This past weekend, members of the 2010 race crew practiced caravanning with Infinium for the first time. It was a very exciting experience for new members and the general public alike. As the caravan drove through Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, many heads were turned and motorists often pulled out cameras.

The experience went well and helped lead and chase drivers learn how to block traffic. It was also good practice for lead to call out the conditions of the road ahead. Issues with calling lights early were noted and ironed out. As well as this first road test went, it was not without incident. One turn was missed at the beginning of the route. Instead of making a difficult left turn, the caravan headed back to the workspace and started over. Crew chief Gerald Chang also had to get out of chase and push Infinium through two dangerous intersections. Finally, uncooperative weather caused the main caravan to pull off the road twice so that rainwater could be wiped from Infinium's windshield.

Caravanning In Ann Arbor: Infinium driving east on Fuller Road. Main caravan's lead vehicle is seen ahead.

Coming off our 2008 victory, we have learned that every mile driven on Infinium before the race is one less mile we are likely to break down on the race. Reliability is essential to building a championship solar car, as well as allowing for ample time to make minor tweaks that translate into minutes off the clock.

Infinium at Michigan International Speedway

As of now, Infinium has driven for over 1080 miles (1738 kilometers) and 26 hours with an average speed around 40 mph (65 kph). We have tested the car through a variety of different scenarios: low speed endurance, high speed endurance, precision steering and handling, basic vehicle dynamics, cobblestone road, and open road during rush hour. I am happy to say that with the exception of a few very minor glitches, the car is performing exactly as designed. We also pass all mandated vehicle dynamics testing for both the 2009 Global Green Challenge and the 2010 North American Solar Challenge with a sizable safety factor. In fact, everyone who has driven the solar car attests that it handles significantly better than the vans that serve as our lead and chase vehicles.

I'm here at the workspace where earlier today we successfully completed the first open road testing of Infinium.  After our initial tests in a North Campus parking lot this weekend where many of the team members got the chance to drive Infinium, we outfitted our lead and chase vehicles with hazard lights in preparation for public roads. 

This morning we got out to the workspace early for all of the necessary safety checks and route preparations, and then our test driver Gerald Chang took the wheel as we rolled out onto Mansfield Road for for a few hours on the bumpiest road on earth (Mansfield Road).  The test went off with only a few technical hiccups despite the rough road conditions, and according to Gerald, even on Mansfield the ride is pretty smooth and a ton of fun.  Everyone else on the roads seemed pretty interested in the car, and we were able to count more than a few turned heads as we went by.

Check back after the unveiling for pictures of the test, I'm pretty sure some people snapped a few (I was occupied driving lead).