Day 4 Recap
Today we started 1,977km into the race, 45 km north of Cadney Homestead. We had an astonishingly quick day through the Cadney and Glendambo Control Stops. We cruised at between 91 km/hr and over 100 km/hr, which is marvelous considering that we ended Wednesday with an empty battery pack. Continuum covered 720 km and reached Port Augusta with an average speed of 92 km/hr for the day. We had our first flat tire and were able to change that tire in less than 8 minutes! Continuum has made up nearly 2 hours on Twente, at least another hour on the Southern Taiwan Solar Car Team, and about one hour on Solar World. At this point we are in, at worst, 13th place overall in the race. With 280km left, we will be starting the day at the Port Augusta control stop, where we arrived at 5:08pm today. Nuon arrived at the end of timing but they have not gone through the finish, and to our knowledge no other teams have reached the end of timing. It was another great day of racing and we’re excited to have made up nearly 8 hours on our closest competitors. The Team coming out of this race is so very different from the one that started it. Spirits are unbelievably high and everyone is greatly excited about how Continuum has performed in the first 2700km of the World Solar Challenge.
GO BLUE!!
Labels: WSC 2007 Season
Posted by Tom Carroll at 8:57 AM | Permalink |
17 comments
17 Comments:
when i told deanna on the day of the crash, i knew Continuum would finish the race, i never dreamed...
i agree with a post the other day - this is 'movie material'
many of us will be up late today watching/waiting for Continuum's finish.
on down the home stretch team!!!
You are doing fantastic work! I have been checking the blog many times each day to see how you're doing. I am proud to be associated with such a persistent, hardworking, and classy team! GO BLUE!
-Mark Eadie
2001 Race Crew
What you guys have done is truly inspiring! I can't wait to hear all the stories when you return. Keep up the good work, and Go Blue!
-Adam Smed.
I believe that I can speak for all of us on campus that how you have handled adversity is especially impressive and exemplifies what we mean be "Leaders and Best!" You are all Winners in my eyes!
Brian Gilchrist
Chair, Electrical and Computer Engineering
I'm failing to see how the car could be in 13th place. Going by the WSC blog, we're one of only five teams to reach Port Augusta... So we're no worse than 5th place, right?
Regardless, Go smooth, fast and safe, and Go blue :)
Each team stayed in the Alice Spring checkpoint for a different length of time. Nuna was there for over a day, and we were there for only 30 minutes. We even left Alice Springs before some teams ahead of us.
That makes these last two days even more impressive because the teams in front of us were able to get a full battery charge in Alice Springs, and we are still going faster.
When checking the WSC blog, one needs to remember about Alice Springs. For the Challenge Class, the three leaders (Nuon, Umicore & Aurora) were released from Alice Springs with the same time spacing as they arrived. Teams after that were released every ten minutes (including us). Therefore, if we pass a team and cross the finish line before them, they may still place higher than us. In the end, it is based on elapsed time.
Alex Dowling
Interim Strategy Director
Michigan Solar Car Team
It's by elapsed race time - Michigan didn't get to stop at Alice Springs, so they were accumulating race time while other teams were sitting... In the challenge class, that would put them in 9th, behind Twente.
Nice job team; I'm happy you were able to pull something out of this race and demonstrate some of the new technologies you've developed.
Robert Vogt IV
Strategy Director
Michigan '03 & '05
I think the issue is that it's possible that teams behind us in physical position are ahead of us in terms of cumulative elapsed time because other teams were held at the "control stop" in Alice Springs (during which time the race clock was not ticking...unline when Michigan was repairing it's car in Darwin) for a period of time whilst Michigan was not.
We remember the mental toughness and sharpness of the 2005 team in challenging NASC penalties to retain the lead. They kept cool heads in the WSC during the road train debris incident when they astutely used the rules to get the driver out of the car without penalty. Their execution was IMPRESSIVE!
Team Continuum, what you are accomplishing takes overcoming adversity to a higher level -- AMAZING! From CEOs to receptionists, your tenacity and prowess is being admired. We are proud of you, praying for you, and excited to see how high you will excel.
No wonder a wolverine can take on a bear.
Rita & Dean Wisniewski
Hail, hail to Michigan, their mechanics are the best!
-TC Lambert (tclambert@gmail.com)
Keep up the great work guys and gals. I wish you the best on the last leg of the race. You truly are doing amazingly well.
I can't wait to see the final results and celebrate your success along with you. I wish I could be in Adelaide celebrating, rather than half a world away.
I can't wait to hear all the stories from the road first hand.
-Dave Masselink
05 Race Crew
According to the "Day 3 Update," Michigan "had 10 hours and 2 minutes of down time from repairs during the first 2 days of the race." It also coincidentally said Continuum was officially 10 hours and 2 minutes behind Umicore. Does that mean Michigan's real elapsed racing time equals the team in second place? Still not enough to catch Nuna4. Does that 10 hour, 2 minute figure include the electrical problems during the Dunmarra leg of the race?
In other words, without the crash and with a clean run, could you maybe possibly have dethroned the Dutch powerhouse from Delft?
Anyone up for a rematch?
-TC Lambert
For those dieing for an update...
Preliminary information indicates that the crew hopes to finish the race in about 1 hour. They are currently going as fast as possible, only limited by the speed limit and traffic. Once they cross the finish line and we receive confirmation, Tom will post on the blog.
Alex Dowling
Interim Strategy Director
Michigan Solar Car Team
Just talked to Deanna,they have 10kms to go to hit the timing area.
WSC blog says Michigan and TIGA reached Angle Vale 11:35 AM local time. That's about 10:05 here.
WSC provisional results have Michigan and Ashiya University both at Angle Vale at 11:33.
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