Saint Ailbe's win F1 challenge

Team Blink from Saint Ailbe's School in Tipperary Town have been declared the Overall Winners of the 2009 Honda-powered F1 in Schools Technology Challenge, at the National Finals held in Griffith College, Dublin.

Team members Matthew Ryan, Olivia Breen, Daniel Bresnan, Nathan Dunne and Simon Ryan fought off fierce competition from 24 finalist teams from all over Ireland to claim the National Title and Trophy, as well as the opportunity to represent Ireland next year in the 2010 World Championships.

The overall winners also shared €3,500 in prize money and each member received their own individual Xbox with an Xbox game.

Work for the 2009 finals commenced last September.

Intense competition followed, with 600 students representing 150 second-level schools from 22 counties battling their way through various levels, including regional finals.

The Formula 1 international competition, which is run in Ireland by the Irish Computer Society (ICS), has this year challenged 7m students across the globe to design, build and race compressed air-powered model F1 cars.

Frank Kennedy, Sales and Marketing Director of Universal Honda, in presenting the winning trophy, congratulated the overall winners while also expressing his delight at the very high standards displayed by all the finalists.

"It is very rewarding for Honda to sponsor F1 in Schools... The high standards attained give us all great confidence for the future development of science and technology in Ireland which is vital for the future of our economy," he said.