How to start with IR with Maqueen

Hello, we've been using the micro:bit radio module to send messages to maqueens. It works, but I am getting the feeling it would work better with IR. Does the maqueen (v1 maqueen, v1 microbit) have IR sensing built in? Can I use any off-the-shelf IR remote? I thought I remembered seeing a maqueen-specific IR library but I can't find it. Basically just want to add IR control to my current fleet of original V1 maqueens! Thanks!