Green Streaks team on a roll

AFTER qualifying to represent South Africa in the F1 (Formula 1) in Schools Technology Challenge grand finale, Grantleigh School’s ‘Green Streaks’ team relished the limelight.

But what seemed like just a race for some, took hard work, dedication and the perfect game plan executed by the six-member team.

The competition to design and manufacture compact gas cylinder powered model racing cars provides an exciting yet challenging educational experience through the magnetic appeal of Formula 1.

After project organiser Anna Sacks visited the school in November last year to promote the competition, all six pupils – Tessa Hubble, Hilton Hoffmann, Amy Symmington, Thomas Davidson, Christie van den Heever and Kendra Dean jumped at the opportunity.

Green Streaks

The team was split into marketing and engineering.

Christie, Kendra and Tessa handled everything from the pit stand to the portfolio and uniform, while Hilton, Amy and Thomas designed the car, conducted the relevant research and manufactured it.

Hilton and Tessa ran the team which involved acquiring sponsors such as Curro Holdings and Engineering Top Tech and keeping them in the loop throughout the competition, constructing budgets, making sure everyone was coping with their work and meeting deadlines.

‘To stay one step ahead of our competitors, we custom-designed and produced each component from the ground up,’ said Tessa.

Competing against 11 other teams, Green Streaks stopped at nothing to produce only the best.

Producing light components was also of fundamental importance. This included balsa wood, 3D printed materials, aluminium axles and custom wheels, of which some were imported.

The world finals in Singapore takes place in September and coincide with an actual formula one race which takes place just after the competition.

With teams competing from across the globe, the standards are sky high and the competition is much stiffer.

The four-day competition is held at the Resorts World Convention Centre on Sentosa Island.