ABU DHABI // Team Turbo, from Brighton College, Al Ain, dominated the inaugural Formula Ethara national finals, winning both national champions titles on offer.
The event at Yas Marina Circuit allowed children the chance to follow in the tyre tracks of the likes of Formula One stars Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in a model racing car competition.
The event was divided into two streams – non-rookie and rookie – with 14 awards up for grabs, including national champion in both categories.
Prizes included trophies and go-karting vouchers.
More than 35 teams from 22 primary schools around the UAE pitted their skills against each other in the event.
Children aged 11 and under put their engineering, technology and business skills to the test to come up with the best model racing car.
The Formula Ethara challenge was created to offer younger children the opportunity to learn valuable skills in a fun and interactive environment. It is separate to the F1 in Schools programme, which was also staged at Yas last weekend.
Designs put forward for consideration impressed a team of judges who ran an expert eye over each entry.
The chief executive of Yas Marina Circuit, Al Tareq Al Ameri, said the competition was the perfect platform for children to get creative and show what they were capable of.
“We were delighted to witness the creativity, intelligence and hard work on display here today,” he said.
“This is a really worthwhile and important initiative that contributes to the development of the UAE’s young people. Skills have been learnt in the last few months that will stand these children in good stead throughout their lives.”
As well as their design, teams were judged on their funding acumen and verbal presentation.
The finals allowed the pupils to demonstrate all aspects of their entries, which included team car racing, building a team showcase car, a team display and slideshow and a team presentation.
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