28 Oktober 2012 Von: F1 in Schools

David Croft, or ‘Crofty’ as he is popularly known, joined Sky Sports F1 HD this year to commentate on every race on the FIA Formula One™ World Championship calendar. Another date in his diary is a race which isn’t two hours long, it takes just over one second.

The F1 in Schools™ World Finals 2012 will be hosted by David in Abu Dhabi next week, when 33 teams from 22 countries will meet to compete for the Bernie Ecclestone F1 in Schools World Champions trophy and coveted scholarships to City University, London.

David’s role at the F1 in School World Finals will be to commentate on each of the races which are an integral part of the competition. Each of the F1 in Schools teams competing will be judged on a number of criteria including their pit display, written portfolio, a verbal presentation and the engineering development of their scale-model F1 race car. But it is the racing which is the hub of the competition, with teams racing their cars along a 20 metres straight, powered by a compressed-air canister. With times of just over a second, the race is over as quickly as it started, but for the competing teams it can be the difference between winning and losing.

Each of the teams race against each other in a knock-out competition and Davis is the perfect commentator to build the tension and ensure this element of the F1 in Schools World Finals is not to be missed.

David began his association with F1 in Schools a few years ago when he featured the F1 in Schools World Champions on a radio show, his F1 job at that time. The popular presenter says of getting involved, “I could see that from all sides, competitors, their teachers, the judges and organisers, everybody seemed to be totally committed to the competition and all seemed to be really enjoying what they did.

“The most impressive aspect is just how close F1 In Schools tries to mirror real life Formula 1.” he adds. “Each successful team is the sum total of all its parts, for instance a brilliant piece of design will get nowhere without good manufacturing and without a budget the team can't compete. Therefore it's not an exclusive competition for engineers but an inclusive competition where different talents come together to produce some very keenly fought racing. And at the end of the day, just like F1, it's all about the racing, a fact never forgotten by the teams and by F1 in Schools.

Of the students travelling to Abu Dhabi for the World Finals this year, David says, “Hopefully they'll be so impressed that it will take a couple of days for their jaws to stop hitting the floor. Yas Island is an incredible place, the Yas Marina circuit an amazing race track and Ferrari World Abu Dhabi a fabulous place to spend a few hours. The fact that they're going to be spending a few days there is just the icing on the cake.”

The Sky F1 commentator confesses that he hasn’t yet experienced the Ferrari World rides explaining, “It will be my fourth visit to Abu Dhabi and sadly I've not had a chance to go on any of the rides on any of my previous visits. Rest assured I'm aiming to put that right this year.”

Sky Sports F1 HD will be attending this prestigious event to film the students as they present their entries to the judges and race on the 20 metres straight. They will also be filming the Awards celebration with the coverage being featured on a forthcoming edition of The F1 Show.

The F1 in Schools World Finals 2012 takes place at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi from 29th – 31st October.