Athlone students vie for spot at Singapore final with miniature F1 race cars
By Rebekah O'Reilly
Athlone students are set to vie for a place at the Singapore world final with their miniature F1 race car models, as they head to the 2026 STEM Racing Ireland National Finals in Kinsale.
Teams from Our Lady's Bower, Athlone Community College, and Marist College will compete at the event in Kinsale Sports and Community Centre on Tuesday, May 12.
These young engineers will go bumper to bumper to secure a place at the STEM Racing World Finals in Singapore, where over 80 teams representing 33 countries will showcase the top talent.
Among those taking on the challenge is a team from Our Lady's Bower, made up of students Anna O'Shea, Thanizhini Nalin Kumar Balaji, Drisha Gujjaru, and Poorvika Vimal Raj.
The girls secured €1,400 in funding from five sponsors, including their main sponsor DeltaQ who provided a total of €1,000, as well as Dovetail Technologies, Seery's Cash and Carry, Viking Tours, and Temple Printing.
"The miniature cars are powered by CO2 canisters at the back," said Thanizhini, who was responsible for the car’s design.
"They pop and propel the car forward. It took a lot of trial and error."
The team has been working on the project since September 2025, with support from their teacher Mr Grady.
"I think seeing the car come to life was the most exciting part," said Drisha.
"We faced plenty of obstacles along the way, but we got through them."
Students must follow a detailed 60-page set of regulations, and for many on the team the technical side was a new experience.
"A lot of the design software and 3D printing was completely new to us," said Thanizhini. "Personally, I had no idea how to design the casing, so it meant a lot of watching tutorials and figuring it out. Sometimes it crashed, but we got there in the end."
When asked where their interest in Formula One began, the team pointed to Poorvika, who said she grew up watching the sport with her father.
"I'm a big F1 fan, I've been watching it since I was two," she said, adding that she had hoped to take part in the STEM Racing Ireland competition since first year.
Her teammates Thanizhini and Drisha said their interest lay more in the technology side of the project.
"I'm handling the finance part because I’d like to go into that area in the future," said Anna.
She added that her older brother had taken part in STEM Racing Ireland in 2022, going all the way to the world finals in Singapore.
The all-female team also pointed to women in Formula One as a source of inspiration, including Scottish driver Susie Wolff and Hannah Schmitz, Head of Race Strategy with Oracle Red Bull Racing.
"It's great to see women breaking glass ceilings and moving up the ranks," said Poorvika.
The students also thanked Our Lady's Bower Principal Ms Anne Beades, Deputy Principal Ms Diane Windle, TY Year Head Ms Ciara Finneran, along with teachers Ms Kelly and Mr Grady, for their support throughout the project.