Four students from Engadine High School have formed the Fast PAYCE Racing team to compete in this year’s 2015 F1 in Schools Challenge, an international competition open to high school students around the globe. The team’s name, Fast PAYCE Racing, acknowledges the strong support provided to the team by PAYCE.
Four teams from the school are competing in various classes of the competition this year. The PAYCE-backed team which is competing in the Professional Junior class, recently took a number of PAYCE staff on a tour of the school’s technology equipment and facilities used to design, construct and test their miniature gas-powered cars.
John Gilmore, Sherene Grace and Maddy Neely from PAYCE head office were all impressed with the team’s skills and dedication.
John said the students were very appreciative of the assistance being provided by PAYCE and were keen to do well for their sponsor in this year’s Challenge.
“They demonstrated how the cars were built using a computerised router and 3D printer and then took us to the school hall to show us where they test the cars’ performance using some sophisticated timing equipment.
Maddy said the highlight was seeing the cars race side-by-side along the 24 metre long dual track.
“We all had a go at launching the cars off the start line and, as well as being very informative, it was a lot of fun,” she said.
Three students from last year’s successful team of Mass Acceleration formed the nucleus of Fast PAYCE Racing to compete this year in the higher class of Professional Junior.
The team comprises Lukas Foyle, James Mitreski and Sean Sultana from last year’s team and Blake Williams.
This is the second year PAYCE has sponsored a team from Engadine High School after stepping in at the last minute last year to help the Mass Acceleration team make it to the 2014 State Finals, where they won Best Verbal Presentation and Best Industry Collaboration categories and the knock-out competition in the Development Class.
The Fast PAYCE Racing team will have their first taste of competition when they compete in the Sutherland regional titles in late August and come up against other school teams in their region.
In the lead up to the regional titles, the Fast PAYCE Racing team has been putting in many hours during and after school to design and build their miniature racing car body from a solid balsa wood block, using software and sophisticated computerised laser cutting equipment designed for the competition. The team also uses a 3D printer to produce parts such as spoilers and wings for the car. Each team also has to produce a design portfolio as well as a pit display, marketing plan and make a verbal presentation to the judging panel.
Engadine High School has had some great successes in the F1 in Schools Challenge in recent years, with wins in the National titles in 2012 and 2013 and the Regional titles last year. As winners of the National titles, they went on to compete in the World Titles in Abu Dhabi (2012) and Texas (2013) where they placed fourth and fifth respectively.
PAYCE Managing Director, Brian Boyd said his company was thrilled to support the school and its Fast PAYCE Racing team in the Challenge.
“F1 in Schools is a fantastic competition in that involves a range of activities that both young boys and girls can experience and develop skills and knowledge that will benefit them at school and later in their working life,” he said.
“PAYCE is very pleased to be closely associated with their campaign this year and we will join families and the school community in barracking for Fast PAYCE Racing once the competition gets underway,” Brian Boyd said.
PAYCE General Manager, Dominic Sullivan said it was a pleasure to support such a dedicated and enthusiastic team of young people in the competition.
“The team members of Fast PAYCE Racing have been working hard over the past months experimenting with various designs and testing to get their car ready for competition,” he said.
“Earlier this year we arranged a meeting at Sydney Motorsport Park between our PAYCE supported V8 Supercars Volvo engineers and drivers and Engadine High School teams.
“It was clear from their questions that the students were both knowledgeable and especially keen to take on board any aerodynamic hints they could apply to their cars’ design to improve performance.
“We wish the team of Fast PAYCE Racing, along with the other teams from Engadine High School in this year’s Challenge, all the best and hope their hard work is rewarded,” he said.
