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Young drivers at the Dwight School Festival of Speed held at Dubai Autodrome. Image Credit: Supplied

Dubai: Dwight School Dubai has submitted “the first all-girls team from the UAE” to the global ‘F1 in Schools’ challenge.

The Grade 9 students – Stella Langenbach, Romy Wegmann, Amber-Rose McCauley, Sofia Langthjem, Leila Taylor-Damouni and Chiara Pistilli – have been tasked with manufacturing and racing a miniature F1 car of the future.

The team, named ‘Ultraviolet Racing’, have secured Al Tayer Motors, the official Maserati import-dealer in the UAE, as a sponsor that will be supporting them throughout the process.

The team will also receive guidance from Rayyah Fathalla, director of the ‘Centre of Excellence for Arabic Language Culture and The Arts’, who is also a member of the first all-female ‘GCC Karting’ team.

To help drive awareness of the challenge, Ultraviolet Racing hosted the Dwight School Festival of Speed on December 8 at the Dubai Autodrome. Children aged seven and higher upwards took part in a morning of racing fun. Spectators and drivers were also invited to visit Dwight School Dubai, where activities included a chance to take photos in a Maserati car, a racing movie, among others.

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Grade 9 pupils Chiara Pistilli, Sofia Langthjem, Amber-Rose McCauley and Romy Wegmann. Image Credit: Supplied

Dwight School Dubai student Leila, 13, said: “Entering the F1 in Schools challenge as an all-girls team was an important decision for us. In a male-dominated industry, we want to inspire and empower other girls to take part in engineering and motorsports. We are excited for the challenge and have enjoyed the experience so far.”

Jad Elias, Vice President Sales – Maserati, Al Tayer Motors, said: “We were quite impressed with Ultraviolet Racing’s game-plan for the F1 in Schools challenge and are pleased to support this courageous all-girls team. We wish them all success in the competition.”

Janecke Aarnaes, head of school for Dwight School Dubai, said: “We are extremely proud of the Ultraviolet Racing team and their achievements so far. The students have been inspired to build upon their learning of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths to compete in the challenge and have already impressed our community with their innovative thinking. With an all-female senior leadership team at Dwight School Dubai, we champion girls to realise their dreams in any sector they wish. We will continue to support them every step of the way.”

With the help of Dwight School Dubai’s Spark Tank, Ultraviolet Racing will compete against 20 million students from over 40 countries in the 2019 series.