Smithstown Light Engineering is proud to announce its commitment to support and sponsor students from Colaiste Muire, Ennis, as they compete in the prestigious F1 in Schools Ireland competition for the second year in a row. The all-female team, ‘Go Tapa Racing Team,’ consisting of Kayla Connellan, Megan Harding, Maddie O’Neill, Eimear O’Neill, and Jessica Byrne, is gearing up for this year’s challenge with the full backing of Smithstown Light Engineering.

The F1 in Schools programme is a global STEM initiative that encourages secondary school students to design, build, and race miniature Formula 1 cars, providing hands-on experience in engineering, project management, branding and teamwork.

Smithstown Light Engineering, a leader in precision component manufacturing for the medical device and orthopaedic sectors, has a history of supplying the Formula 1 industry. This experience makes the collaboration with ‘Go Tapa Racing Team’ a natural fit, as the company is eager to share its engineering expertise with the next generation of innovators.

Gerard Henn, CEO of Smithstown Light Engineering, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership: “We are delighted to support Colaiste Muire’s talented students once again as they take on the F1 in Schools competition. At Smithstown Light Engineering, we are passionate about fostering STEM education and inspiring young minds to explore engineering and technology. Given our company’s past experience with Formula 1, we are particularly excited to see how the students apply their skills and creativity in this competition.”

By participating in the challenge, the Go Tapa team are aiming to challenge stereotypes, be innovative, learn and win!

As the ‘Go Tapa Racing Team’ fine-tunes their designs and prepares for the national finals, Smithstown Light Engineering looks forward to supporting them throughout their journey and celebrating their achievements in this exciting competition.