Nouvelles

A fourth day of racing for Esteban, Polytechnique Montréal's solar-powered car, in the American Solar Challenge

July 17, 2012 - Source : NEWS

The American Solar Challenge (ASC) takes place from July 14 to 21, 2012.

For eight days, 18 teams are taking part in the biannual competition, which tests the efficiency, durability and safety of student-designed solar vehicles. The cars must run, using only solar energy, from Rochester, N.Y., to Saint Paul, Minn., covering more than 2,575 km.

On July 12, the team carried off a major challenge, completing 109 laps (105 were mandatory) in the qualifying event, thus moving on to the official ASC race. Quite an exploit for a car that had never raced before! The big ASC kick-off took place on Saturday, July 14. Esteban, weighing 426 kg, had to confront a number of hills and quite a few clouds—the team was stuck rolling along at 40 km/h at times.

The third day of the race also featured a few glitches. Having just left the starting line, poorly positioned stirrups forced the vehicle to a halt. The team took a moment to fix the problem and was eventually able to start again. After driving for an hour or two between Erie and Mansfield, Pennsylvania, the team was forced to stop again in Jefferson because of a low battery. A hurried stop on the highway meant the team couldn't get to the hotel they had reserved, so they ended up spending the night on... a farm! The Montréal delegation was welcomed by the Devine family.

Team members immediately got about the business of improving the equipment that manages the solar panels' power, and in so doing they set themselves apart from the other teams: the students believe they can get one and a half times more power than before. The day's goal is to complete the next step at a speed of at least 50 km/h.

Despite all the hurdles, the team's morale is high!

Polytechnique wishes them the best of luck for the next leg of the race!