19 Jul 2016
The engineering skills of five Dubbo College Year 12 boys and their teacher have been globally recognised after their remote-controlled miniature four-wheel drive was awarded best engineered vehicle at the World 4x4 in Schools championships in Britain recently.
Bryce Cronin, Sharik Burgess-Stride, Shiv Ram, Chayan Deb Nath and Lucas Blattman, together with Dubbo College teacher John Miller, travelled to Coventry in the UK after being awarded a wild card entry to the world event.
Team Zircon, as they were known, not only took out the best engineered vehicle, but came second overall in the world wide competition, giving them the podium finish they had sought.
The Dubbo College team made the World 4x4 in Schools championships a winning double for Australia, with the Wombat Warriors from Queensland's Pine Rivers State High School winning first place and Portugal third.
Team Zircon placed second for the portfolio and pit display, research and design process and verbal presentation.
The team, which was accompanied to Coventry in England by Dubbo College teachers Jayne Ainsworth and Stan Zajac, created considerable interest in their vehicle by manufacturing their own wheels, a unique feat in the competition.
Teacher John Miller said the team vehicle needed to have head lamps, a tilt-sensor, lux sensor and buzzer, with students also designing and modifying the chassis, suspension, shell and drive train, as well as adding airless tyres and a towbar.
"Like the F1 in Schools challenge, the 4x4 technology challenge involved testing of the vehicle in appropriate conditions," he said.
"The Team Zircon four-wheel drive completed a course involving three sections of driving, including tackling obstacles, as well as a trailer-towing exercise."
The Dubbo College boys undertook a major fundraising drive to help pay their way to England for the competition. As well as gaining major sponsorship from Jaguar Land Rover, which holds naming rights to the competition, the boys received strong support from Dubbo businesses, as well as education and community organisations.
Team Zircon manager Sharik Burgess-Stride said the Dubbo College group was "over the moon" and still could not believe their success.
"We are slowly coming down to earth but we would really like to thank all of our sponsors, especially local businesses and organisations for their financial support, because without their backing we would not have been able to take part in the world competition," he said.
"We would also like to thank our teacher John Miller, who has put hours of time and lots of energy into this project, as well as teachers Jayne Ainsworth and Stan Zajac who happily spent their school holidays with us in Britain.
"Before we left we talked about stamping Dubbo on the world map and I think we can safely say we've pulled out all stops to represent our school and our community to the very best of our ability."