Final Day of Racing

Posted Tue, 10/27/2009 - 4:18pm by Steven Durbin

Solar Enthusiasts,

I would like to thank everyone for the tremendous amount of support the team has received. In a couple of hours Infinium will start its fourth and hopefully final day of the race. The team is attempting to finish second in the World Solar Challenge, something that has never been accomplished in the team's 20 year history. To finish second, the team will have to pass the four-time defending champions, Nuon, a task which will not be easy by any means.

To follow Infinium on the last day please take this link. Infinium's position will be updated approximately every ten minutes. I hope everyone will track Infinium until it crosses the finish line in Adelaide. As soon as I hear from the team, I will post the final results.

Go Fast, Go Smooth, Go Blue!

Steve Durbin
Interim Project Manager

Comments

OMG check out this picture of
by Chris Hammond (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 11:20am
OMG check out this picture of the inside of Nuna5. Did they make a fiberglass case for their Wavesculptor? These guys are insane, and we should definitely steal that idea. http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&sl=nl&tl=en&u=h...
" http://twitpic.com/n9el6 -
by Anonymous (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 11:06am
" http://twitpic.com/n9el6 - Nuna 5 ready for a final race day. Tomorrow morning normal startup procedures, then on to Adelaide! Tomorrow morning normal startup procedures, then on to Adelaide! Goodnight!" about 1 hour ago from TwitPic
hey does anyone know what's
by Deeana Ijaz (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 10:53am
hey does anyone know what's going on with the pack?
We won't know for sure until
by Chris Hammond (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 11:09am
We won't know for sure until Hechtman posts his update. My best guess is that the battery is perfectly fine, but they misjudged the initial speed required to make it up the hill because they were desperately trying to conserve energy. I'm sure there were a ton of other factors involved too, I'm just conjecturing wildly :-P
Also, apparently they blew
by Chris Hammond (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 10:20am
Also, apparently they blew out a tire in Coober Pedy (I swear that town has a tire curse) http://twitpic.com/n8xlq
We cheer them again We cheer
by Roxanna (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 10:16am
We cheer them again We cheer and cheer again For Michigan, we cheer for Michigan We cheer with might and main We cheer, cheer, cheer With might and main we cheer! GO BLUE! Awesome race thus far Infinium, last leg will be short and sweet, can't wait!
It's amazing, those hills
by garrickw - 10/28/2009 - 9:37am
It's amazing, those hills look like almost nothing when you've got sun and some charge in the pack. Still, way to make of a race of it. And while 3rd is our apparent curse, it's also pretty bloody good. Have fun and Go Blue!
Went up to collect Bob Allan
by Tim Allan (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 8:26am
Went up to collect Bob Allan so that he could have a shower and a comfortable nights sleep. The team are about 12kms North of Pt Wakefield with Nuon 57Kms in front. Nuon team had a massive bonfire going as we drove past. Not sure that was entirely legal given the potential for grass fires but it looked like they were enjoying themselves. Team seemed to be in fairly good spirits. The icecream and cokes went down a treat.
By "team" I mean UofM. just
by Tim Allan (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 8:28am
By "team" I mean UofM. just to clarify
Go team! You are in the home
by Maggie (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 7:51am
Go team! You are in the home stretch! Just think, an hour or two more on the road, and you can look forward to warm meals, real beds, and showers! Give it your best these last few kms, you are almost there! You are doing awesome, and have given all of us at home something to be very excited about and so proud of your efforts. Keep the Michigan spirit up, and show them what you're made of. GO BLUE!
I am impressed and proud.
by Max Ross (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 7:20am
I am impressed and proud. You guys pushed a beautiful machine, and yourselves, to the absolute edge of possibilities. We had the same kind of day in 2005 driving next to Aurora the entire 4th day. It was not just battery draining but emotionally draining.
Jeff, I've been looking at
by Flippah (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 6:59am
Jeff, I've been looking at your map (see link). It seems your bearfooting, get some sleep ! (haven't got a clue what the local time is. ;-) Keep on racing
Bo Cruiser's lead car crashed
by TC Lambert (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 6:57am
Bo Cruiser's lead car crashed when a camper swerved in front of them. They are now using their trailer turck as lead. Somebody else had a crash with a support vehicle, too. I count 8 crashes this year, counting Nuna5's 3 weeks prior to the race, and Unicore's 2 on the test track.
Oh, yeah, Tokai finished
by TC Lambert (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 6:52am
Oh, yeah, Tokai finished already. (Where's Godzilla when you need him?) Fantastic run. Their 140 kg car did 901 km on Day 3. Amazing. So light and so fast. There's lessons to be learned from them, I think.
Here's a puzzler, though.
by TC Lambert (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 6:59am
Here's a puzzler, though. Without losing 6 hours to an accident, Aurora 101 would be right up there with Nuon and Michigan. And they are running with silicon cells. How do they go so fast with less efficient solar cells?
For example, in one of their
by Cameron Wylie (not verified) - 10/30/2009 - 2:07pm
For example, in one of their daily reports they claim to consume 1100 watts at 90 kph. That is probably close to 2/3 of the power consumed by other cars at that speed. Amazing.
Very light and significantly
by Anonymous (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 11:51am
Very light and significantly more aerodynamic. Recall they were only a few hours off the pace in 2007 as well even after suffering electrical reliability issues early in the race.
In other news, UNSW's
by TC Lambert (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 6:41am
In other news, UNSW's Sunswift passed MIT. Sunswift now in 4th. MIT 5th. Principia in 6th. Aurora 101 in 7th. Solar Team Twente, running on sunshine and duct tape, is 8th, and made it to Kulgera. Willeton High School in 9th (a high school team!). Bochum's Solar World No. 1 is 10th. Stanford slipped to 18th, but reached Kulgera. In the Adventure class, OSU reached Port Augusta about 2 hours after Nuna 5 and Infinium. All the teams have passed Alice Springs now, though several have not yet reached Kulgera.
Wow, I take a little nap and
by TC Lambert (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 6:32am
Wow, I take a little nap and all hell breaks loose. 5 or 6 times Nuna 5 and Infinium passed each other? Wow.
With some delay translated
by AndreH-Groningen (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 4:52am
With some delay translated dutch videos http://wsctube.blogspot.com Nice to read the stuff anyway. Can anybody explain me something about batteries ? You can not unload them below a special threshold because than..what happens ? They lose capicty ?
It doesn't sound like battery
by Anonymous (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 5:10am
It doesn't sound like battery pack was damaged, which is good. Anyway, Li-ion (and I think they are) cells could become unstable and alter their chemical structure if the charge level drop below certain level. Keep in mind that Lithium is highly flammable, and they can explode! Sometimes you hear news stories of laptops and cellphones catching fire out of nowhere and those are caused by Li-ion cells.
The pack is actually LiFePO4
by Chris Hammond (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 10:07am
The pack is actually LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate), which is heavier for the same energy storage, but is also more stable. You pretty much can't damage them by undervolting.
Race day is over? How did the
by Mary Keefe and David Reitzell (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:44am
Race day is over? How did the day end? Did we break down? Does anyone know where Nuon stopped?
Steve Hechtman is writing up
by Chris Hammond (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:56am
Steve Hechtman is writing up a blog entry to chronicle the whole ordeal, so just wait for it and he'll explain everything. The team gave it everything they had, and they ran out of juice on the same hill that stopped Momentum in 2005. I assure you that the pack isn't damaged though, since A123 cells are indestructible. Good job team, it's been a hell of a race so far.
Like I said, that Delft guy
by Jurien (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 4:19am
Like I said, that Delft guy said +10 CET is 17:00, and ofcourse the pack is not damaged, like Racer D wrote, he wrote "stuivertje wisselen", 6 times, means rotational aheadd, , Michigan can win that race, still !
Twitter: "Michigan's battery
by Anonymous (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:52am
Twitter: "Michigan's battery dipped below treshold voltage when climbing a hill. Pack is damaged, they won't drive again today." http://twitter.com/Racer_D
Darn, that sounds just like
by Maggie (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 7:46am
Darn, that sounds just like 2005. Boy, I just hope it wasn't raining.
That is his speculation but
by Cameron Wylie (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:55am
That is his speculation but preliminary reports from the team indicate that isn't the case. I'm sure a detailed blog update will follow shortly clarifying the exciting events of today. An amazing day of racing for sure.
Nuon reports that they
by Elson Liu (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:47am
Nuon reports that they stopped 27 km outside of Adelaide: http://twitter.com/Racer_D/statuses/5225050677
The GGC map shows Nuon ~70 km
by Cameron Wylie (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 4:16am
The GGC map shows Nuon ~70 km from the end of timing and just over 30 km in front of MI at the end of day 4.
They did stop but only for
by Anonymous (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:47am
They did stop but only for about 10mins. Nuna is in front.
Its 18:14 racing time in
by Jurien (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:32am
Its 18:14 racing time in Australia, so its not possible what Racer D said ! I will eat my cap !!
the day is over it is now
by Anonymous (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:43am
the day is over it is now 5:12 race time but 4:42 adelaide time.
we raced until 3:30 EST. The
by Cameron Wylie (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:42am
we raced until 3:30 EST. The race day was based on the time zone in Darwin.
day finishes at 5:00
by Anonymous (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:44am
day finishes at 5:00
Twitter: "Michigan has now
by Anonymous (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:15am
Twitter: "Michigan has now fully stopped next to the road. Their top shell is off the car." http://twitter.com/Racer_D
Michigan has now fully
by Anonymous (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:14am
Michigan has now fully stopped next to the road. Their top shell is off the car.
How much time before the end
by Mary Keefe and David Reitzell (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:00am
How much time before the end of today's racing?
26 minutes, I think.
by Elson Liu (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:04am
26 minutes, I think.
~25 min
by Chiao-Ting (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:04am
~25 min
half hour . . I know it sound
by Cheryl (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:03am
half hour . . I know it sound weird, but they quit at 5:00 there and there is a half hour time zone . . .so they're nearly done for today.
They might race on if the
by hAl (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:12am
They might race on if the finish is really close. No use stopping if the finish is only a few miles away
They are roughly 100 km from
by Cameron Wylie (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 3:45am
They are roughly 100 km from the end of timing.
Anybody have up to the second
by Mary Keefe and David Reitzell (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 2:41am
Anybody have up to the second news? Even Nuon isn't giving any info
I'm on Facebook with my son
by Cheryl (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 2:47am
I'm on Facebook with my son who is there . . . on the team. I will get back to you ASAP! Last I spoke to him they were still in second place.
I have been speaking with
by Steven Durbin - 10/28/2009 - 2:51am
I have been speaking with team. Nuon did pass us and has a lead over 1km.
Chris says they have been
by Cheryl (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 2:50am
Chris says they have been passed by Nuon but they're real close behind.
According to tweeter: "This,
by Anonymous (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 2:43am
According to tweeter: "This, this is racing :) Nuna 5 is now about 1 km ahead." http://twitter.com/Racer_D
Supposedly Nuon is a km or
by Rbt (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 2:43am
Supposedly Nuon is a km or two in front of UM.
Oh my gosh. What a great
by Dylan's aunt (not verified) - 10/28/2009 - 2:14am
Oh my gosh. What a great race. I think I will stay up to see the end of that race. Go Blue, team. I think I better cut back drinking caffiene. I am too perked to see all those updates. Good job,team.