Eddie Jordan, BBC F1 pundit

Richard Cregan, CEO, Yas Marina Circuit Abu Dhabi

The F1 in Schools programme is experiencing rapid growth, with increasing support from Formula One. A number of prominent F1 Technical gurus are patrons of F1 in Schools including Mike Gascoyne of Lotus F1, Adrian Newey from Red Bull Racing and Ross Brawn, Team Principal of the championship-winning Brawn GP (soon to be Mercedes Grand Prix). Norbert Haug, Vice President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, was recently confirmed as a patron for the German F1 in Schools programme, Jordan and Cregan now join the roster of top names associated with this global educational initiative.

Eddie Jordan, who grew up in Bray, County Wicklow, brings a wealth of F1 experience, having been founder and team owner of Jordan Grand Prix. The Irishman said of becoming a patron of F1 in Schools Ireland, “I am delighted to be a Patron of F1 in Schools for Ireland - the scheme gives many youngsters the opportunity to get a feel and appreciate the engineering complexities of top level motorsport.  This is vital to encourage young potential engineers into the world of motorsport.  It gives them the experience of working in a team in a competitive environment where all aspects of the business are considered - budgeting, engineering, marketing and sponsorship.  F1 is an extremely competitive business to get into and this scheme can provide the opening for many budding engineers and designers - all for the benefit of the sport and industry.”

Richard Cregan, from Kildare, began his career working with Aer Lingus, before moving to Toyota where he enjoyed an illustrious career spanning rallying and Formula One. Cregan now heads up the newly-built and much acclaimed Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. He commented on his patronage, ““I was delighted to be invited to be a patron of F1 in Schools Ireland and had no hesitation in giving my support to this very worthwhile initiative. I am sure that if I had been given the opportunity to take part in this type of competition when I was at school in Ireland I would certainly have enjoyed the challenge. It is a great way to inspire students and open their eyes to the host of opportunities in motorsport for a career. There are so many facets of the F1 in Schools programme which are relevant to the real world and using the popularity of Formula One to engage students in engineering and other key subjects is excellent.

“Being CEO of the YAS Marina Circuit I hope to see students from UAE aspire to achieve the highest of achievements as their Irish counterparts and one day raise the Bernie Ecclestone World Championship trophy.”

F1 in Schools Founder and Chairman, Andrew Denford, welcomes Jordan and Cregan, saying, “The patronage of two high profile F1 personalities for our Irish initiative is a great start to 2010. The programme gains enormous benefits from the support and assistance of industry achievers and both Jordan and Cregan demonstrate the success that can be achieved through hard work, ambition and passion. I am sure that both of these industry stars will help F1 in Schools go from strength to strength in Ireland.”

The F1 in Schools global initiative takes place in over 30 countries, with more than 15 million students aware of the programme. For further information visit www.F1inSchools.com.