Introducing F1 in Schools competitors Tiro Racing...

We are delighted to introduce to you F1 in Schools team Tiro Racing, 

made up of six dedicated engineering apprentices currently attending Kingston College, 

who are competing in the F1 in Schools competition with high ambitions this year!

Tiro Racing team...

The team say:

 "F1 in Schools is the world’s largest multi-disciplinary STEM competition. Students must form teams of 4 - 6 members to design, manufacture and test a model Formula 1 car complying with a stringent set of regulations. Alongside this, teams must consider team identity, branding, marketing and sponsorship, similarly to how a real Formula 1 team would operate. These teams must then compete against each other at a Regional, National and International Level, putting their handiwork through the tough scrutiny of a panel of judges.

Tiro Racing pit display...

We competed at the London and South East Regional Final at the CEME Centre, Rainham on the 8th February. We were successful in winning the award for Best Team Identity and placed 2nd overall, as well as having the fastest car. Due to this result we will be representing the region at the UK National Final at the Silverstone GP Circuit on the 28th-30th March. Here we will compete against the best teams from around the country to determine the 2017 UK National Champions, as well as deciding who will progress through to the 2017 World Finals!

Tiro Racing's car for the regional finals...

Our goal is to become National Champions, so make sure to keep checking our website and social media (Facebook and Twitter) for regular updates on everything Tiro!

Thank you for your support and we hope to see you at the UK National Final!"

We are happy to be a small part of helping Tiro Racing achieve their goals & are delighted to be sponsoring the team throughout their F1 in Schools adventure this year.  We were so impressed by their dynamic approach, we just couldn't say no - we have sent them our very finest precision EZO bearings & hope this goes some way to giving them the winning edge this year 😃  

All the best from us all at SMB Bearings, to the epic crew at Tiro Racing!

F1 in Schools 2015, SMB Bearings proud to support Torque Racing...

Well, we can't quite believe it but another F1 in Schools race season is upon us!  

We've had a proud association with this event for a number of years now & we relish the opportunity for a number of reasons - not least because it's a wonderful way of valuing future generations & engaging young people with STEM in an exciting & truly innovative way.

Teams of youngsters get together to design & raise funds to build & race their miniature F1 cars against other teams of students in regional, national & international competitions. To progress in the events they also have to have a business model & a winning presentation of all the work they've put in - as competitions go, it is truly epic in scale!

After a number of approaches from various schools, we have decided to offer our support to the lovely folks at Torque Racing F1 this year & we really look forward to bringing you their news & updates as the race season progresses.

Torque Racing F1 team, victors at the regional finals last month...

These dynamic young competitors have already bagged an impressive victory at the regional finals in Birmingham last month & are now striving to repeat their success on a national level.  The team, from Sprowston Community High School, will be in action at the National finals on the 12th-13th March & we wish them every success in their mission & hope that SMB Bearings will play a small part in their success.

We'll be supplying them with precision miniature bearings, as well as technical & social media support to help them on their way to victory.  Click this Post by Torque Racing F1 to see them live in action - but blink & you miss it - so see an image of their regional finals car below :-)

Torque Racing F1 

Congratulations to Red Set Racing, F1 in Schools World Finalists

It's official, the folks at Red Set Racing are A-MAZING!!

They had the second fastest F1 in Schools car in the WORLD this year...

Check out this vid of the knockout stages to see just how impressive the team's achievement is

(& catch a glimpse of the team at 1m 29s):

It's not all about speed & the knockout rounds though - they designed, built, raced, marketed & raised sponsorship to fund the whole venture themselves...

They placed 8th position overall & also won the F1 in Schools "Ashes" trophy (& given our current cricketing performance, we should take great cheer from this as a nation).

The team have so much appeal that they've even rated a mention in Bearing Industry News!

All at SMB Bearings are tremendously proud of you Red Set Racing

Well done on an epic performance!

Red Set Racing at the F1 in Schools World Finals 2013

All of us at SMB Bearings would like to wish Red Set Racing team the very best of luck at the 

F1 in Schools World Finals, being held in Austin, Texas this weekend.

The team, Red Set Racing, formed in August 2012 & are from Sprowston Community High School, Norwich.  Team members are: Ryan Clabon 17 (Team Manager), Will Mulhall 17 &Thomas Carver 17 

Post by Red Set Racing.

Red Set Racing won the F1 in Schools Central UK Regionals in February 2013 & then went on to win the UK Nationals in March 2013, which secured their place in the World Finals. 

Before they jetted off to take part in the competition, the team were kind enough to take the time to tell us about their progress...

"Redsetracing have been working flat out on their bid for theF1 in Schools World Finals in Austin, Texas commencing 9^th November. The lads fly from Norwich International Airport to Austin Texas on Thursday 7^th at 09:45 to take on the other 40+ Countries competing at the F1 in schools world finals.

They have faced a number of challenges over the last 6 month to get to this stage.  Primarily the biggest hurdle is that of the new 2014 F1 in Schools Competition Regulations. Since becoming UK National Champions in March, F1 in schools have released a new set of regulations which effectively meant a complete redesign of what was a very fast car. 

RSV5 - the World Final model...

Ryan Clabon team manager said “Although we were very pleased with the RSV3, and how it performed at the National Finals, we welcomed the challenge of a complete redesign”. Tom Carver chief engineer added “we cut the rules pretty close to get the fastest car at the UK Nationals, so I have had to completely change my wheel and axel designs to ensure we don’t fall foul of the Judges at the Worlds.” Their new car the RSV5 incorporates the latest motorsport materials such as titanium and carbon fibre composites, as well as using 3D rapid prototyping to test parts before committing time to the manufacture of mould tools etc.

Secondly there is the massive challenge of raising the necessary funds to travel with two teachers and all of the equipment to the USA. The Team have engaged in a number of marketing activities including inviting potential sponsors into school, for ‘an F1 day’, complete with full size F1 simulator and even undertaking paid work for their primary sponsor KLM UK Engineering. Will Mulhall who has oversight of marketing for the team said “Yes, it has been a real challenge. We set ourselves the goal of raising £10K from mostly local firms, we have beaten that; raising over £10550.00. This enables us to travel from our local airport ‘Norwich International’ with flights booked with KLM. Seeing as KLM UK Engineering has given us and our school so much support, this was the least we could do”.

The team, ready for departure

Graham Parker the lead teacher for the team said “I am fantastically proud of what the lads have achieved, they have worked so hard, not only to raise the funding and create what is essentially, an industrial quality exhibition, but most impressively they have also lobbied the Secretary of State for Business, Vince Cable along the way; getting his department to support the F1 in schools initiative. They are a real credit to the school and an example to young adults around the country that you get out of life what you are prepared to put in, marvellous stuff.” Mr Wavell the teams main mentor has been working hard alongside Ryan Clabon manufacturing a travel system which will not only safely store and transport the equipment needed in Texas, but also double-up as part of the pit display “we got inspiration at the British Grand Prix when we visited Ferrari Scudaria’s mobile HQ and we thought, hey, we should aim to create something along similar lines.”

The lads are off to conduct a final round of testing at Denford™ UK headquarters in Brighouse on Thursday and then it will be all-systems-go to pack and prepare for flights leaving on the 7^th November".

The team have arrived safely in Austin & we look forward very much to hearing how they get on in the competition today.  Our small contribution to their victory attempt is the very best & fastest bearings that we could find, as every millisecond is going to count at the World Finals!  We'll bring you more news as we have it, but in the meantime check out the team's Facebook page for updates.

F1 in Schools World Championships 2013 - Red Set Racing team

 SMB Bearings are proud to announce that we are supporting the lovely folks from

Red Set Racing in this year's F1 in Schools World Championships 2013. 

The team are students at Sprowston Community High School in Norwich & their mission is to design, engineer, build & race a winning slotcar down a 20 metre track - they also have to market their ideas & raise funds to participate in the event - all in all it's a pretty big ask!

We are hoping that our super-fast wheel bearings & our technical know-how will help to give them an edge against their rivals when they compete in Austin, Texas this November.  

Red Set Racing have already clinched victory in the F1 in Schools National Finals & are pictured taking the number one spot on the podium below...

 

Although the team have just started their school holidays I am reliably informed, by chief engineer Tom Carver, that they'll be testing our bearings in the car very soon & we're very excited to hear how the team get on.

We look forward to bringing you news & updates from the team as their race preparation continues...



Team Red Set



SMB's Review of 2012...

SMB Bearings have had another cracking year - all thanks to you! 

So, we thought we'd cast our minds back over a few of the best bits...

January

We were delighted to be joined by Ian Emery, RC Helicopter pilot - he has wowed us with his meteoric rise up the AHA's ranking this year...

February

F1 In Schools competitors Adactus won the central England F1 in Schools Championship & also best engineered car...

Well done lads!  We're thrilled that our bearings played a small part in your overall success.   

 March  

Our new advert featured in Model Helicopter World magazine for the first time...    

If you look closely, you can see that the lovely Ian Emery is our poster boy!    

April    

We had loads of spiffy videos from Shannon Francis, our lovely Bristol-based sponsored scooter rider - here's an example of just such a vid:  

     

May

Our EBAY SKATE SHOP finally opened - YEAY!!!

 

We continue to sell over 2000 other items via our traditional store (ye olde fashioned telephone & email), but thought that we'd give this a whirl & so far, so good!

June

Vive La France! Our French gravity sports champions took podiums galore & most of the style & glory at La Rigalet...

Marie Bougourd & Philipe Dupuy at Rigalet

Schaeffer Mclean continued to wow us with his skills - this 8 year old skateboarder has had quite a year & his international acclaim continues to grow. 

Check out this great vid for a show of skills & also a lovely reminder of what summer sunshine looks like!

July

We were so, so proud of young Harry Redstone - we went to watch him competing at Swindon Radio Controlled Model Car Club (SRCMCC for short!) & although he didn't do so well whilst his bearing sponsors were watching (I think we might have put him off his stride a bit :-) ) he has had an amazing overall season & race series & is thinking of competing in national competitions next year...

Harry & his Dad in the pits between races

August

We were delighted to catch up with Stan at Jankowski Weathervanes again, it is always a real treat to see where our bearings end up & this is never truer than in the hands of a real artisan like Stan...

September

We got in early & donated heaps of prizes to Hogtoberfest - a downhill skateboarding weekend of mayhem!

October

Ian Emery finished 3rd in the AHA British Nationals!  What an astounding first-season result for our local RC heli hero.

November

Our customers continue to delight with their ingenuity - not least this month RSL Steeper & their prosthetic hand (that allows one wearer to make a famous Gallic gesture for the first time in 5 long years!), & Hans Meevis, a wonderfull talented jeweller currently based in Germany.

The fun part came when the lovely ladies at Valleys Roller Dolls got in touch - this dynamic bunch of roller derby afficianados needed some decent skate bearings & we were happy to oblige. 

We look forward to helping them out in the future & following their roller derby progress -if they're not too shy, we'll hopefully tell you more about them soon :-)

December

Well, what a year it has been!  I hope you enjoyed just a small sample of our many highlights from 2012.  We'd like to thank our clients for their continued custom, our suppliers for their continued support & our friends for keeping us entertained all bally year! 



Christmas lights in London last weekend

We'd like to wish you all the very best for the festive season & the coming year - see you in 2013!!

Adactus, F1 in Schools competition...

They won - YES!!!!!!!

Team Adactus have won the central England F1 in Schools Championship & also best engineered car...

Adactus say:

"The team was successful at the 2012 Central England Regional Final at Loughborough University on the 10th of February. We won first place in our category and the award for the best engineered car. Because of this, the team now qualifies for the 2012 National Final at the Big Bang Fair at the NEC on the 16th and 17th of March.

We would like to thank our sponsors for helping us get this far:

◦SMB Bearings
◦McDonalds
◦Red Firecracker Decals
◦UKHost4U
And of course we would like to thank our school, Lutterworth College".

You can keep up to date with the team's news via their blog, which is full of great things :0) - good work guys!