Motorsport enthusiasts from Strathpines Pine Rivers State High School visited the team at Triple Eight Race Engineering last week as part of the F1 in Schools, Formula One Technology Challenge.

The four Year 9 students, known as the Nitro Monkeys, are headed to Singapore to represent Australia as part of a collaborative team with the United Arab Emirates after winning the Apprentice Class Champions Award.

The students were given an inspiration boost today with an opportunity to visit the workshop of dominant V8 Supercar team, TeamVodafone.

The teams Technical Director Ludo Lacroix has been an avid patron of the young team and believes the tour was a valuable learning experience.

“As I’m advising the team on research, I saw the tour through the garage as an excellent opportunity to show them what we do and how we do it,” Lacroix stated.

“The young team is showing an excellent level of talent and things are looking promising for the World Championships.

“All they have to do is stay focused for every step of the way. If they can do that, I’m certain they will succeed,” he continued.

The Re-Engineering Australia Foundation (REA) initiative inspires students to learn about the principals of engineering in a competitive and exciting way through the design and manufacture of miniature
Formula 1 cars.

The Pine Rivers State High School students have triumphed in a number of divisions, including Best Engineered Design and the Australian Grand Prix Corporation Fastest Car.

The schools senior team, Red Hawk Racing, has also shown excellent results, winning the runners up prize for the Professional Class Senior Champions category and Best Team Marketing.

The challenge has over 20 countries competing, including Europe, North and South America, Africa, the Middle East and Australasia.