December 10, 2019
A Granbury High School team won top awards at an international STEM challenge competition on November 24-27, 2019, in Abu Dhabi.
Synergy Racing won Best Team Identity and was selected as a top three team for its pit display.
The squad included team manager Ryyan Amsden, design engineers Brody Hesseltine and Alex Opperman, manufacturing engineer Joe Dias, marketing manager Ethan Bohney, and graphic designer Gage Molinari. Accompanying the students were GHS engineering teachers Todd Gibson and Greg Belleau.
At the national contest in February at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, the team placed second and earned honors for best team identity, best pit display, and fastest car.
The school has a long history of success in the F1 in Schools program. Last year, Lone Star Racing was the regional grand champion, while Torrent Racing was third. Both advanced to the national competition.
Two years ago, Atlas Racing and Precision Racing represented the United States at the international contest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In 2015, Affinity won the national championship and advanced to the world finals held in Singapore. A year earlier, the team won second place at nationals and traveled to Abu Dhabi. A GHS squad also competed at the world finals in 2013, when the United States hosted the contest in Austin.
F1 in Schools is a multi-disciplinary challenge in which teams of students aged 9 to 19 deploy CAD/CAM software to collaborate, design, analyze, manufacture, test, and then race miniature gas-powered balsa wood F1 cars. The challenge inspires students to use technology to learn about physics, aerodynamics, design, manufacture, branding, graphics, sponsorship, marketing, leadership/teamwork, media skills and financial strategy, and apply them in a practical, imaginative, competitive and exciting way.
The chamber has been a long-time supporter of the F1 students as well as the entire career and technical education program. Teams in the program have benefitted from annual donations from the chamber for several years.
Pictured are (left to right) Brody Hesseltine, Ethan Boheny, Joe Dias, Alex Opperman, Ethan Bohney, Ryyan Amsden, and Gage Molinari.
