SINGAPORE : The Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore may be less than six months away, but a group of students has already won the race - the school version that is.

Leonard Teo, Chan Zheng Hao and Robin Peck from Tampines Secondary won the Best Sportsmanship Award at the 2008 "F1 in School" World Championships, held in Kuala Lumpur from March 18-20.

They competed against 25 teams from 15 other countries in designing and then racing their miniature F1 cars on a specially-designed 20-metre track.

Other countries taking part included Australia, China, France, Germany, Kuwait, South Africa, and the United States.

The team were taking part in the competition for the second time. They took 7th placing when the championship was held in Birmingham in 2006. - CNA/ms