The PentaGliders, a group of past Brooks High School students, have just returned from winning the national F1 In Schools Technology Challenge in Sydney this week.

Marketing and team manager Amy Winter, 18, and teammates Tristan McCarthy, 17, Nathan Clark, 18, and Jack Ball, 17, spent months designing, manufacturing and promoting their model formula one car.

They beat 10 other teams across the country to win the professional class championships.

The team won the award for fastest car in their category with a speed of 1.068 seconds (over the 20-metre track) as well as the most energy- efficient car.

Ms Winter said the national final was a completely different ball game to the state finals.

"The levels go up each and every year and it was so professional this year," she said.

"When our name was called out it was the best feeling in the world."

Ms Winter said The PentaGliders' car was a completely different design to the others in the competition.

"When we took it up to the judges they said `we've never seen anything like this before'."

She said that they were also building and selling wheel kits which they sold to other teams during the competition.

"We came up with a way to get not only our team but other teams' cars down the track in a more efficient and faster way," she said.

Ms Winter said that their wheels were smaller which allowed them to run faster and smoother than other designs.

Co-ordinator Murat Djakic said the F1 In Schools Technology Challenge was an ongoing project for the group, despite having left Brooks High School.