So serious that the 18-year-old quit school to devote herself full-time to the F1 in Schools World Championships.

Ms Winter was enrolled in year 13 at Launceston College but decided to quit last month after the PentaGliders (a group of ex- Brooks High students) won the national F1 in Schools championships.

Over the next few months Ms Winter, who is team and marketing manager, needs to raise $20,000 to get herself and teammates Tristan McCarthy, 17, Nathan Clark, 18, and Jack Ball, 17, to Malaysia.

There is also the small matter of designing a new car, redesigning their website and meeting extra competition requirements.

"We are pushing the limits at the moment," Ms Winter said.

"We thought we'd never actually get through (the nationals), so we're still trying to process all of that."

With little time to waste, a typical day for Ms Winter starts at 6.30am and can end at midnight.

"I haven't stopped since we got back from the nationals (in Sydney)," she said. "The level of professionalism goes up every year, so we don't know exactly what the standard is going to be like in Malaysia. We'll just have to prepare as best as we can."

Mr McCarthy said work had begun on modifying their winning car and a complete redesign.

Co-ordinator Murat Djakic said other schools and the wider community were starting to appreciate what the Pentagliders had achieved. At past world championships there had been prizes including an engineering scholarship for the University of London, and competitors had been offered jobs.

FACT FILE

WHAT: Fund-raising dinner for the PentaGliders, the Australian F1 in Schools 2011 national champions.

WHERE: Tailrace Centre.

WHEN: Saturday, May 28.

HOW: Formal dress. Tickets: $50. Details: Andrew, 0428 267 233.