19 September 2011 Von: F1 in Schools

Sepang International Circuit hosted a Gift Exchange Welcome event for the 2011 F1 in Schools™ World Finals today. The event kicks off the start of this prestigious annual student initiative and is the first time that all the students congregate before an intense three days of competition for the Bernie Ecclestone F1 in Schools World Champions trophy and coveted Motorsport and Automotive Engineering scholarships to City University London.

The Gift Exchange Welcome event is a unique feature of F1 in Schools World Finals. The 23 teams of 200 students from 17 countries vying for the World Champions crown were taken by Police escort to the Sepang International Circuit at the start of the competition. Over 200 students, aged from 14 to 19 years met in the SIC Media Centre and welcomed to the impressive Formula One race circuit by Arvin Randahwa, Assistant Manager, Marketing, SIC and Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman, F1 in Schools.

The students were treated to an exclusive tour of the state-of-the-art circuit, including Paddock Club, the winners’ podium, race control, time keeping, the Royal Suite and the Roof Top viewing. After plenty of photo opportunities of these facilities, a coach tour of the circuit with stop-offs on the grid and at key points on the track gave the F1 in Schools competitors a close-up view of this unique circuit with its sweeping corners and long, wide straights.

The warm welcome from Sepang continued with the students heading to the Chequered Flag Café for the Gift Exchange lunch. Each of the teams brings along token gifts representative of their country to give to each of the other competing teams. Shortbread, Irish shamrocks, boomerangs and F1 car shaped stress balls were among the gifts exchanged. With the opportunity to meet all their rivals and the first day of competition imminent the lunch was a mix of lively chatter and nervous tension. After lunch, the hospitality from SIC continued for the students with a visit to the circuit museum rounding off the day.

Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman, F1 in Schools, is grateful for Sepang’s contribution to the 2011 F1 in Schools World Finals saying, “We are delighted that Sepang International Circuit hosted our annual Gift Exchange event and we value their support of the F1 in Schools programme. A trip to the awe-inspiring facility which is home to the Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix has been a very special occasion for the students competing in our competition and I know that they were all blown away by the place.

“Just visiting the circuit would be a treat for any motorsport fan, but to go behind the scenes with a look at race control, the media centre and time-keeping as well as an exclusive tour of the circuit, is a privilege for these students and I know it has been a day to remember for them. Our thanks go to Dato Razlan Razali, CEO of the circuit, Arvin and everyone at Sepang International Circuit for making this possible.”

The essence of the F1 in Schools challenge is for teams of students to research, design, test, manufacture and race a miniature Formula One car, using some of the advanced technology employed within the F1 teams in the real world. All the teams competing next week will have spent hundreds of hours producing their models in their pursuit of beating their competitors to claim the World Champions crown.

The event takes place at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur from 19th – 21st September with the assistance of a host of sponsors and supporters including the Malaysia Ministry of Education, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, City University London, Denford Limited, Sepang International Circuit and Hilton Racing.