The University of Michigan Solar Car Team Blog

Momentum in Aruba, Day 2-3

2009-03-15T02:47:00.005-04:00

Day two was again filled with radio shows, interviews, and a large press conference held outside of the AVP offices. The press conference was videotaped and photographed by what seemed to be every media outlet in Aruba. The prime time news on ATV (Aruba TV) even featured Jeff and I speaking about our car in a five minute long segment that they had advertised for all throughout the day.

Aruba surly has been excited about our presence. So far, we have been featured live on three radio shows, and have graced the front page of three daily newspapers (which may in fact be every newspaper in all of Aruba). The Diario (translated as the Daily Diary),even published a political cartoon featuring our solar car.

Following the press conference, the team was finally able to enjoy the island.We were treated to a lovely meal on a pier outstretched over the gentile rolling waves on the western coast of Aruba. Our new best friend, Sylvia, has put up with the four of us for the past few days, serving as our personal tour guide and taxi driver.We even had to dig her car out the sand on the beach, but don't tell her. Among the 300 plus motorcycles cruising the strip, we treated ourselves to some much needed relaxation time with the other college students who aren't just pretending they are on spring break.

The sun in Aruba is intense to say the least. We were able to charge all of MomentUM's batteries in record time during the morning of day three. The team spend most of the day displaying the car in Paseo Herencia. Hundreds of tourists and locals alike were amazed with the car and that we were all the way in Aruba promoting clean energy and the University of Michigan.

About 5 hours ago, we completed something that has never been done by a Michigan Solar Car:Race in a 1/4 mile drag race. Street racing is extremely popular in Aruba and tonight was "Street Legal" night at the track. We did get a strange look from the track officials when we pulled up with the solar car, but after a quick chat, they shut down all the racing to see Momentum Ripping down the track. OK, ripping may have been a poor word choice. I am proud to announce four records currently held by Momentum at Palomarta Dragstrip.

1. Fastest time every by a solar powered car.

2. First ever solar car on the track.

3. Most Fuel Efficient (no oil spilled, and no rubber left behind) car ever on the track.

and finally, the record we will be most remembered for...

4. Slowest Vehicle ever to complete a pass.
Our official numbers were 30.42 sec at 56.94 MPH and as far as we know, that is a world record.

Tomorrow the team plans on relaxing on the beach and cruising the island on some quad racers. Don't worry we won't forget the sunscreen.

Blog has moved!

2009-03-13T12:53:00.003-04:00

Please view our blog at our new website.

Blog can be found under the "News" tab.

Momentum arrives in Aruba!

2009-03-13T03:07:00.004-04:00

More than three years after MomentUM (our 2005 car) traveled to Australia to compete in the 2005 World Solar Challenge, MomentUM is once again back on the road! Invited by Mike Eman and the AVP, four team members have traveled with the car to Aruba to promote green energy. We are proud to be the first solar car in Aruba, and will be travling across the country this upcoming wed in celebration of the Aruban National Holiday and Flag day.

The four of us arrive in Aruba

After arriving late last night and spening a few hours touring the office and meeting Mike, we retired in preperation for a busy day today.

Joe Belter, Jeff Ferman, David Mazur, and David Masselink at the AVP office.

This morning we traveled from interview to interview before heading out for a late lunch. We were featured live on two radio stations! We then spent the afternoon ensuring the car survived the journey (which it did) and preparing the car for upcoming events. After test driving the car, we are ready for tomorrow's press release.

The first radio station we visited.

David Masselink opens the crate to check on the car.

And now I'm going to head back inside and leave my nice lounge chair by the pool.

A view from my lounge chair of the pool at the apartment we are staying in.

Updates from Mechanical Division

2009-03-11T00:18:00.003-04:00

The mechanical engineers have been working hard to finalize designs. Most parts have been sent out to machinists and CAD work has not been as intense. Thanks to Altair, analysis of more complex systems such as the chassis has been made easier.

After many nights in the computer lab, we are eager to start hands-on work and build the car!
However, a car alone will not win championships. There are still mechanical systems to be designed that help the car race. As exams roll around again, we will be maintaining a delicate balance of school, construction of Infinium, and design work of secondary systems.

New Website!

2009-03-10T00:47:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow morning, the new website for the Michigan Solar Car Team will be launched. (The address will stay the same). Check out the photo Gallery to view pictures from the 2008 North American Solar Challenge, our visit to the Ford World Headquarters, the 2009 North American International Auto Show, and the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise.

More content will be coming soon!

Thank you Steven Hechtman, Maria Lee, and Lukas Pankau for all of the hard work that went into creating the site.

Michigan Solar Car Featured in April Issue of Popular Mechanics

2009-03-09T00:09:00.003-04:00

Solar car supporters and fans,

Check out the April edition of Popular Mechanics for a four-page story on the Michigan Solar Car Team!

"Spring" "Break" in Ann Arbor

2009-03-05T12:11:00.005-05:00

It is now the first week back after Spring Break and the team is once again getting used to juggling solar car work with classes. Although the 30 degree weather hardly reminded us of spring, and most of the team spent over 12 hours a day working at the team's workspace or office, spring break was very productive and a lot of fun.

The team was happy to have a break from the pressure of school in order to move the production of the car full force ahead. The body of the car is currently well on its way to completion and many parts have been machined by our sponsors. We are currently on time to meet our projected late April roll date which will give us sufficient time for testing before leaving for Australia.

In the office, the administrative side of the team was very busy. Early in the week the office was stocked with food and Monday morning at 8:30, we moved in for the week. Calls and meetings happened each day between 8am and 5pm. After 5 when business hours were over, the iPod or Pandora station was turned on and follow-up e-mails and proposals were written, company research was conducted, and print materials were worked on. Progress was also made on the team’s new website. (Look for a new page by this weekend or early next week!)

The team worked hard over throughout the week, but some time was saved for fun. Overall, we got to know each other a lot better and became a stronger team. On Wednesday night we took a break and all came together to watch a movie and eat pizza.

This weekend the weather report predicts we are going to be taunted with the hope of spring. 50 degrees weather is no Cancun sun, but it is a nice change from the frigid winter. For everyone who came back from Spring Break tan, we probably don’t want to hear about. : )

Gerald Chang and Jeremy Nash

Jeremy Nash

- Julia Hawley, Business Director

Susan Fancy reconnects with the organization she founded

2009-02-26T18:56:00.007-05:00

Rachel Unger, Steven Hechtman, Susan Fancy, Julia Hawley, Alex Dowling
Outside of the Solar Car Office

Today was an exciting day at the Solar Car office. Susan Fancy, who founded the first Michigan Solar Car Team, Sunrunner, visited North Campus in order to meet with the Executive Committee of the 2009 team. After 20 years, it was amazing to hear stories about starting the solar car project and the struggles and successes the Sunrunner team faced.

The stories Susan told left us with a new appreciation for how lucky the Infinium team is to have the respect and credibility gained by each successive team. Although there was vast difference between the 1990 and 2009 teams, we realized that there are many things that have not changed at all. We identified with the sleepless nights and the struggles of helping people understand what we are attempting to do. We also found that culture of fearlessness and determination that we embody was passed on to us from the the very first members of the team.

Meeting Susan was an invaluable opportunity for the leaders of the team. Her desire for us to beat the record of the 1990 team that won the North American race and place third in the World, brought a new dimension to what we were trying to accomplish. Although each of us is passionate about winning the world race, we remembered that we aren't just doing it for ourselves. We are doing it for each person that dedicated a part of their life to get us where we are today. We owe a World Championship to them as much as we owe it to ourselves.

As the tenth generation car is being built, we are reaching out to connect with alumni to celebrate the history of the team. The energy and knowledge the 2009 team can gain from the people that came before us is unbounded. I hope that team alumni around the world will reach out to us to help us make our bid at a World Championship possible.

Susan, thank you again for dropping by and for inspiring us on a whole new level. We are lucky to have such incredible people we can call "solar car family."

- Julia Hawley, Business Director

MIT Solar Car Team vists Michigan

2009-01-28T01:52:00.007-05:00

Last week, the team had the privilege of hosting a few members of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Solar Car Team. The MIT team traveled from Boston to do wind tunnel testing on the vehicle they are planning to race in the World Solar Challenge.

After the usual General Team Meeting last Monday, about 20 members from the University of Michigan Solar Car Team enjoyed dinner at Grizzly Peak in downtown Ann Arbor with the members of the MIT team. It was exciting to get together with another team to get a perspective on how the solar car programs around the country differ. The two teams shared stories giving both teams an inside look at different team structures and philosophies.

After their 4 year hiatus, the MIT team will be competing in the World Solar Challenge this fall with their new vehicle, Eleanor. They also plan on completing a cross-country trip in their car from Boston to California (hopefully, stopping the visit the UM team again on their way!) to see their car off to Australia.

The University of Michigan Solar Car Team wishes the MIT the best of luck and looks forward to seeing them in the Outback this fall.

To learn more about the M.I.T solar car team, click the following link: http://web.mit.edu/solar-cars/www

Solar Car at North American International Auto Show in Detroit

2009-01-12T02:20:00.014-05:00

GM Press Event

Yesterday was the opening day of the Preview Week at the North American International Auto Show.

This year instead of being surrounded by companies and other student projects in Michigan Hall in the basement of COBO, the team's display is in the middle of a forest! The team was given a large space next to the "Ride and Drive" event featuring environmentally friendly "green" cars that can be driven through a course with grown trees, gardens, and fountains.

I would like to thank everyone who helped make the Auto Show possible this year. The team received an incredible amount of support from the community and our friends at COBO. First of all, thank you to Marilyn Doebler at the Detroit Auto Dealers Association for her continued support and her generosity in providing the team a space at the show. We are truly grateful for the experience of participating in such an incredible event.

Continuum at the Auto Show

I would also like to thank:

Colleen Weir and Motor City Electric for supporting the team and for being so eager to help the team with the electrical set-up for the show.

Convention and Show Services for being so welcoming and providing the team with stanchions to help protect the car.

Bobby Whiting for helping with logistical arrangements for move-in and move-out and for offering extra support when the team was in search of more sponsors for the display.

Kathy Newman with the Credentials Office for being understanding and accommodating with the schedules of busy College students.

WAP John and Grafaktri for stepping in to provide the team with beautiful display boards that will be used over and over again. The boards are invaluable in helping the team display our message to everyone who passes by the display. WAP John

Patrick Quiggin McNabb for providing the carpet for the very large display.

John Marxhausen and Alex Mills at Blue Water Technologies for providing the TVs and DVD players for the display. Without the support of Blue Water, the team would not be able to provide the inside glimpse into the team that the slide show, Continiuum movie, and the solar car racing simulator facilitate.

Scott Meier at The Kelsey Museum of Archeology for lending the team display cases to showcase parts of the car and a wind tunnel model. We are appreciative that we are able to display the parts that our sponsors so graciously machined for us.

The Michigan Student Assembly for helping the team purchase print materials.

Chito Garcia, simply for being Chito, an invaluable support to the team.

Finally, thank you to everyone on the team who helped with procurement, logistics, move-in, and staffing. I hope you enjoy the show!

Public days for the North American International Auto Show are the 17th-25th of January. We hope to see you there!

A walk through the display (Sorry about the camera flip)

*More pictures to come!*

Michigan Big Blue Bike Auction

2008-12-17T10:56:00.009-05:00

Dear Michigan Fans,

On Saturday, January 10^th, you will have a chance to bid on the “Big Blue Bike” as it is auctioned off at the 18^th Annual Antique and Special Interest Motorcycle Auction in Las Vegas. Custom built by Orange County Chopper, the “Big Blue Bike” is the ultimate Michigan motorcycle for those who bleed Maize and Blue. The one-of-a-kind bike was built over two episodes of the Orange Country Chopper series on the Discovery Chanel and is a T-Rex Rigid, right-side drive, 6-up, 5-out chopper with a 40 degree rake.

The auction is accessible from around the world over the internet, via the phone, or in person. The proceeds from the bike auction will benefit the University of Michigan Solar Car Team and the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.

The solar car team is the biggest student run organization on the campus of the University of Michigan. Each project cycle spans two years and brings together more than two hundred students from every corner of the University. The students work together to design, build, finance, and race the car across North America and the Australian outback. The project gives students an unparalleled real-world experience of leadership and teamwork in a corporate-like environment. (www.umsolar.com)

Mott’s hospital is nationally ranked in seven pediatric specialty areas while also offering the mental, emotional and spiritual care children need. Mott’s is recognized as a hospital that takes the whole patient into mind, keeping all emotional and physical needs as a top priority. (http://www.med.umich.edu/mott/)

The “Big Blue Bike” is just one of many motorcycles available at the auction. Enclosed you will find the “Big One,” a catalog featuring the “Big Blue Bike” plus 64 pages of other motorcycles. Please consider placing a bid on the bike to benefit both the Mott’s hospital and the Solar Car Team.

For more information, please visit www.gobluebike.com or visit the auction website directly at www.midamericaauctions.com.

Thank You rushImprint!

2008-12-17T10:24:00.001-05:00

We would like to specially recognize and thank Michael Broudy at
rushImprint for supporting the team. He has donated global flying discs
which will be used to promote the University of Michigan Solar Car Team
this January at the North American International Auto Show.

www.rushimprint.com

Thank you InkHead!

2008-12-09T15:22:00.012-05:00

The University of Michigan Solar Car Team would like to thank Jason Miller and InkHead for their generous sponsorship of the team. InkHead has provided the team with promotional items, including water bottles and drawstring bags, for the North American International Auto Show this January where hundreds of thousands of people will see Continuum on display.

Inkhead sells promotional products including:

Personalized Pens
Custom Water Bottles
Custom Backpack

Once again, we’d like to thanks Jason and InkHead for their support!

Congratulations to the Core Members!

2008-10-28T17:49:00.011-04:00

Tonight the team accepted the second round of members into the Core Group.

The UMSolar Core Group is comprised of the team's most driven and involved members, dedicated to achieving the team’s vision while upholding a positive culture and atmosphere. Core members are selected to this exclusive group for their initiative in furthering their own knowledge, participating actively in team events, contributing to a championship-caliber team, and maintaining personal qualities of the highest order. The Core Group demands great levels of commitment and ingenuity to achieve success. In return for their efforts, Core Group members will receive unparalleled benefits and opportunities from the team.

In addition to filling out a detailed application, the students accepted to the Core Group fulfilled divisional requirements and demonstrated a strong commitment and passion to their division leader.

We were impressed by the number of applicants to the Core Group, and would like to thank all of those who applied.

Infinium 2009 Core Group members:

Executive Committee
Alex Dowling, Strategy Director
Chris Hilger, Sourcing Director
John Federspiel, Engineering Director
Julia Hawley, Business Director
Steven Hechtman, Project Manager

Engineering Division
Adolphus Lim
Akihiro Suzuki
Apoorva Bansal
Brian Whitney
Chris Verga
Deeana Ijaz
Dylan Reitzel
Eric Relson
Ethan Stark
Gabriel Arroyo
Jeremy Nash
Jonathan McNutt
Kapil Sawlani
Kevin Zhang
Lokesh Janarthanam
Matt Van Eck
Sam Haberl
Scott Coblitz
Shivang Naik
Shoichiro Suzuki
Sudeep Rohatgi
Tanya Das
Ted Goldstein
Tom Fick
Ying Yi Lim
Zhaori Cong

Business Division
Anthony Chen
Blaine Riley
Brian Pak
Demian Lee
Jyo Sinha
Kevin Yeh
Maria Lee
Philip Kim
Sarah Avellar
Shreyas Hirekhan
Steve Durbin

Operations Division
Ethan Lardner
Nancy Tseng
Rachel Unger

Strategy Division
Aubrey da Cunha
Josh Feldman
Santosh Kumar

Team Visits an Amazing Maize Maze

2008-10-24T00:32:00.017-04:00

Two Fridays ago, myself and a group of my teammates went to a local corn maze to relax and enjoy the fall season. Below are some pictures from the visit:

The group before entering the maze. Jeff Rogers was entertaining us with his Frankenstein impression.

Us navigating through the maze.

Afterwards a number of us headed to Steve's apartment to surprise him with a birthday cake.

Steve extinguishing the flames.

Now time to get back to coding...

- Alex Dowling, Strategy Director

A Formal Introduction to Infinium

2008-10-10T09:23:00.005-04:00

Over the summer months a small group spent countless hours in the Wilson Center conference room developing goals and dreams in order to create a unique image for the Infinium project. Looking at past teams for inspiration, we created a mission and vision statement that reflected the specific goals we were determined to accomplish. These meetings set the stage for the entire project. We challenged ourselves to think outside of the usual solar car standards to create a project that went beyond solar racing. This is how the image for the Infnium project was born.

Motto: Infinium 2009: No Limit

We wanted the team motto to be something inspirational, something that encouraged everyone not only to challenge themselves to be the best, but to be better than the best. We wanted each person on the team to embody the idea that when you absolutely dedicate yourself, anything is possible.

Vision: To be the best solar car team in the world, leading in performance and innovation.

We want to be the team that is known for creative innovations. A team that thrives under pressure and is never satisfied until our goals are met or exceeded. We will never take “no” as an answer.

Mission: The University of Michigan Solar Car Team is comprised of the most talented and driven members of the University from a wide array of disciplines. By developing the best traits within each student, these individuals unite as a team in pursuit of unprecedented excellence. The team implements cutting-edge technology and creative innovations to produce and race a world-class solar car. Extending beyond racing, the team reaches out to the local, national, and international communities. Through partnership with the best companies and individuals, the team's internal strength translates into external success, driving it to be the best solar car program in the world.

Break down by section:

1. “…the most talented and driven members of the University…”
With the ambitious goal of taking first in the World Solar Challenge, we knew that we had our work cut out for us and we were going to need a stellar team in order to build the best car possible and win the World Championship. We looked for the best and the brightest students at the University in order to build the strongest team.

2. “By developing the best traits within each student…”
This is one of the most important parts of the Mission Statement, a new commitment to the students on the team. We took a hard look at the history of the Solar Car project and found that where many of the past teams broke down was lack of support for the students involved. The Solar Car project is almost impossible to pull off. Each project cycle, there is a group of students on the team that dedicate their lives to the project and make a promise to themselves and their teammates that they won’t stop until the project succeeds. It is because of these students that the project is where it is today, but the team takes a lot out of them. Balancing school and other responsibilities while putting in anywhere from 50-100 hours a week, is not a small feat. This year we are making an effort to support these students academically, professionally, and give them a support system. The Solar Car Team now has study hours, professional development such as resume reviews, communication and behavioral training sessions, and guest speakers, as well as team bonding events to create a stronger community within the team.

3. “…cutting edge technology…”
This goes back to the vision statement. In order to win the world race, we are going to have to make sure we are always thinking outside of the box and making sure that we are using the best technology and cultivating creativity within the members of the team.

4. “…the team reaches out to local, national, and international communities…”
The Infinium project wants to have a bigger commitment to the community. We are well aware that our project would not be possible without the help from many generous people and we want to make sure that we are giving back. We wish to teach the public about alternative energy and engineering and to inspire people to “think green.”

5. “….partnership with the best companies and individuals…”
This project is only possible because of the incredible support it gets from people all over the world. Without our sponsors, alumni, and fans, there is no way we would be the most successful solar car team in North America. Even the dream of winning the World Solar Challenge would not be possible without each person who has donated time, money, or resources to this project. Thank you!

Infinium 2009: No Limit.

Go Fast, Go Smooth, Go Blue!

Solar Car goes to the Ford World Headquarters

2008-09-02T01:11:00.014-04:00

As a team we have the pleasure of sharing our car and experience with many people, but it is not every day that the Executive Chairman of one of our biggest corporate supporters gets under the hood for a good look.

On August 18^th the Solar Car Team visited the Ford World Headquarters for a reception with representatives from the Ford Motor Company and the University. Solar Car members mingled with Ford executives and University members sharing their experience on the team and stories from the race.

Both Dean Munson and Steven Hechtman thanked Ford for the support they have given the team over the history of the project and presented Ford with a framed photo of the team.

Bill Ford Jr. made a special appearance to the reception and was very interested in the project. Steve walked him through the systems in the car and told him about the innovations Continuum made. Mr. Ford asked a lot of questions and was impressed with the work that went into the project and how applicable the technology was to the automotive industry. It was very exciting for us to see that there was genuine interest and respect for our project throughout the company.

Steven Hechtman and Bill Ford Jr.

Steven Hechtman and Julia Hawley presenting Bill Ford Jr. with a picture of the team

We would like to thank all of our contacts at Ford for the support and for making this event happen. It was an honor to have the car on display at Ford. This project would not be possible without the in-kind and financial support that Ford provides.

A special thanks to Brad Simmons, Jim Vella, Scott Low, Ed Krause, and all of the other Ford representatives for their continued support and for making this event happen. Your help is invaluable.

Thank you also to Thomas Wojnowski for the fantastic pictures!

Solar Taxi Visits Ann Arbor

2008-08-29T23:27:00.006-04:00

Last week, the Solar Taxi visited Ann Arbor as part of the team's tour around the world. The United States was the 28th country visited by the taxi in a journey of 50,000 kilometers ending at the World Climate Change Conference in Poland.

View of the Solar Taxi's array sponsored by Q Cell

During the visit, Louis Palmer, the Taxi's initiator, tour director, and driver, gave a presentation to an audience of students and Ann Arbor locals. Following the presentation, Louis allowed anyone to drive the Taxi around the block. Of course, a few solar car members eagerly took advantage of the opportunity.

Louis explains to Julia Hawley how to drive the Taxi

Jeff Rogers takes a turn behind the wheel

John Federspiel parks the taxi

2008-08-23T09:54:00.006-04:00

On Saturday August 16^th, Continuum was on the roads again, but this time slowing cruising down Woodward Avenue in Detroit Michigan. Continuum participated in the 15^th annual Woodward Dream Cruise, an event that attracts over 1.5 million people and more than 40,000 cars.

People spend the day sitting in lawn chairs lining the side of the road to witness the antique and exotic car cruise. We saw many cars ranging from old Mustangs to Lamborghinis, but I think I can safely say that we were the most unique and expensive car on the road.

The best part of the whole day was hearing people’s reactions as we drove by, “HOLY COW! IT’S A SPACESHIP!”

Steve Driving down Woodward Ave.
(Picture courtesy of Roman Halanski, Jr.)

Jeffery Ferman was confused when we stopped at the gas station to stretch our legs

Look at the Porsche checking us out!!!

The Dream Cruise was a great experience. We had so much fun walking next to the car and talking to the people on the streets. Thank you to all of the parents that waited for us as we slowly made our way. It was great to have fans along the way!

I hope that we will be able to participate again next year!

Go Fast! Go Smooth! Go Blue!

Team Travels to Traverse City for Management Seminar

2008-08-18T19:35:00.009-04:00

This past week, several students on the team traveled to Traverse City for a week long event at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa. Our team was able talk to many key executives all across the automotive industry, which allowed each to gain insight to effective leadership and management skills.

Our team had a display set up all week, which showed off Continuum, the 2008 NASC Championship Trophy, as well as many of our machined parts. Everyone at the event enjoyed seeing the car, and learning about the team. Our sponsors also enjoyed the exposure that was generated from the event.

A special thanks to Dave Cole, Debbie Schilz, and all of CAR (Center for Automotive Research) for providing our team with the resources to make the trip happen. More details about the event can be found here

As stated above, we were able to make many invaluable connections, including the opportunity to speak with both Jennifer Granholm and Ted Strickland, Governors of Michigan and Ohio respectively.

Pictures with the Governors can be seen below:

Michigan Governor, Jennifer Granholm offers to take a picture
with the Team

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Lt. Governor Lee Fisher
take a picture with the rest of the team and Continuum

2008 Race Manager, Jeff Ferman and
2009 Business Director, Julia Hawley explain to
Governor Ted Strickland the technology
used in solar racing

Team wins multiple awards

2008-07-25T17:58:00.002-04:00

In addition to winning the 2008 North American Solar Challenge, our
team won a few other awards. With hundreds of team members, family
members, and sponsors in attendance at the awards ceremony this past
Wednesday, a wonderful meal and ceremony were put on at the Calgary Zoo by
SolarWorld, The University of Calgary, and NASC.

Many awards were given including observer awards and 15 other
important awards that range from best mechanical system to the spirit
of the event award.

The observers award each team with one "paper-plate" humor style
award. This year our team was awarded a "Divining Rod" for our
persistence in finding water at almost each charging location. Our
divining rod is made up of two sticks taped to a third that will point
the user in the direction of a body of water. Hopefully this will be
useful in Australia this upcoming October! By finding any natural
pond, puddle, lake, we were able to dramatically increase the amount
of energy we were able to capture. This helped us to fill our battery pack
multiple times throughout the race.

As for the main awards from NASC, we were given two of the 15 awards.
In addition to winning the 2008 North American Solar Challenge, our
team was awarded the teamwork award. The officials presented this
award to us because of the incredible sense of team and responsibility
that each team member showed throughout the entire event. Dan Eberle,
Race Organizer, explained that he saw team members who knew what they
were doing at all times and were respectful and attentive to what
needed to be done. In addition, the general team attitude was viewed
as being healthy and relaxed while paying special attention to every
detail. This award means quite a bit to the team. Team work has
always been an issue that this team has dealt with and has been
something we have worked hard to achieve over the past year. By
running hundreds of drills and spending many days of testing on the
open road, our team was able to embody the meaning of this award.

Winning the North American Solar Challenge twice in a row is something
this team has been unable to achieve since 1990 and 1993. This,
coupled with the teamwork award, shows the renewed emphasis of members
spanning multiple projects. Congrats to all Michigan Solar Car
members, alumni, sponsors, family, and friends.

Media Post

2008-07-24T15:38:00.002-04:00

As the team travels back to Ann Arbor there are news articles sprouting up everywhere about the race and Michigan's victory. If you find a news article please post it as a comment to this post for everyone to see and also so the team can have an accurate record of all media coverage. Please keep comments on this post to media only.

Thanks!

The Five-time National Champions!

2008-07-22T15:34:00.003-04:00

According to the Team, they have just passed inspection and crossed the finish line. Congratulations to everyone!

More details to follow.

In Calgary!

2008-07-22T14:57:00.003-04:00

One last post before we finish. We are currently in Calgary driving downtown with traffic. 5 miles out!

Go Fast, Go Smooth, Go BLUE!

30 km to go!

2008-07-22T14:15:00.001-04:00

We are down to 30 km left of the 2008 North American Solar Challenge. We have already seen many groups of people on the side of the road cheering us on and taking pictures. With reports from Scout and Weather we expect lots more lining the streets and highway ramps as we near the city. And now just over 30 or so minutes to go.

An Update from Chase

2008-07-22T13:08:00.014-04:00

As I ride along in Chase for the last stretch of the rayce, I would like to take a few minutes to thank all of our team sponsors, especially those who help my Division: Strategy.

Computers
Computational power is one of the greatest tools of Michigan Strategists. During the race Strategists run simulations to help determine the optimal speed to run Continuum. A special thanks to Acer America, Computer Builder's Warehouse, Red Barn Computers, Intel, and CAEN for providing the team with laptops, desktop computers and servers for the race.

GPS
One of the keys to Michigan's success race strategy is accurate GPS and route information. Topcon provided the team with GPS equipment, which in conjunction with a correction service from OmniStar was used to gather sub-meter accurate data for the entire race route. This helped us plan ahead and save extra energy in the battery for those nasty hills.

Software Development
For this race, Michigan Strategists used mainly MATLAB and Visual Studio for software development. A special thanks to The MathWorks and Microsoft for providing licenses for their respective software suites.

Computer Peripherals
Even with the fanciest computer and superb software tools, it is difficult to run a race without all of the small computer peripherals and accessories. Cables Unlimited, Alternative Wireless, Targus and Sewell Direct helped provide the team with top of the line products including Serial-USB adapters, cellular antennas, laptop power cords, portable harddrive enclosures and other such things.

Testing
Another key to Michigan's successful strategy is detail testing of Continuum. Testing was done on both a system and vehicle level. A special thanks to Carlisle Belts for providing timing pulleys and belts and Visteon for donating a dynamometer to the team; both were used to characterize Continuum's new CSIRO motor last summer. Performance of Continuum was characterized on Dana's and Chrysler's test tracks and at Michigan International Speedway. Continuum has also recently visited Jacob s' and Chrysler’s wind tunnels. This testing was essential for Michigan Strategists to understand the performance of Continuum; it enabled us to drive fast without worrying (too much) about draining the battery back.

Wireless Communication
Continuum utilizes Motorola’s MESH technology to wirelessly transfer data from Continuum to Lead and Chase. Michigan Strategists monitor telemetry data from Continuum throughout the race and compare its performance to their predictive models. MESH worked flawlessly for the team this NASC.

Unfortunately due to my poor internet connection crossing the Canadian prairie, I am unable to post pictures right now.

-Alex
Head Strategist

A few more updates

2008-07-22T12:22:00.001-04:00

With quite a bit of battery saved so we can go at whatever speed we would like, we have chosen a safe cruising speed given the very light traffic and light winds. We do not know where the other teams are and we can't see them (as of now) behind us. It has been fun driving along and finding family, friends, and media passing and then seeing them on the side of the road with cameras taking pictures. As soon as I can get some I will post a few online.

We are off to Calgary

2008-07-22T11:42:00.001-04:00

We are on the road about 30 minutes out of Medicine Hat. With every team leaving at 1 minute intervals, the 180 mile stretch will be fun and hopefully everyone will come in close to one another. We have been told to expect thousands of people in Calgary (eveb more than in 2005 when 30,000 people showed up for the finish).

Thanks again to everyone following the race and for those that posted. It really is great to see such an active blog and has been great fun. Now time to keep up speeds, travel safely, and arrive in Calgary!

Standings as of Medicine Hat

2008-07-21T22:30:00.001-04:00

Here are the current official standings from NASC:

Team             Time
Michigan     47:22:53
Principia    56:18:51
FH Bochum    58:43:32
Waterloo     59:05:33
Minnesota    60:30:16
Calgary      70:13:58
Missouri S&T 72:58:23
Iowa State   84:53:20
Red River    85:38:55
Kentucky     91:42:36
Arizona      94:54:11
Queens       101:18:35
Northwestern 104:30:51
Durham       121:27:28
Oregon State 121:42:48

And some quick calculations. Leader is the time behind the leader. Gap is the time behind the next place. These are my numbers, so please let me know if you find any errors.

Team             Time      Leader       Gap
Michigan     47:22:53    --------   -------
Principia    56:18:51     8:55:58   8:55:58
FH Bochum    58:43:32    11:20:39   2:24:41
Waterloo     59:05:33    11:42:40   0:22:01
Minnesota    60:30:16    13:07:23   1:24:43
Calgary      70:13:58    22:51:05   9:43:42
Missouri S&T 72:58:23    25:35:30   2:44:25
Iowa State   84:53:20    37:30:27 11:54:57
Red River    85:38:55    38:16:02   0:45:35
Kentucky     91:42:36    44:19:43   6:03:41
Arizona      94:54:11    47:31:18   3:11:35
Queens       101:18:35   53:55:42   6:24:24
Northwestern 104:30:51   57:07:58   3:12:16
Durham       121:27:28   74:04:35 16:56:37
Oregon State 121:42:48   74:19:55   0:15:20

Completed Stage Four

2008-07-21T17:32:00.001-04:00

We arrived in Medicine Hat at 13:08:52 this afternoon! I apologize for the problems with the tracking website - I believe we lost internet access which the updates are dependent upon. Anyhow with nothing planned except general maintenance on Continuum and then an evening charge starting at 6pm, the team hopes to complete work and then relax and get some sleep. We haven't seen any other teams yet and we heard from the Germans that they would be in around 5pm. Only one day of racing left!

Follow us to the finish

2008-07-21T10:35:00.001-04:00

We have decided to publish our live tracking website. Please feel free to follow along with us this morning as we make our way to Medicine Hat and tomorrow as we head into Calgary.

You can track us live at: http://solar2.umsolar.com

It was not built to be public as is, but we figured it would be nice to get it out! So be warned it may not always work, so treat it as beta but enjoy.

New Race Crew Member

2008-07-21T00:16:00.002-04:00

Camping for the night

2008-07-20T21:53:00.001-04:00

We have made it past Regina. Camping just under 30 miles west of the control point, we have met some wonderful locals who have invited us onto their land. Staying on a small farm, we even found a pond to boost our evening charge. Throughout today's monotonous route, we steadily built upon our lead. The team is eager to get to Medicine Hat and complete the longest leg (between checkpoints) of the race at 294.8 miles.

Thanks again to all for posting on the blog. We enjoy reading the comments while racing and hope to have some good internet coverage throughout the day tomorrow.

Updated Standings!

2008-07-20T16:03:00.015-04:00

I now have updated standings from the end of Stage Three (posted this morning in Winnipeg).


Michigan:        34:14:01
Principia:       35:35:37
FH Bochum:       40:59:51
Waterloo:        42:05:46
Minnesota:       42:58:22
Calgary:         51:09:39
S&T (Rolla):     53:19:54
Red River:       59:19:39
Iowa State:      63:52:37
Kentucky:        66:55:55
Arizona:         67:05:08
Northwestern:    69:51:30 * trailering penalty not added yet
Queen's:         73:16:45
Oregon State:    83:03:21
Durham:          90:56:48

Unfortunately only five teams did not have to trailer at some point to reach Winnipeg. Those teams are Michigan, Principia, Bochum, Minnesota, and Waterloo. This last leg was hard on teams as many got stuck in the rain and many teams did not have much power.

Out of Brandon

2008-07-20T14:05:00.001-04:00

We officially got into Brandon at 11:53:15 am. We saw Principia enter shortly before we left, but I was unable to grab an official time before we left. Now heading toward Regina, we are under partial clouds. We are over 10 km out and just over 210 km from Regina.

Arrival In Brandon

2008-07-20T12:53:00.000-04:00

We are just arriving in Brandon - one stop light from the checkpoint. And we are out under sun!

Out of Winnipeg

2008-07-20T10:43:00.001-04:00

With zero minutes of penalties in this previous stage we won stage three of the race and were awarded yellow hats!

We are currently on TC1 heading west to Brandon. This is the shortest leg of the race and we are facing clouds and rain. Then onward to Regina, Medicine Hat, and then Calgary.

Arrival in Winnipeg

2008-07-19T14:00:00.011-04:00

Well, the team has arrived in Winnipeg at 11:32 am. We have impounded the battery and are now taking the rest of the day to check over the vehicle and get everything prepared for tomorrow. In addition there are many things going on today. Red River College is hosting this Stage Stop and they have planned a BBQ for the team, opened the gym for floor hockey, and will play a movie for teams to enjoy this evening. And now for some images from stage 3.

Continuum reaches the border and prepares for Canadian customs.

We reach the town of Morris and the Canadian police and other folks on horses proceeded us into the parade.

The main caravan proceeds as part of the parade.

Weather and Scout follow Chase through Morris.

After flagging us around the turn by Red River College, Josh runs to meet us at the Stage Stop.

And across the border we go

2008-07-19T11:53:00.002-04:00

The team is now in Canada under 100 miles (or rather 160 km) from Winnipeg. Continuum has also partaken in it's first parade. The city of Morris, Mt holds an annual stampede and it just so happened that this morning the festivities began with a parade. The town welcomed us and let us join their parade. Following two horse drawn carriages and a float we turned on all of our caravan lights and joined in. We were followed by our weather and scout vehicles who arrived earlier to ensure our safe passage through the parade. The parade announcer was unsure of what this yellow car-thingy was and said he still preferred horses. After a short while the parade route turned right and we continued straight on the race route to Winnipeg. I will post a few pictures when we arrive in Winnipeg.

End of the day, north of Fargo

2008-07-18T21:15:00.001-04:00

Today was a great day. We ran for over 9 hours with only 4 minutes on the side of the road for a required driver swap. Because the distance between Sioux Falls and Fargo was too great to complete in under 6 hours and our drivers are only allowed to drive for a max of 6 hrs a day, we swapped drivers at a safe location outside of town. Paula drove this afternoon and completed the day at 6:03pm just north of Grand Forks. With pasta on the stove, work completed on the vehicle, and the tent already set up, tonight hopefully we will get a decent amount of sleep and be ready to race tomorrow.

Fargo

2008-07-18T16:10:00.001-04:00

We are arriving in Fargo! Quite a few people and media are here to greet us.

A good start with unfortunate penalties

2008-07-18T11:04:00.002-04:00

The official times have been released and as it stands we are leaving Sioux Falls in first place. Unfortunatly most of our lead has been lost due to penalties. With 1.5 hours of penalties we have reduced our lead to close to 14 minutes. The majority of the penalty time was caused by the actions of the team in the last 15 minutes of racing two days ago. After a few team meetings and discussions the team does believe that we acted safely and followed the protocols our team has set up. However we do see the other side of the coin and will not be protesting this penalty. Rather we will submit an explanation to the officials that allows our voice to be heard and gives them the chance to understand the mindset of the team and the procedures we have set up and have been running with for over 5000 miles.

The day has started pretty well. We are running for over 20 miles. We are currently in Minnesota heading north to Fargo!

Images from Stage Two

2008-07-17T18:08:00.003-04:00

One final set of images leading up until today. I will post more about the evening and a stage update tomorrow. We will be starting in the lead tomorrow morning at 9am!

Here Michigan is on the road making the final turn before we enter the Omaha checkpoint.

Continuum enters Iowa!

Traveling through Sioux Falls just before we enter the park for the stage stop. Just past the next intersection a police escort joined the caravan and led us into the stop.

Continuum enters the stage stop on a road lined with flags. NASC and American flags lined the entrance into Sioux Park (with British, German, and Canadian flags at the end for the international teams).

Lead and Chase line up at Sioux Falls just after we arrive.

We serve 30 minutes after arriving at Sioux Falls and point the array at the sun to help gain a charge before impounding our batteries.

A police escort lead in each caravan. Here they are leading Principia into the stage stop.

Principia enters the stage stop just over an hour after Michigan.

Images from Stage One

2008-07-17T16:58:00.010-04:00

Here is a set of images spanning from the start line to the Neosho Stage Stop.

From my viewpoint in Chase, Continuum rolling down the highway towards Neosho.

Continuum pulls into the Neosho stage stop.

Richard flags in Principia as they enter the stage stop behind us.

A nice picture of the University of Kentucky solar car as it arrives in Neosho.

Iowa State University pulls into Neosho and qualifies! Congrats!

After finding a puddle, we set up to charge at night hoping to fill the pack.

Charing at night while two team membres, Dan Eberle, and Garrett, our observer stand near the array.

The sun sets in Neosho, Mo.

The Missouri National Guard at Camp Crowder

The Missouri Army National Guard provides us with Barracks to spend the nights in Neosho at Camp Crowder

Two team members work to help the Minnesota team.

Crowder College offers us cold water, Coke, and Mountain Dew.

Steve moves over to Minnesota after inspecting our battery pack.

The last morning of the stage stop, we get a little extra charge before moving the car to the start line.

Lead and Chase vehicles for each team line up down the road in order ready to leave the Neosho Stage Stop.

Some Images from the Start Line

2008-07-17T16:17:00.007-04:00

Again continuing in the series of adding photos, here is a set of photos from the start of the race in Plano, Texas.

The official start line.

The solar car lane leading away from the start lined with NASC 2008 flags.

Robert Vogt, head strategist for both the 2003 and 2005 Michigan teams, and Brian Gilchrist, our faculty adviser, join us at the start of the race. Brian stayed with the team until we reached Sioux Falls.

Continuum and the team pose while waiting for the official all team photo to be taken.

Our lead and chase vehicles sit and wait for the start of the race. We were given American and Canadian flags to put on both vehicles. The start of this race was well organized. While the solar cars lined up at the start line, the lead and chase vehicles for each team were put in another line just after the start. When the solar car passed the starting line, the lead vehicle was already in front of the car ready to go. Chase quickly followed behind and we were off down the road.

Continuum sits in position 1 at the start line. Minnisota and Missouri S&T can be seen in the background.

The two Jeffs on the team stand in front of Continuum shortly before the race start.

The team is treated to dinner by the Dallas Alumni Club on Friday before the race begins.

Some Images From Scrutineering

2008-07-17T15:12:00.011-04:00

Now that we are stationed in Sioux Falls we have access to high speed internet which means pictures can finally be posted. Enjoy this set from Scrutineering in Cresson, Tx.

Steve practices egress and works to ensure he can get out of the vehicle in under 10 seconds.

Our car at the Mechanical Scrutineering Station being inspected by Dick and Greg.

Continuum completes the figure eight test with Brooke driving.

Our support vehicles and safety procedures are even inspected during Scrutineering. Jim, the safety officer for the event, speaks with everyone in the lead vehicle before we simulate an emergency situation.

Continuum flies past one of the corner workers while on the track.

Continuum qualifies! Steve completed 60 laps in a row, making us the first team to qualify for the race.

Another great picture of Continuum on the track. This was taken just after we completed the 60 laps required to qualify.

Chito and Jeff Rogers sit in our pit awaiting a driver swap on the first day of qualifying.

John stands with Continuum as we prepare to enter the track.

Red River College provided a wonderful dinner for all the teams.

Minnisota and Michigan line up at the start line to begin the second day of qualifying.

Jeff Ferman and Alex Dowling chat while watching Continuum on the track.

Doug speaks with the Brooke as she drives Continuum around the track. Gerald stands in the background watching Continuum fly around the track.

Minnesota and Durham leave the track at the end of the second day of Qualifying.

Dean Wisniewski and his mother, Rita - both buy-a-cell sponsors join Chito and the team to watch qualifying. Dean heads our relationship with one of our gold sponsors, Visteon, where he works.

Our Base-X tents set up just before a storm hit. The tent on the left was used as mess hall and as a vehicle tent for work. The second tent on the right was set up for sleeping.

The night sky at the track immediately after the storm passed over.

Stage Stop in Sioux Falls

2008-07-16T15:35:00.005-04:00

After a night and early morning full of rain, we left Omaha for Sioux Falls at 7:45 AM this morning. Driving at the speed limit or close to it, we pushed into South Dakota, arriving by police escort in Sioux Falls at 12:35 PM. As is the rule for stage stops, we charged for 30 minutes, then impounded our batteries, They will be released for an evening charge tonight from 6:00-8:30 PM, and then for morning and evening charges tomorrow. On Friday, we will have one last morning charge before heading out for Fargo, North Dakota and the Canadian Border.

Our nearest competition, Principia, arrived at 1:40 PM. Therefore, we added 1 hour and 4 minutes on Principia for the stage, giving us a total lead of 1 hour and 40 minutes for the first two stages (before second stage penalties, if applicable). More updates to follow. Hopefully, our connection here should be able to handle some picture uploads as well!

Update (8:00 PM): Although I do not have times on me at the moment, Bochum arrived at around 3:15 (give or take 10 minutes either way). Waterloo arrived around 40 minutes later. Calgary arrived somewhere after 5 PM, followed by Missouri S&T.

Sioux City

2008-07-16T12:07:00.001-04:00

Hi all,

We are through Sioux City. With quite a few turns and low speed limits we had to decrease our avg speed for the day. But we are now out under the sun and running smoothly - working to increase the daily average speed :) .

Under 100 miles to Sioux Falls...

Go Fast, Go Smooth, Go BLUE!

The Morning After

2008-07-16T09:51:00.003-04:00

Well last night was fun. After arriving for our nightly stop we could tell a storm was brewing in the distance and Brad let us know it was on its way. Quite a bit of water was dumped on us but the Base-X tent survived and kept people dry, well dry-ish given we some of us made trips outside to get lunch ready, to get our other motor ready, and to get vehicles refueled.

After deciding not to switch motors in the morning, we got running a few minutes late and we are now just over 50 minutes into the day.

Arrival in Omaha

2008-07-15T23:10:00.004-04:00

We arrived at the Omaha checkpoint at around 4:40 PM and left at 5:10 PM. Taking the alternate route, we drove until 5:45 PM before stopping to charge. Therefore, we will start tomorrow at 7:45 AM, planning on making it to the next Stage Stop in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in the late morning/early afternoon. Tonight we are getting hammered by some severe thunderstorms, but are managing to keep pretty dry in our shelter. Tomorrow we can expect some debris and residual flooding on the roads to keep our scout car busy.

After stopping to charge, one car of team members doubled back to the Omaha checkpoint, where we came upon Principia's team. Principia arrived at around 5:40 PM, an hour later than us (they left Neosho in second, one minute after us). It was nice getting to catch up with Principia's team members and advisors--they were, as always, very kind and welcoming (they even offered us rice krispie treats and cookies!).

Reports from Principia members confirm that Minnesota left Neosho a half hour late due to their turn signals. Additionally, three of the four MPPTs they were using had malfunctioned. Hopefully they will be able to get their MPPT situation resolved in Sioux Falls. According to Missouri S&T (who are camped 50 miles south of Omaha according to their blog at http://solar42.mst.edu/), they passed Minnesota and Calgary--Waterloo also had a strong day. Hopefully we can piece together a clearer picture of the entire field tomorrow once we get into Sioux Falls.

Overall, a fast, sunny day with many miles traveled! In fact, we almost beat race officials to Topeka. Our weather car arrived at the Topeka stop while officials were at lunch, but the officials did a good job setting up before the rest of the caravan could get there. We'll try again to beat them next time ;)

Nearing Omaha

2008-07-15T17:38:00.000-04:00

Thanks for all the comments on the blog! We did enter Topeka at 1:11:35. We are now just a few miles out of the Omaha checkpoint. By the way, the route was changed last night to avoid the crazy hills in downtown Omaha. The route is now 15 miles longer but we get to avoid the large loss of power going up those hills.

Go Fast, Go Smooth, Go BLUE!

Into Topeka

2008-07-15T14:04:00.001-04:00

We are just arriving in Topeka and we will serve 30 minutes at the checkpoint. From there we will continue down the route to Omaha. With bright sun and clear skies, Continuum is performing quite well! More to follow.

Out of Neosho

2008-07-15T10:25:00.001-04:00

And we are off. I am back in chase sending updates via my phone. After a nice relaxing day at the Neosho stage stop we are back on the road leaving the stage stop first at 9:00:00 am. The official standings were released this morning and we stand 35 min 37 sec ahead of the second place team Principia with an elapsed time of 8:10:28. Principia suffered a 20 min penalty giving them an elapsed time of 8:46:05.

Behind Principia stands Minnisota in third with a total time of 9:07:45. FH Bochum stands at 9:57:26. Missouri S&T is in 5th with 10:00:22. Next up Red River has 11:30:56. Waterloo is at 11:35:01, Calgary is at 12:30:34, Kentucky is at 15:29:56, and Iowa State is at 17:49:09. Next up at 11th is Queen's with 18:16:36. Right behind is Arizona at 18:17:18. Lastly Northwestern is at 19:09:09. I apologize for the format of this info. I cannot figure out how to do tables on my phone.

Yesterday we received our penalty sheet, which showed that our team received no penalties for the first stage! Congrats to Bochum, Missouri S&T, Red River, Waterloo, Calgary, Kentucky, and Queen's for also amassing no penalty time. We also received yellow hats for being the winner of the first stage stop.

Lastly I would like to congratulate Iowa State for qualifying and both Oregon State and Durham for joining us and we wish you much luck (or rather much skill) all the way to Calgary.

Go Fast, Go Smooth, Go BLUE!

Arrival Times into Neosho

2008-07-14T13:51:00.005-04:00

Arrivals in Neosho as of Monday 1:00 PM:
Team (Start Pos)	Arrival in Neosho
Sunday
Michigan (1)	17:40:28
Principia (8)	18:03:05
Monday
Minnesota (2)	08:17:45
Bochum (6)	09:27:26
Missouri S&T (3)	09:30:22
Red River (7)	11:00:56
Waterloo (12)	11:05:01
Calgary (4)	12:00:34

Weather in Neosho is sunny, meaning most teams who arrived here early should leave with a good charge. The cloudy weather in Texas and Oklahoma was rough for many teams. Minnesota had their MPPTs fail at 11:00 PM on Saturday, but Principia lent them some spare Biel MPPTs (the top of the line MPPTs that both Principia and we use). These MPPTs had to be reprogrammed to be configured for Minnesota's array, so we are currently lending Minnesota the necessary tool to do so (Arizona had lent them one the other night, though it was done incorrectly, and Arizona has not arrived in Neosho yet).

First into Neosho

2008-07-13T19:56:00.002-04:00

We finished the afternoon riding clear skies into Neosho, Missouri, home of the first Stage Stop at Crowder College. We were the first team to arrive, coming in at 17:40:28, nearly an hour before the close of the stop at 6:30 PM. After arriving, we held the array of our car in front of a puddle, so that we could get some extra reflected light while charging. At 6:00 PM, we were able to move our array onto its stand, where it will remain until batteries are impounded at 8:30 PM.

Shortly after moving the array onto the stand, Principia College arrived in second place. Their arrival time was 18:03:05. Principia started the day in 8th place, leaving Plano at 9:07 AM, so they are unofficially 16 minutes behind us (starting order and interval times for the next stage will not be finalized until 7:00 AM Tuesday). No other teams came into Neosho before the close of the control stop at 6:30 PM. Therefore, it will be us and Principia here at Crowder College tonight, being joined by other teams tomorrow. Tomorrow we will be allowed to charge our batteries in the morning and evening, and will have the day off to work, recover, and mingle with the other teams. On Tuesday, we will have another morning charge, and will then leave at 9:00 AM.

Despite the bad weather and a few minor electrical problems today, we are all happy to have arrived in Neosho in first, widening the gap between our nearest competitors. We look forward to the day off, and to the next week of racing.

Over half way to Neosho

2008-07-13T17:16:00.000-04:00

We are currently over half way to Neosho (actually we are about 50 miles out). We have also passed Minnesota and we are back in the lead.

Go fast, Go smooth, Go BLUE!

Out of McAlester

2008-07-13T14:16:00.001-04:00

We have just left McAlester at 1:11:36 just behind minnesota. They left at 12:54:27. We are now on our way to Neosho under sunlight. The drive to McAlester was under clouds and we used a decent amount of power, but now we are charging!

Checkpoint 1: McAlester

2008-07-13T13:41:00.000-04:00

Well we have made it to McAlester, the first checkpoint on the race. We have traveled through some light rain and had a few issues with the motor controller making us pull over for two very short stops. Excellent job to the lead and chase cars for being prepared and for knowing their jobs.

Also I apologize for any mistakes or spelling errors as I am posting these updates from my phone in chase.

While on the previos leg we were passed by Minnesota, Missouri S&T, Kentucky, and Principia. We then passed all but Minnesota shortly after they passed us.

Go fast, Go smooth, Go BLUE!

Update from Scout!

2008-07-13T12:35:00.002-04:00

Greeting from Scout ( the lesser known support vehicle in a Solar Car caravan)!

Very little is known about us. We're one of the few teams to have a Scout Car with a dedicated group of student to actively clear the road of any potential hazards to the Solar Car. We'll brush off gravel, shovel road kill, move mountains (okay we're still working on moving mountains), etc to get a clear path for the solar car.

In Short, we put "smooth" in "Go Fast, Go Smooth, Go Blue"

So today was pretty mild, unfortunately ... for us. We've so far had to stop for the following:

- Towel (Favorite one so far!)
- Bird
- Opossum
- Shattered Brick
- Left over Fast food (Yummy)
- Metal Plate
- Rope (Hopefully what ever it was tying down is still tied down!)
- Glove (right hand)

More to come! Got to go, we've got road hazards!

Love,
Scout

On our way

2008-07-13T10:17:00.002-04:00

We are currently on the road! Our support vehicles left right on time with weather leaving at 8:30 and scout leaving at 8:50. Continuum left 10 minutes later at 9am sharp. The starting line setup was great. Unlike WSC, all the support vehicles were already lined up in order. As the solar car came through the start line our lead vehicle was already in front ready to go. Chase pulled in behind and were off. With a police watching the turn onto the road we took off down the race route. We are now 6 miles out. More updates to come soon.

Race Day

2008-07-13T06:56:00.001-04:00

Race day begins quite early as the team is currently traveling to Plano. Getting Continuum out, doing a full inspection, and then getting ready for the all team photo will take us to 7am. Continuum will then be at the star line no later than 8:45. By the way, we have officially won pole position and will cross the start line first at 9am.

We have also made a few modifications to the team in the past couple days. I would like to welcome Paula Harrison back to the team. Paula was a driver for Continuum in the 2007 Panasonic World Solar Challenge and she will be driving again in NASC. We are also inviting two Western Michigan students to join our team and travel with us as unfortunately they did not qualify this year.

Good luck to all the 15 teams competing today and my sympathy to the teams that did not qualify; we look forward to seeing you in the next WSC or NASC!

As the day progresses I will continue to update the blog via my phone with quick status updates!

Go fast, Go smooth, Go BLUE!!

Qualifying Completed

2008-07-11T20:14:00.002-04:00

We have successfully completed our second day of qualifying at the MotorSport Ranch in Cresson, Texas. From our calculations, we drove enough laps in the two days to earn pole position for NASC 2008!

After nearly a week at the MotorSport ranch in Cresson, we have left for Dallas, where we will be staying prior to the race start in Plano. On tonight's agenda is dinner with the Alumni Club of Dallas, along with a number of fans and supporters currently in the area. Many thanks to all of those who visited us at the track this week--it was great to have such an enthusiastic crowd to cheer us on.

Today we started the second day of qualifying 38 laps up on Calgary and roughly 60 laps ahead of Minnesota. I was in Continuum for the first two hours of the day, then handed off driving to Brooke for another two hours. Two hours later, at 1 PM, Brooke pulled in for relief and we switched from Sava moped tires to Michelin Solar Radial tires. We had been using the moped tires for their durability on track, though we wanted to run a few laps on the track using our racing configuration.

After a few laps on Michelin tires, I came back in and we swapped in our new front suspension for the first time. This suspension was machined by Paul Relf from our sponsor Viper Technologies in Torrance, California. With this part, we were able to run an NGM motor capable of generating more horsepower to get us around the track quicker. Despite time on the side of the road for the tire and suspension changes, we were able to keep ahead of Minnesota and Calgary, who both spent significant time making repairs.

Although offical results will not be verified until later tonight, we expect to come away with pole position. This should put us in control for the beginning of the race, allowing us to run our own strategy and not waste power passing other teams. Thanks to all the team members, sponsors, alumni, family members, friends, and other supporters who made this possible. We'll have more updates as the race gets closer!

Qualifying Update

2008-07-10T17:15:00.002-04:00

My apologies for not posting this update sooner, but I've been in and out of the car most of the day. I was in the car when the team completed our first 60 laps of qualifying, quicker than any other team--making us the first team to qualify for NASC! It was a hot and grueling 60 laps during the morning, and I was in the car for over 3.5 hours to prepare for and complete these laps. We were the only team that did not have to exit the track between 9:00 AM and 12:30 AM--a testament to Continuum's reliability and our team's strength.

Brooke got in the car after I finished my 60 laps, and has since completed over the 15 laps required for each driver. We are currently first place in laps completed. Our biggest competitor from the beginning of the day, Minnesota, has spent a significant amount of time in the pits with both electrical and mechanical problems. Once the track closes at 6:00 PM we'll surely have some more detailed numbers posted.

Michigan has completed Scrutineering!

2008-07-10T09:40:00.006-04:00

As for 7am this morning, we have passed the braking test and completed the final scrutineering station, dynamics! Of the eight stations, we now have green stickers in all eight. Yesterday, the officials also came by with the equipment to measure our array and upon inspection, we passed as well.

That means we are now ready to race on the track. The track qualifying event begins today in 15 mins and will last two full days. Each team needs to complete 60 laps to qualify. After this is completed we will continue to run on the track to amass as many laps as possible. The team with the most laps, starts the race Sunday morning first.

The car is currently driving to the track and will be ready to start racing at 9am sharp! Steve will be our first driver and Brooke will follow this afternoon.

A few pictures...

2008-07-09T20:29:00.004-04:00

John timing a braking test prior to our departure for Texas. TruckNTow.com provided much of our safety equipment including flags and safety vests. SportsCounters.com provided each race crew member with a stopwatch for just such occasions.
Unloading Continuum on the track in Cresson, TX.
Passing the figure 8 test during scrutineering.
Our sleeping quarters, provided by Base-X. This was before we set up a second Base-X tent for working on the car.
A Whelen strobe light was taken from one of our support vehicles and added to the solar car in order to pass regulations.

Thank you to all of our new sponsors!! (Image of the new logo on the semi.)

The Meaning of Solar Car

2008-07-09T17:48:00.010-04:00

The 2007 University of Michigan Solar Car Team race crew ended up as a remarkably accomplished wave of new students. It included students ranging from Mechanical to Aerospace to IOE to LSA to the School of Education. Each one of us had traded a career of accomplishment to vest themselves in the same altruism that was felt by Solar Car Alumni years ago. I for one stared wide-eyed into a life that would change me as much as it had changed the Solar Car Team members before me.

This was the University of Michigan Solar Car Team, Project: Continuum. There would be nothing else like it on or off campus and I knew that after my time on the Solar Car Team, I would be like nothing else on or off campus. The only thing that the Solar Car Team promised me and everyone on Race Crew is that we'd get the opportunity to prove ourselves. Indeed, most of us did. I for one scrambled to define my role on the team. I knew that Michigan Race Crew Alumni could teach a monkey to build the entire car; what they wanted instead, was someone strong and smart enough to know when to push the car farther and when to back off. Race Crew members are not mindless workers facing a generic race. This was a race that demanded the heart of every team and this was a team that runs on the business of discipline and dedication. The Solar Car Team wanted everything from me and I must admit that there were points in time when I felt everything was too much. I knew though, I had volunteered for this job and I could quit anytime I liked. But that would accomplish nothing.

As time went past, the true meaning of Solar Car Team surfaced. It didn't simply stand for Solar Car Team. It stood for Strength, Courage, and Teamwork. Strength to hold on not only as an individual but also as a team through the best and the worst, Courage to redefine and push the limits of solar car racing with every passing year and Teamwork to accomplish any task, any problem as a team and knowing that we would succeed and fail only as a team and nothing less. Soon for all of us on Race Crew, “Solar Car Team” slowly became our first, middle and last name.

As a team we grew, but a team isn’t built overnight. There were times when we all sat in a classroom at a mandatory meeting to discuss our feelings. I waited for someone to fire up the warm soapy tub and start singing "kumbaya". Never happened. Sitting in a circle, I knew the sentiment seemed common. Even though some of us stood on the edge of self implosion, it seemed to be no one else's business. But I was wrong. It was. As a team we came to know each other’s strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes better than anyone else on earth. We knew things girlfriends, boyfriends, dads and moms will never think to ask, see things that no one else would ever understand and bare things no one else would want to see. Words like brother and sister came out because in many ways, we work on a level of trust few people ever know. We succeeded because of our trust in each other: 23 hands with one heart. Work together and live. Fragment and die. The rules are so elegantly simple. These rules would be understood soon enough for all of us.

The overwhelming sense of loss we felt is difficult to explain even now. We as a team hadn't known a whole lot of failure, yet that moment, that image still engraved in our minds, made the whole two years seem like a waste. It gripped us as the single greatest mistake of our life. Just being there. For an entire summer, we focused all our energy on building and preparing to race the best solar car the world would see. We also invested ourselves into the process of developing the best team that ever assembled. Then within the course of 5 minutes, it all went away. All the work. All the sacrifice. All the prayers. My mind flipped back through every lesson the Solar Car Team had taught me, from the first hand experiences, to Solar Car Alumni instructions to the Solar Car Team's motto: "Go fast, go smooth, go blue".

I now understand that what happened at the World Solar Challenge will weigh on me a little longer than I had originally thought. During my lifetime at Australia, I'd strolled the years of my life, guessing, believing, regretting, hoping. I'd read books, written documents, watched movies, consumed who knows how many gallons of water, all in hope of getting home with my head in one piece. My dreams replayed the sound of terror raging through; faces appeared as a slow parade. I woke up and laid there with a wrenching sadness in my stomach. All I wanted at that moment was to run back in time.

A few days later, I took a stroll out in the nearby hills of my hometown, Fremont. The place begged me to return to Australia Nothing pleased me. I realized then that I could go anywhere and do anything I wanted, but it would not make much of a difference. There's no place I haven't already been. Right then, I knew what lay ahead. What I had to do. No sorry, what WE as a team needed to do. We as a team couldn't fall. Falling down wouldn't help. Lots of other people depended on us. Each and every one of us could run as far as we wanted, regretting, hoping, as I’ve done in the hills, but the real destination lay inside us. The voices in us that reminded us of the World Solar Challenge and what happened. As long as we live, they will be with us.

I spent the next few hours on the plane back to Michigan remembering what I was taught about in standing up to the consequences of failure and watching my days in Australia flash in front of me in less time it took for me to compose this. In that moment, I remembered what it was that made me and probably everyone else on Race Crew join the Solar Car Team to begin with—A challenge, A cause. We didn’t join for a grade, for money or for anything else. For most, Solar Car had very little to do with our future lives: lawyer, biomedical engineer, artist, school administrator. If that cause is not meaningful enough to withstand the test of a couple falls, then it isn't worth investing our lives in. You can't just give up and die the first time someone knocks you down. Right then, I realized how I’d lost myself. It didn’t really have much to do with Australia, the World Solar Challenge, or my summer in Ann Arbor. It had to do with me. I'd stood too long in the Solar Car Team’s model of excellence. Selection bred it. Race Crew grew it. Months on the team made it part of my inner self. But it’s just a myth. Sometimes the strongest men and women fail, even with the best intentions. There were many gifts that have been given to Race Crew. One of them is weakness. Another is the ability to accept it.

I could remember the start at the World Solar Challenge—the countdown. It was just our Race Crew and the world. This moment. All the choices that we made thus far summarized in one immeasurable consequence. That quickly, it could be over. We breathe. Sometimes the most important decisions are the ones you don't make. My mind turned to Rogers, Brooke, Sarah, and all of Race Crew—All heroes in their own way. There's Rogers teaching a wide-eyed new kid on solar car how to wire up a GM vehicle without getting himself killed. There's Sarah, who dragged me back into a world that made sense every time I drifted away. There's Brooke, leading and showing me the way toward something new and better. And in every picture, someone pulls me deeper into the moment, a greater truth. I see my family waiting for me to come home. Their smiles raise me, no matter how difficult the scene or painful the recollection. They save me when I fall.

"Five"
I'm a 20 year old. A two and half year member of the University of Michigan Solar Car Team. This is my 1st race on Race Crew. In some ways I feel like I’ve been training for this all my life. In some ways I feel like I have no idea what my next move is. No matter what happens, I know my team is behind me

"Four"
You think about all the hundreds of tests run you've done, the hundreds of bolts you screwed in. The very first hour of the day to the last hour, we’ve worked. We practice until our hands go numb. Continuum is our pride and proof of our team’s success

"Three"
The Sun is our fuel, our power and here, our entire universe boils down to a solar car and 25 human beings working in concert to run the best race with no error.

"Two"
Keys in ignitions, array online, computers powered up, sunglasses on, gloves on, seat belts click. This was our time to shine; our time to show the world what it means to be a Michigan Wolverine, our time to prove our excellences.

"One"
And so it begins. Go Fast, Go Smooth, Go Blue.

* * * *

Arriving back from the World Solar Challenge in Australia, I wanted to tone back on Solar Car and focus my life on academics, not that my Solar Car experiences were mediocre in anyway. There will be nothing in my life that would be on par with the experiences that the team has given me. More than a course, the team showed us that academics were necessary and at the same time that we were scratching the tip of the iceberg of what the real world entailed. It was the middle of January when there was talk of having an entirely new race crew assembled to race our car for the North American Solar Challenge. It was the same car that we placed our sweat and tears into from Ann Arbor to Australia, from the initial mold to the crash to the finish line.

We as a team came together and after much deliberation, we realized that even though most of us were done with solar racing, we simply were not finished with the team. Greater than just myself, the team had one more chance to prove to the world what Michigan was capable of. We all had unfinished business on the team and this would be the time to finish it. No one knew the car better than we did. No one knew each of the members of the race crew the way we knew each other’s strengths, weakness, likes, and dislikes. We succeeded, as a team in Australia, because of our trust in each other and we were going to show it once more.

I rejoined the team in charge, once again, of race crew and support vehicle outfitting and communication. Reunited, most of us, we set out to show the world what they missed in the World Solar Challenge. At the same time new members of Race Crew have joined us in our journey. I smile every time I see each and every one of them. In many ways, they were reflections of who we were a year ago and their enthusiasm reminds us of the many people, young and old, we inspire every single year. From long public relations events to a simple drive by, the amazement and joy we pass on is immeasurable on any scale. My every move everyday has changed because of how much I want to instill in their minds with the experiences that have been laid upon me ever since I started.

With each passing day, filled of hope and pride, we will continue to move forward together--no matter what. I know for me, it has been and still is a huge honor to have the opportunity to race alongside so many magnanimous students. For some of us, the journey is coming to a close, for most our journey has only begun. One team, one heart, one dream, one sun, one car.

One.

-Richard Ho

2 Days of Scrutineering Complete

2008-07-08T21:32:00.003-04:00

Nearing the end of day two of scrutineering our team finds itself with just two more stations to complete: array and dynamics.

Scrutineering lasts three days and is made up of eight stations that are used to ensure each team meets regulations and has both a safe car and a safe team. The eight stations are support, array, electrical, battery protection, mechanical, driver, body & sizing, and dynamics. The only station that does not relate directly to the solar car is the support station. This station ensures that the support vehicles have the proper equipment and that the team is practicing proper safety techniques. After demonstrating our safety procedures and getting a couple pointers from the safety officer, we were able to properly demonstrate safe roadside procedures and pass the station.

The array station checks for array power and measures the array to ensure it fits to regulations. We have passed most of the station, but we are still awaiting officials to create the templates needed to ensure we have the correct number of solar cells on our car. Hopefully officials will have the templates completed tomorrow. The electrical station looked into all electrical components of the solar car and was coupled with battery protection (BPS). BPS is important as it shuts off the battery pack if any battery module goes over voltage, gets too hot, or meets a few other non-safe conditions. We passed both these stations on our first pass!

Next we have the mechanical station. Receiving a yellow sticker at this station on Monday meant we had three things to fix on the vehicle. Returning to the station this afternoon, we have now received a green sticker and have cleared the mechanical station. We also weighed in our driver, passed egress (the driver was able to get out of the vehicle in under 10 seconds), and passed the driver station. Next up we have the body & sizing station. This station inspects the vehicle to ensure it meets many of the remaining regulations such as the size of the vehicle, the presence and intensity of lights, the visibility of the driver, and many others. Passing this station on Monday with a yellow sticker, we returned today and received a green sticker.

Following the main stations is dynamics. Teams must complete driver, body & sizing, mechanical, electrical, and battery protection with at least a yellow sticker before attempting to pass the dynamic station. Attending this station on Monday, we passed the turning tests, the figure eight test, and the slalom test. We need to return and repeat the U-turn test, and complete the dry and wet breaking. Unfortunately as soon as we were ready to return today, a large storm hit Cresson, Texas. With rumors of hail, we decided to put the car away and attend the station early tomorrow morning, when the station opens. While putting away the tent, our team took advantage of the Base-X tents. Within minutes of deciding to pack up camp for the upcoming storm, our team set up wind lines on the main tent and had a second tent set up for shelter.

And now the team prepares for sleep and heads to bed. Until tomorrow, good night!

Work at Cresson MotorSport Ranch

2008-07-08T15:48:00.006-04:00

Our first full day at the Cresson MotorSport ranch saw us wake up early to simulate a morning charge. Set up in a grassy field between the garages and the race track, our team was the lone team at the track besides Durham University. While Australian race regulations permitted the team to start charging at sunrise, North American race regulations keep the team's battery locked and impounded from 8:00 PM until 6:30 AM. Therefore, as much as we enjoyed waking up at 4:30 in Australia to charge, we had to wait until 5:15 AM to wake up.
Charging in the morning

During the morning charge, we took the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the facilities while eating breakfast. Most importantly, team members had the opportunity to shower without having to wait for 20 other teams.
Camp at MotorSport Ranch

Following our morning charge, we took advantage of the empty lot to drive Continuum around for a few tests. Although the track at the ranch remains closed to solar car teams and support vehicles until Wednesday, we did have time to watch track members drive around the 3.1-mile road course. In great contrast to most of the race route, the track at the MotorSport ranch provides for a number of hills and curves. The track should be quite a challenge for most teams, as the elevation changes and camber of the turns both require a lot of extra horsepower--something no team here has. On Thursday and Friday, teams will have a chance to complete as many laps as possible around the track for the race's pole position--it should be quite interesting to see all the cars on the track at once!

In the afternoon, team members made runs to pick up some items that were needed at the track, as well as picking up a team member from the airport, Chris Hilger. Chris, who has been working on procurement of materials for the 2009 car, will be serving as an observer for the race. When John Federspiel, Sarah Napier, and Chris left the airport, they were able to pick up some titanium that will become part of our 2009 vehicle, Infinium. Thanks to S R Sales Co, near Fort Worth, for sponsoring the team and allowing us to obtain titanium for our next vehicle.
Sarah and John with Marty from SR Sales

In the afternoon, race officials and other teams began to arrive at the ranch, filling the parking lot with a variety of solar cars, trailers, and support vehicles. After months of hard work spent preparing Continuum for the race after Australia, it was a good change seeing all the other teams that have been working hard to ready their vehicles as well.
Teams set up at the ranch

Once all the officials had arrived, our team filled out registration papers and completed driver weigh-in. For NASC, drivers weighing under 80 kg (176 lbs) must carry extra ballast to even out the playing field. Our drivers took very deep breaths while on the scale, but in the end, both were forced to carry quite a bit of extra weight.

In the evening, many teams continued work on their vehicles, while others settled down for the night. While some teams left the ranch for the night, those who remained returned to their tents around the track. We went to bed, preparing for Monday's first set of scrutineering tests.

Arrival in Texas

2008-07-06T14:28:00.002-04:00

Last night our team arrived at the MotorSport Ranch in Cresson, Texas, site of scrutineering and qualifying for the 2008 North American Solar Challenge. Our arrival came after two full days of driving from Michigan covering over 1200 miles, as well as a stay in Dallas, Texas. The team will be staying overnight at the MotorSport ranch through Friday, living out of our support trailer and taking cover in our portable shelter. Thankfully, there are air-conditioned facilities for team members to use at the track, though showers are quite limited--this may prove uncomfortable as the week's temperatures hover at over 95 degrees.
Camp at the MotorSport Ranch in Cresson, Texas

The team's voyage to Cresson began Wednesday evening, when the semi trailer departed our workspace with Continuum. Once again, America's Transportation Resources (ATR) has provided the team with a driver for the semi trailer, while Exel Logistics has supported the team with the semi cab. For the race, Lonnie Giffen from ATR will be driving the trailer, while David Menke, President of ATR, may be joining us later in the race. Thanks to the support of both of these companies, we knew our semi trailer would be in good hands for the trip down.

No sooner than when the rest of the team left Ann Arbor in our fleet vehicles from GM, did ferocious weather strike again. As we stopped at a restaurant just outside of Ann Arbor, torrential rain showers poured down on us, and gusts of winds at up to 70 mph threw tree branches onto the road. Once the rain storms died down somewhat, the team got back on the road, drove out of Michigan, through Indiana and into Illinois.
Alex snickers at any "racing fuel" other than the sun

After a full evening of driving, we arrived at a hotel in Illinois around 2 am, then departed the next morning. A full day of driving on Thursday saw us arrive in Dallas, Texas, where we were warmly welcomed by the staff at the Embassy Suites Dallas-Love Field, which had offered its support to the team again, after originally becoming a sponsor for our Mock Race. On Friday the Fourth of July, our team took the day off to celebrate the Independence Day Holiday in Dallas. Many team members cherished the opportunity to sleep in at the hotel, recovering from countless consecutive days of work. Much of the group even caught a showing of Disney/Pixar's Wall-E in theatres, before we headed off to a barbeque at the house of Adriel and Charlotte Givens, family friends of team member Jeff Rogers. We all greatly enjoyed the company and cooking of the Givens family--it was a pleasure to spend the holiday with them. As the sun disappeared and darkness set in, we moved to White Rock Lake Park and found a good vantage point for the evening's fireworks. From the park we were able to see the city's multiple fireworks shows as the night passed.
The team celebrating the 4th at the house of Adriel and Charlotte Givens

From left: Jeff, Adriel, Chito

On Saturday, July 5th, it was back to work for the team. After breakfast, we spent the morning and afternoon making final preparations before heading to the track. Engineers made minor modifications to Continuum and the fleet vehicles, while strategists reviewed their code and tested race strategy software. Our operations crew readied themselves for a week at the track, ensuring that the team would be able to function from our support trailer.

After an afternoon of working, the team left for the Dallas/Fort Worth suburb of Watauga, where we dined at OC Burger, owned by Ken French, a family friend of Paula Harrison and her parents, Joe and K.C. Harrison. Paula was a driver of Continuum during the 2007 World Solar Challenge, and her parents have always been great supporters of the team. We thank them for treating us to an amazing dinner, and we look forward to seeing them soon in Texas. The food at OC Burger was enjoyed by all--we recommend it to anyone visiting the Dallas/Fort Worth area for the race.
The team at OC Burger with owner Ken French

With our stomachs filled, the team set out on our final leg of our journey to the track in Cresson. Cresson, located about 30 minutes outside of Fort Worth, was a short drive from OC Burger. Once we pulled into the MotorSport Ranch in Cresson, we were greeted by the team from Durham University, one of the international teams who came here all the way from the United Kingdom. Durham had already set up tents at the track, so we set up next to them, had a team meeting of our own, then went to bed. We all knew we would need a good night's sleep for the upcoming week of events.

Focus on Safety

2008-06-20T13:47:00.007-04:00

Not too long ago the Team was privileged enough to have Jerry Buffman from Dummies on the Run sponsor and administer First Aid and CPR training to 19 of our members. The training took around two hours to complete and was both extremely informative and entertaining. We learned important skills like how to bandage wounds and save someone from choking, and we even learned how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) like the ones we see on campus. Not only are we now more prepared for the upcoming North American Solar Challenge, but members will be able to make use of their training in the years to come as well.

Doug and Spencer preparing to practice CPR on their dummies.

We’ve also been fortunate enough to have some other new sponsors come on board recently and assist us with our safety goals. Aearo Technologies has graciously donated safety goggles, respirators, and First Aid kits, and TrucknTow.com has provided the Team with safety vests, gloves, flags, and cones. Our previous supplies were a bit outdated and understocked, so it’s great to see new equipment that’s both up to code and safe.

Team members on the side of the road with TruckNTow safety vests, flags, and cones.

In addition to new sponsors, some of our sponsors from 2007 have continued their support of the team through additional in-kind donations. Wiley X, the ultimate provider of shatterproof eye protection, has renewed their sponsorship by providing the 2008 Race Crew with some of their latest styles for this year. These sunglasses will protect our team from UV rays as well as any debris that may fly up while being on the side of the road.

Sarah wearing one of Wiley X's new styles for 2008.

Aside from focusing on protecting our team members, we’ve also been doing our part to protect the environment. Thanks to General Motors, the Team has been supplied with a fleet of four Chevy Tahoe Hybrids to serve as support vehicles for this summer’s race. Even though the most advertised benefit of a hybrid vehicle is increased fuel economy, an arguably much more important benefit is the reduction in emissions. Translated, this means fewer pollutants in the air and a cleaner, healthier Earth.

Picture of Scout - one of the Chevy Tahoe Hybrids and the car that makes sure the road is clear for the solar car. Vehicle graphics courtesy of Signs By Tomorrow.

OrganicByTheCase.com has also partnered with the Team by donating organic food and supplies to be used on both our mock race as well as during the North American Solar Challenge. We’ve stocked our semi with organic cereal, granola bars, and drinks, all of which were produced without the introduction of harmful fertilizers and pesticides into the environment.

Spencer enjoying a cup of Oaty Bites cereal thanks to OrganicByTheCase.com.

Another sponsor of the 2007 project that has returned is Targus, maker of the world's top-selling laptop computer cases and accessories. They’ve sponsored the 2008 Race Crew with selections from their new line of eco-friendly laptop cases. All of the cases from the EcoSmart™ series are made of PVC-free material, meaning that there were no poisonous chemicals created during their manufacture. (When produced, PVC releases chemicals such as dioxins which may pose irreversible life-long health threats.)

In short, we'd just like to say thank you again to all of the above companies for supporting our team and helping us realize our goals. And while we may never be fully prepared nor save the environment on our own, at least we've made some steps in the right direction.

Battery Testing

2008-06-18T13:21:00.004-04:00

Jeff Rogers and I have spent the past two days at BluWāv Systems conducting final tests with Continuum's battery pack. We were able to successfully characterize the entire battery pack and calibrate some of Continuum's electrical sensors using BluWāv's equipment. We also had the chance to tour their facility. Below are two pictures from the trip:

Jeff (left) and I standing next to Continuum's battery pack and the ABC-150 (the piece of equipment used for most of the tests).

Jeff and I sitting in BluWāv's Smart Roadster. The vehicle features in-wheel electric motors designed and built by BluWāv. If only it had solar cells...

-Alex Dowling

Mock Race Images

2008-06-05T03:18:00.007-04:00

As we drive back on I94, I have regained a solid internet connection. Here are the missing photos from day 2 of mock race.

Our Scout vehicle parked at Crowder College in Neosho, Mo

The sun begins to rise at Crowder College

Driving north towards Topeka. During the morning the weather was not terrible, but in the distance we could see a roll cloud associated with the storm.
The storms brew ahead of Continuum.

The storm is advancing and we decided to head south
to stay safe and avoid the hail and tornadoes.

We head south to Nevada, Mo to avoid the storm

cells that have the race route covered.

Back on the road after the storms in clear skies!

Continuum rolls into the Topeka control stop and is received by team members.

End of Mock Race

2008-06-05T02:16:00.005-04:00

The semi has been packed, the team is asleep (well most of them), and it is now time for one last mock race post.

Day four of mock race finished strong. Our strategy team was planning on ending the day with an empty battery pack as if it were the end of the race, and they did just that. Despite some route issues (route materials we received in the middle of mock race differed from the route materials distributed to our navigators), the Fargo checkpoint went extremely well. Our support vehicles were ready to receive Continuum as it rolled in. As opposed to Tuesday, we spent less time on the side of the road--we had one tire change and one driver swap (no driver may be in the solar car for more than six hours in a row for a single day).
Tire change on the side of the road
Rolling into Fargo, the car checks were completed, the semi was loaded and then we were off to dinner. The team relaxed for a few hours, playing some fun games of miniature golf (free at our hotel) and then we were off to bed. Thank you very much to the AmericInn of Moorhead, MN for sponsoring the night! We greatly appreciated the evening to get some sleep before the 14 hour drive home.

All in all, mock race was a great success. We were able to practice many of the situations not occurring during routine testing, and learned a great deal about the race route. Although we faced some difficult weather along the route, both Continuum and the team performed extremely well. We are prepared for the race in July, and are all looking forward to it.

Mock Race Day 3

2008-06-04T10:46:00.011-04:00

We completed day 3 of mock race and ended just outside of Sioux Falls. The day didn’t go quite as planned. The morning started out strong as we headed into Omaha, but unfortunately less than a mile after we left the Omaha checkpoint we ran into a few problems that took us to the side of the road. With overheating issues, we had to wait for a while and fix a few problems with the motor controller. Back on the road again we were expecting bad weather, but we were able to find small clearings in the clouds where the sun was shining. With the extra power we were able to pick up our speed and travel at the speed limit. Throughout the day we also faced a few challenges that gave us good practice for the race. From detours, to construction zones and poorly marked roads, we were able to face the new challenges that we didn’t have to face in Australia.

Arriving just outside Sioux Falls, our weather and scout team were given the opportunity to find a place to stop for the night; we had some very friendly locals who allowed us to setup camp on their property. However with no sun shining through we were unable to take in an evening charge. In the morning of the forth day we were also unable to charge with full cloud coverage.

We are currently back on the road for day four of mock race! Traveling toward Fargo, we are under complete cloud cover. The weather has been varied quite a bit this mock race which has given our strategists a nice opportunity to simulate around the many different conditions.

Mock Race Day 2: A Varied Day of Raycing

2008-06-02T23:18:00.004-04:00

Folks, sorry about this post not going up earlier. I am having some difficulties with uploading pictures right now, but in the meantime here is the post from the afternoon (with images to follow).

Finally we are out under the sun! After a grueling morning filled with hail storms and 70 mph winds, we are back charging in the sunshine. We started this day in Neosho as an official stage start at 9am (although we left 25 seconds late). Following this we took off at a fast pact and headed north. About 60 miles later, Alex’s phone rang. It was Brad, our meteorologist telling us to get off the road and head south immediately. Storms were closing in on Nevada, MO and two cells in particular were about to hit. These cells were made up of golf-ball sized hail, 70 mph winds, and tornado warnings. We decided in the best interest of the car and the team to store the car and head south avoiding the two storm cells. About 2 hours later the storms had passed and we received the all clear sign from our strategy division. We put the car back on the road and we were off. At first we were traveling through the remnants of the storms and under full cloud cover, but after pushing through this final batch of clouds we hit clear skies and those have remained until now and hopefully for the final hour of racing.

Backing up a little bit to last night; I want to congratulate all of the Solar Bike Teams who competed yesterday at Neosho for the Solar Bike Rayce. Our team enjoyed speaking with the many different teams and participants. Thank you to the organizers for providing us with the best dinner we have had on mock race thus far. The catered meal will set a high standard for our Operations team to follow. Perhaps our Ops crew should be cooking multiple part meals with dessert. I would also like to thank everyone at Crowder College for welcoming us and giving us a place to stay and camp. We look forward to returning in just about six weeks.

NASC 2008 Mock Race Day 1

2008-06-01T15:08:00.011-04:00

I write this post from the road as we drive north from Dallas, Texas on the first day of Mock Race. The morning went very smoothly starting at precisely 9am from the race start in front of the Plano Centre.

Our semi outside the Plano Centre

Today things started very smoothly and it is a wonderful sight to see Continuum traveling at the speed limit on the road passing other cars!

The public apparently enjoys it as many cars continue to slow down and cruise next to the car as windows are rolled down and cell phone cameras extend out.

People passing slowed down to take photos,
many using their cellphones!

However with the crazy weather patterns, our strategists have been working to sort out the various storm systems we have been running in and out of. We have hit some rain and we are ready to face the rain again, if necessary. Overall, we are managing the storms well and still gaining a charge when the sun shines through! More updates later tonight!

Mock Race Update: Arrival in Dallas

2008-05-31T13:35:00.006-04:00

After nearly two full days of driving covering nearly 1200 miles, the team arrived last night in Dallas, Texas, the start of our Mock Race. While Continuum left for Dallas in our trailer on Wednesday evening, the rest of the team departed Thursday afternoon following a day of race preparations. Driving in our race fleet from General Motors, we reached Effingham, Illinois on Thursday evening. Special thanks to the Hilton Garden Inn of Effingham for their generous support, donating rooms to the team for the night. Their wonderful facilities were a great comfort to us all, allowing us to prepare for a long day of driving on Friday.

Three of the four members of our fleet donated by General Motors, prior to leaving on Thursday.

Friday's itinerary saw the team travel south through Illinois and Missouri before heading west through Little Rock, Arkansas, and into Texas through Texarkana. The scenes of the Midwest and the South were a distinct change from the Australian Outback, and had many sights of their own.

Our green fleet against a backdrop of Arkansas's green fields.

We were not the only spectacle of alternative energy on the road--being passed by a truck carrying a windmill blade.

The team arrived in Dallas shortly before 10:00 PM, Central Time, meeting Continuum at the Embassy Suites Dallas Love Field. The Embassy Suites have graciously sponsored the team's 2-night stay in Dallas and have allowed us to work on Continuum in their parking lot. In addition, they have offered our team two more nights in Dallas prior to the start of the race in July. The hotel staff kindly greeted us as we arrived, and after a brief meeting in the hotel lounge, team members relaxed and prepared for the next day.

Some took the evening to explore the hotel lobby.

After a night's rest, the team woke up to the hotel's complimentary breakfast and then set up working in the hotel parking lot. Our engineers are performing checks on Continuum, while our strategists are making final revisions to code and studying the weather for the days ahead. The operations crew has been shuttling around Dallas to ensure that the whole team is ready to race tomorrow.

Engineers performing checks on Continuum.

Other tasks included a run to the airport.

Continuum set up in front of the Embassy Suites Dallas Love Field.

We are all looking forward to the road ahead, be sure to check back soon for updates.

Mock Race Planning

2008-05-30T17:03:00.004-04:00

Continuum has been quite busy the past couple of weeks. From pre-scrutineering to testing at Michigan International Speedway (I'll post more about this soon!), the team has been amassing miles on the open roads. During our testing, Continuum has proven to be an extremely reliable car. Reliability is the key in this 2500 mile endurance race. Every minute spent on the side of the road fixing a problem costs you valuable race time.

The next step in testing for this team involves taking Continuum over 1000 miles away to Dallas, Texas to run a simulated version of the 2008 North American Solar Challenge.

The past couple days saw our team working day and night to pack and outfit our fleet vehicles that recently arrived from GM. I would very much like to thank General Motors for providing us with our race fleet as well as Motorola for the communications equipment mounted in each vehicle.

Currently the '08 race crew is traveling down to Texas to prepare for this mock race that will begin on Sunday. While the majority of our team has had quite a bit of experience racing in Australia, the 2008 North American Solar Challenge is quite different. With reduced sunlight, increased traffic, a more detailed, complex route, and new regulations, this race brings about new challenges. Mock race will give our team the experience it needs to race in these different conditions. Stay tuned for more updates!

Pre-Scrutineering

2008-05-27T11:34:00.006-04:00

Just over a week ago on Saturday May 17, our team participated in a pre-scrutineering event at the University of Waterloo. This event gave us a chance to meet with officials and have them review our car in much the same way they will when we arrive at the qualifying event before the race. During this qualifying event, race officials will run a series of tests on our car to ensure that our vehicle is safe. This process, called scrutineering, will analyze all aspects of the solar car and the caravan.

For the 2008 North American Solar Challenge, race officials offered the opportunity to run pre-scrutineering events at locations across the country to give teams a chance to practice scrutineering and get early feedback. This is helpful because the qualifying event is only 6 days before the race start and would not leave much time to make major changes if required.

On Saturday May 17, our team arrived at 5am at our workspace and by 5:30 we were on the road. After a four hour drive, we arrived at the University of Waterloo around 9:30.
Work then started at 10am with electrical scrutineering and every test we asked to run, Continuum passed.
Thanks to our operations crew, we had a very nice lunch before continuing with sizing and mechanical scrutineering. Again the tests went well and all of the items that the officials requested we fix, have been fixed!

Following these tests we moved to an adjacent parking lot and began to run a few of the dynamic tests.

Continuum again passed all of these tests and by 5pm the car was back in the trailer and we were on our way back to Ann Arbor. The team returned home around 11pm after a long 20 hour day.

The University of Waterloo was kind enough to host the event, and I would like to thank them for allowing our team to attend.

Welcome to the 2008 Race Season

2008-05-21T17:19:00.002-04:00

This upcoming July, we will be participating in the 2008 North American Solar Challenge (www.americansolarchallenge.org); a 10 day, 2500 mile trek from Dallas, Texas to Calgary, Alberta. Currently over 20 teams are registered and it is exciting to see teams from outside North America register as well!

Our 2008 race season began this past January with the selection of a new race crew and the return of Continuum from Australia. We have an outstanding race crew composed of many members from the previous 2007 Race Crew who participated in the 2007 Panasonic World Solar Challenge. In addition, we have added four new members to our engineering and strategy divisions.

Continuum is in excellent shape. The nose and body have been reformed and we have built new revisions of many of the mechanical and electrical parts on the car. The rules for the North American Solar Challenge are very similar to those of the Panasonic World Solar Challenge, however a few differences exist. This has caused a few changes to Continuum, such as the addition of strobe lights on the top of our vehicle.

Following the goals of our team, we will continue to strive to enter the best team into the 2008 North American Solar Challenge! Thank you to all our sponsors, friends, families, and team members that contribute to making this goal a reality.

Go Fast! Go Smooth! Go Blue!

Base-X Visit

2008-05-18T13:32:00.004-04:00

A couple weeks ago several of us went down to Fairfield, Virginia, to meet with a potential sponsor, Base-X . Base-X is the leading provider of rapid-deploying mobile infrastructure, and they have agreed to sponsor our team with three such structures. We spent the day learning what Base-X does and explaining what our team does, touring the facilities, and deciding on what shelters will best suit our needs. This also gave us a good first test run of one of our four Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid models, loaned to us this summer by long-time sponsor General Motors.

They have agreed to donate two of their 305 models, which are each 18’ x 25’. One will be used to house the car while it is being worked on, while the other will be used for strategy, operations, meetings, and sleeping at the end of the day. For times when we don’t have the space to set these up, we will also have one of their smaller 203 models, with no sidewalls, to use simply as a shield from the sun. Within the next couple of weeks they will be sending a crew of people up to Ann Arbor to train us in setting up the structures.

While our stay in Fairfield was very brief, we were fortunate enough to have our stay sponsored by Sugar Tree Inn, owned by Jeff and Becky Chanter. The rooms were fantastic and Jeff and Becky were kind enough to wake up early to prepare a delicious breakfast for us prior to our meeting. I would recommend the Inn to anyone traveling in that area.

Here are a few pictures from our day:

Our cabin at Sugar Tree Inn, along with Spencer's car and the Tahoe loaned to us by General Motors.

Breakfast provided by Sugar Tree Inn.

We were happy to see this greeting as we walked in to the Base-X facility.

An example shelter they had set up at the facility.

North American Testing Season

2008-05-06T12:24:00.006-04:00

With the arrival of May and the warm weather it brings, the team resumes testing of Continuum for the 2008 North American Solar Challenge. After completion of mechanical system upgrades and modifications for NASC '08, our engineers were eager to get Continuum out of the garage and onto the skidpad. After testing the car at low speeds and familiarizing our one new driver with the vehicle, the team successfully conducted dynamic testing.

Spencer driving across the skidpad:Steve navigating the slalom:Engineers watching attentively as testing progresses:

Images from WSC 2007

2007-11-16T12:27:00.001-05:00

The Race Crew is arriving back in the States and Continuum has completed around 1/3 of it's 1.5 month journey back to the US. Continuum will make a brief stop for an event in LA before being transported back home to Ann Arbor, MI. The Team is busy preparing for the 2008 North American International Auto Show where Continuum will sit on display between the 19th and 27th of January.

We've gathered an amazing amount of pictures from our journey across the Outback and, thanks to continued work with RCom Networks, we'll be releasing another documentary about The University of Michigan Solar Car Team, this time featuring our work with Continuum in WSC 2007. Details to come early next year.

In the meantime, by popular request, here's a collection of images from WSC '07:

Above: Continuum ready to start racing at 8:10am on October 21st, 2007.

Above: The public lined the barriers exiting the start line in Darwin

Above: The array experienced significant damage following an accident close to the start line. By far the most serious damage was seen in the front steering bulkhead which supports the vehicle's steering system. More than 50% of the carbon plate delaminated during the crash, rendering the car undriveable and requiring delicate repairs.

Above: Race Crew member sleeping in the semi between work shifts while repairing Continuum's body, steering, and array. Repairs were complete by 8:00am the next day.

Above: The engineering team spent all night after day 2 repairing extensive damage to the electrical system after experiencing a battery short caused by the accident the day before

Above: Continuum charging after a successful day on the road

Above: Booster module being installed during a control stop

Above: Temperatures exceeded 100 degrees F in the Northern Territory

Above: Spencer drives Continuum to the end of timing

Above: Race Crew sings the Victors at the end of timing

Above: Continuum Team at the ceremonial finish line in downtown Adelaide

Continuum averaged 89 kph during the second half of the race, finishing the 1500 kilometer stretch 45 minutes faster than our 2005 vehicle despite regulation changes. The vehicle passed nearly 30 Teams, making up between 7 and 10 hours of race time on its nearest competitors over 3,000 kilometers. Even after more than 10 hours of repairs, Continuum finished 7th place in the Challenge Class, only 9 minutes behind the 6th place Team, 47 minutes behind the 5th place Team, and 3 hours 47 minutes behind the 4th place Team.

Continuum Repair Pictures

2007-10-28T16:54:00.000-04:00

See below for pictures from the World Solar Challenge. Included are pictures of the repairs done to Continuum.

Damage to the lower surface:

Damage to the concentrator canopy:

Damage to the upper surface:

Beginning repairs on the lower surface:

Repaired lower surface:

Repairing the upper surface:

Continuum back on the road!

Continuum charing at a control stop:

Reflections

2007-10-28T12:54:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends, Family and Fans of the Michigan Solar Car Team,

I am Bob Culver, one of the faculty advisors of the team and I have just returned from Australia and would like to share some perspectives with you.

I often say that the Solar Car experience is a self-awareness or awakening of sorts, allowing students to find their own limits – what they can do and what they cannot do. Well, I was half right. This team was tested often. It started with a structural failure in the bulkhead just a few days before they were scheduled to leave for Australia. The team quickly analyzed and fixed the problem such that the resulting structure was stronger than ever. Then came the dust devil in Australia that almost destroyed the array that you have read about in the blog. And then, of course, was the accident. After a short period of shock and a few tears, the team began the arduous task of rebuilding the front end of Continuum. No one needed any inspirational speeches as everyone was working with determination and purpose as soon as the car was back to the Darwin racetrack. It was truly amazing and inspiring to see the car rebuilt and ready for racing in about 10 hours. This team responded to everything and anything that was thrown at them. So, pardon the double negative, the Continuum team never found out what they couldn’t do!

During the qualifying week, the Continuum team continued the Michigan tradition of helping other teams. The team let the Venezuela team borrow a motor when many of their parts got stuck in customs. And the team, with Chito’s help, built a new wheel hub for the Malaysian team after an accident during a qualifying run destroyed their only hub. What goes around, comes around. At the accident scene, a local Darwin gentleman happened by to see the damage. When he saw the damage, he said he had a friend who was an expert in carbon fiber composites. We called the expert, Mr. Mike Butler, and he joined us back at the racetrack pits. Mike brought with him some fast curing resin which turned out the be critical to getting the repairs done quickly.

A special thanks to all the sponsors of this team. You have enabled an experience of a lifetime for a very special group of kids. They may not have finished first, but this team is definitely a group of winners.

Continuum Finishes 7th in Challenge Class

2007-10-26T06:47:00.000-04:00

Continuum completed the last 280.7 km of the race in 2 hours and 55 minutes with an average speed of 96.7 km/h. Yesterday we ended with an empty charge on our batteries and today we finished with more than half of a charge remaining. For the Alice Springs to Adelaide half of the race we averaged 89.8 km/h and finished that section of the race only 16 minutes behind Nuon's time. We started this part of the race with well less than half of a battery charge, while they were given time to fully charge their batteries in Alice Springs. Continuum only just barely didn't catch up with the 3 Teams directly in front of us and we should end up in 7^th place in Challenge Class. Overall we passed over 25 Teams on our climb up the ranks after the accident. Continuum was the 4^th Team to cross the finish line. Congratulations to the Nuon Solar Team for their 1^st-place finish.

We must admit, from the beginning our goal was to place with a different finish than we ultimately placed, but at the end of the day we are very happy with how Continuum performed. To us, the first half of the race demonstrates that we are one of the best Teams in the world, while the second half demonstrates that we have one of the best cars in the world. A first place finish almost comes as an empty victory because it doesn't demonstrate how good a Team really is. Only adversity demonstrates this, and having rallied around the crash we were able to show the world just how well we face and conquer it, and how well-prepared the Team was. As we crossed the finish line there were 25 friends and family members who had made the trip to Australia to watch the race and cheer us on. All of us were happy that we could make them proud by completing this race the way that we did.

The World Solar Challenge has left everyone with a desire to continue racing Continuum. We all look forward to participating in the North American Solar Challenge, where we will have the opportunity to show what Continuum is truly capable of. None of this would have been possible without the tremendous support of our sponsors including our Platinum sponsors: The University of Michigan, The University of Michigan College of Engineering, BHP Billiton, Ford, and General Motors. We would like to thank all of them and we hope that we have made you proud to be a part of the University of Michigan Solar Car Team!

Go Fast, Go Smooth, Go Blue!

Continuum Finishes!!

2007-10-25T22:18:00.000-04:00

Continuum has now reached Adelaide and has successfully completed the 2007 World Solar Challenge! We completed the race in 46 hours and 3 minutes with an average speed of 65.09 km/hr. This puts us at 36 hours and 2 minutes not including the time lost from the accident with an average speed of 83.83 km/hr! Stay tuned for results as the Teams behind us finish the race! As soon as we hear from the race crew in Australia I'll get a more detailed update as well!

GO BLUE!

Day 4 Recap

2007-10-25T08:57:00.000-04:00

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, 13^th 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!!

Brief Control Stop Update

2007-10-25T00:41:00.000-04:00

Continuum has just passed through the Glendambo Control Stop around 1:30pm Australia time. Based on the GPS data we seem to have made it there without any stops and we should be able to make it most of the way to Port Augusta before the end of the day!

We recently learned that the Stanford Solar Car Team was involved in a race-ending accident. Our Team is very sorry to hear this as we have had a very good relationship with their Team since the beginning of this project. We are very thankful to hear that no one was injured in the Stanford accident and hope that they are able to repair their car for the upcoming North American Solar Challenge!

Day 3 Recap

2007-10-24T08:18:00.000-04:00

The Team is currently 45 km outside of Cadney Homestead. Today Continuum traveled a total of 700 km with an average speed of 82 km/hr. At Alice Springs, Continuum was in 7^th place among Challenge Class vehicles and 16^th overall. We were 11 hours and 24 minutes behind Nuon, 10 hours and 2 minutes behind Umicore, 9 hours and 40 minutes behind Aurora, 5 hours and 20 minutes behind Bochum, 4 hours and 26 minutes behind Twente, and 3 hours and 58 minutes behind Soutern Taiwan. Today we have gained 30 minutes on Bochum , 1 hour on Twente, and 50 minutes on Soutern Taiwan. Please keep in mind that we have had 10 hours and 2 minutes of down time from repairs during the first 2 days of the race. Also keep in mind that even if we go through the control stop before a Team they may still be ahead of us due to the way the Alice Springs Control Stop was structured.

The format for the Alice Springs Control Stop was not known by officials or the Teams until 5:30 on Tuesday evening. The way it worked is that when we arrived at 11am on Wednesday morning the first 6 challenge class teams had at least 2 hours of charge time (and as much as 10 hours of charge time) while Teams that arrived after only got 30 minutes of charging. The first 3 Challenge Class teams were spaced out the distance they arrived and then each car after that was spaced out in 10 minute intervals. Challenge Class Teams arriving after that treated it as a normal control stop. Basically the slowest cars were allowed the least charge time and the fastest cars were given the most charge time.

Today we are just outside of Cadney Homestead and teams like Nuon got here at 1:54pm, while Umicore arrived at 3:20 in the afternoon. Continuum arrived later than them, but we had to drive another 220km this morning just to reach Alice Springs. It took us 5 hours and 43 minutes to get to our stopping point from Alice Springs, meaning that we should arrive in Cadney Homestead in 6 hours and 15 minutes. Despite setbacks and only running on half of a battery pack's charge, Continuum is keeping pace with even the lead cars. In general, the crew is focused on regaining ground and is extremely proud to see Continuum making so much progress in such a short amount of time. It’s one thing to build a fast Team, but to have a Team who can take on a challenge this great, clear it, and still be so fast is incredible to be a part of. It’s almost impossible to prepare for what happened on Day 1 despite thousands of miles of testing in light and heavy traffic. To have rebuilt Continuum overnight is fascinating to see. We look to arrive in Adelaide at midday on Friday and we are eager to see how Continuum will perform over the next 2 days.

Go Fast, Go Smooth, Go Blue!

Race Update

2007-10-23T22:30:00.000-04:00

Last night Michigan camped a little over 200 km north of Alice Springs and Continuum did not have to pull over even once. This was the first night since the accident that everyone could get a good night's sleep. It took Continuum just under 3 hours to reach Alice Springs this morning, which was treated as a normal control stop. This unfortunately means that we were not able to recharge our batteries like the Teams that arrived the day before. We plan to cross into South Australia this afternoon and will hopefully approach the Cadney Homestead Control Stop by the end of the day. At the border of the Northern Territory, the speed limit drops to 110 kph, limiting the speed at which Teams can cruise. Because of the control stop, everyone is only about 3 hours ahead of us on the road (a bit more for total elapsed time). Consequently all other Challenge Class Teams should experience the same weather, so we should be able to catch up with a fair number of them.

Weather update from Nate Lehman

The Weather Team is 60 or 70km ahead of the rest of the Team. We started off the race as prepared as we could be. The forcasting went really well. The only issue was with the Intermet hardware, but after speaking with Intermet to troubleshoot hardware problems, this was fixed. We have had several successful weather balloon launches so far and launch them 4 times per day – at 7am, 11am, 3pm, and 7pm. The UAV has yet to be launched, but once we reach Southern Australia we will do that, too. There was a 250 km wall of clouds that slowed us down quite a bit before Alice Springs. Right now we’re getting about 25 or 30 mph headwinds that are slowing Continuum. After seeing the control stop leader board in Alice Springs we realized that we aren’t doing all that badly especially considering the one day that we lost in Darwin. Everyone is excited at how well Continuum is performing after the accident and we hope to continue passing other teams in South Australia!

Tennant Creek Control Stop

2007-10-22T23:57:00.001-04:00

Continuum has just passed through Tennant Creek. The trip from Dunmarra was made without any stops along the way, indicating that the electrical repairs were successful! This control stop was only open for another 2 hours so Continuum arrived with perfect timing. So far this morning we have already passed around 10 teams!

Looking ahead, our weather crew told us that it is raining around Alice Springs. After the crash, water proofing was a concern so the engineers ensured that the car would not have any problems with rain during the Tennant Creek control stop.

Meanwhile, Jeff Ferman and Brian Ignaut have gone ahead to Alice Springs. They will work out how the Alice Springs Control stop will work for our Team after the set backs from the accident. Generally this stop is used as a halfway point where cars are able to recharge their batteries for most of Tuesday. Unfortunately due to the accident we will be arriving as the Challenge Class vehicles leave. We hope to gain some time after other Challenge Class vehicles leave to charge our batteries. More to come!

Go Blue!

Day 1 Recap

2007-10-22T07:58:00.000-04:00

After one day of racing Continuum has gone approximately 600 km. Going into Katherine Continuum was performing as well as before the accident. On the trip from Katherine to Dunmarra we experienced problems with our electrical systems that we did not have time to troubleshoot during the 24 hours after the crash. While these slowed us down, we are still not far from Dunmarra and these should be fixed for racing tomorrow. The electrical division has benches lined up with all of their components, soldering irons, and laptops. They plan to fix the systems on the car before the night's end. Aerodynamically the car was entirely repaired and does not consume any more power than it did before. Mechanically the car seems to be completely repaired and is even performing better as we have yet to have a flat tire! There are 900 km until Alice Springs and 2 control stops. This should put us there early Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, Nate launched several weather balloons today and is extremely excited to get the weather program up and running for the remainder of the race.

Overcoming Challenges

2007-10-21T22:44:00.000-04:00

After 24 hours of hard work, repairs to Continuum are complete! Scrutineering proved Continuum to be safe and reliable after the repairs. The Team began racing again at 8am this morning and has just arrived at the first control stop in Katherine around noon. They'll be charging the batteries for the next half hour or so. Spencer was the driver for the car. When asked if he was driving his response was "Well yeah, I didn't get to drive very long yesterday." We passed the 1^st of 37 teams and hope to pass more over the course of the day! Continuum has performed similarly to before the accident thus far and we hope to continue through the Outback at our current pace.

Go Fast, Go Smooth, GO BLUE!

From the pits

2007-10-21T08:50:00.000-04:00

After picking up supplies to keep the team healthy and awake, I have stopped by to provide everyone with a quick update. Tonight will be a late night and we are currently installing new modules on the upper. The completed vehicle will be tested to ensure safety for the driver early tomorrow morning. We are confident the testing will prove the vehicle to be safe and able to continue down the Stuart Highway. Therefore we are treating tonight as any other race evening and will have our drivers in bed shortly. Tomorrow our race day will be begin bright and early with sunrise and we will have the car back on the road at 8am, the normal start time.

It is quite impressive to see the entire team come together immediately after the accident and all divisions have been helping with the repairs. Thank you all for your support. Brian passed it on to everyone at the team meeting and we look forward to an providing another positive update tomorrow.

As always,

Go Fast, Go Smooth, Go Blue!

Continuum Repair Update

2007-10-21T06:49:00.000-04:00

Repairs to the chassis and upper surface are finished and they are currently being sanded. The new solar modules will be on the car shortly - forcing us to wait until they cure. Later this evening we will be doing speed and dynamic testing on the race track to ensure that Continuum is safe and that there are no further problems with the car. Continuum will be ready to race again tomorrow morning at 8am.

Continuum Repairs

2007-10-21T02:18:00.000-04:00

Race officials have been working with us to ensure that all Team members are safe after the accident and there has been a lot of immediate support from both race officials and locals. Coming out of this impact, our lead vehicle actually shows more sign of damage than Continuum itself. The rear hatch has been forced in to the point where it is non-functional. Thanks to proper race caravaning, the crash was less severe than it could have been considering the vehicles were forced to brake from 70 km/hr.

Fortunately, in crashing Continuum performed exactly as designed. The crush space protected the driver entirely and components failed as predicted, a tribute to the amazing designs. Meanwhile, Spencer Bailey, the driver of Continuum, has walked away with only a single scratch and a bruise from the seat belt. During the collision his head didn’t even hit the roll bar.

The Continuum Race Crew has moved to a garage at the Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin and within a matter of hours has begun work on Continuum. Damaged modules have been removed, composites are being reinforced, components are being replaced with spares, and preparations for the new array are underway. There is a flurry of activity around the lower surface since it is the most complex and structural part of Continuum. Parts are being repaired, making them even stronger than before the accident without much added weight. The pace of work is quick and the final time for completion will be largely limited by the curing time for resins and epoxies rather than the energy of students working on Continuum. Ultimately, everything looks like it can be repaired.

Even after all of this we are all confident that at 8am tomorrow morning Continuum will be back on the road and operating the way it was designed. We started this race as a world class team and we plan to finish this race as a world class team.

Continuum Accident

2007-10-20T21:06:00.000-04:00

In the first hour of racing today, Continuum has had an accident. Spencer Bailey was the driver of Continuum, and aside from a small scratch on his leg, he is perfectly fine. After the Stanford Solar Car Team passed our Team, they stopped abruptly, causing our lead driver to stop, and Continuum to hit our lead vehicle.

As for the car, the concentrator canopy is cracked in multiple places and will be replaced with our spare. The front of the car will need to be repaired and the front solar modules replaced. There was also delamination seen in some of the front bulkheads.

The car is currently back at the test track in Darwin and will be repaired over the next day. At that point we will evaluate the condition of the car and decide whether it is safe to complete the race across the Outback. I will update you again on the status of the car after I speak to the Team in Australia later in the night.

Sincerely,

Tom Carroll
Interim Project Manager

Here we go!

2007-10-20T09:12:00.000-04:00

Continuum completed dynamic scrutineering successfully this morning at 9:00am at the Hidden Valley Raceway. Our qualifying lap was 2 minutes 30 seconds, securing us the 11th position in tomorrow morning's starting lineup. A total of 38 solar cars will leave Darwin for Adelaide in the 20th anniversary of this amazing race.

Continuum has been packed into the semi for transportation to the start line in a few hours. All the seams are taped, all the bolts are checked, the batteries are charged, and the tires are filled. Continuum will be unpacked at 5:00am tomorrow morning just outside of Parliament where the race will begin. Early hours will be filled with additional system checks, additional pre-race scrutineering, and a public display immediately before drivers enter their cars at 7:45. As the 11th vehicle beginning the 2007 World Solar Challenge, Continuum will cross the start line at 8:10am tomorrow morning (6:40pm on Saturday evening in Ann Arbor.)

We're all very pleased with how far Continuum has come since it was completed earlier this summer. The vehicle has logged 2,390 miles of pre-race testing in 2.5 months, 1,710 of which were on Australian soil with an active concentrator system. Recent testing has shown that we're finally reaching the levels of performance that we've been hoping for. As Continuum rolls out of Darwin in approximately 8 hours, we can be proud knowing that we've completed a suitable addition to the long lineage of Michigan Solar Cars.

Blog posts during the race will be delivered with the help of Tom Carroll, our Interim Project Manager based in Ann Arbor. Tom has been working behind the scenes with a strong group of Team members back on campus to help support our efforts here in Oz. If you'd like to contact anyone on the Race Crew over the next 5-6 days, please send emails to solarcar@umich.edu where Tom will receive the messages and forward them to the Wolverines crossing the Outback. For up to date information on race progress, you can follow the pack through the WSC website at www.wsc.org.au.

Thanks to everyone for your kind messages and words of encouragement. We look forward to making you proud this week.

Go Fast, Go Smooth, GO BLUE!!!

Brian

On to dynamic testing & track qualifications

2007-10-19T09:18:00.000-04:00

Technical scrutineering is complete for all Teams and Michigan is spending extra time tonight charging batteries for track testing tomorrow. Dynamic scrutineering begins at 8:30am tomorrow and should be complete for all 59 teams (38 solar cars and 21 green fleet) by 1:30pm. Teams will be released onto the track three at a time, after which they'll take turns running one cold lap and one hot (timed) lap to determine start position. Immediately after completing the hot lap, each team will pull into the drag strip (parallel to the straight away) where each team will complete all basic dynamic scrutineering tests.

Today was a productive day for Continuum. Array testing and track testing produced positive results thanks to hours of work over the past week. We can watch seconds being shaved off lap times as drivers become more and more comfortable with the curvy road of the Hidden Valley Racecourse. Tomorrow will give us the chance to build off of these recent improvements to bring the vehicle closer to achieving the level of performance that we've been hoping for.

We're now less than 36 hours away from race start and the whole race crew is excited to let Continuum loose on the Stuart Highway. There's a strong sense of pride amongst everyone here knowing what this Team has accomplished over the past two years. This is a great way to start a race.

Go Blue!

Brian