Raycing across Alberta: Schulich 1 heads for home today.
the early morning light before heading to the finish line for the 4,000-kilometre race in front of the Olympic Oval on the U of C campus. The U of C’s Schulich 1 vehicle will be the sixth vehicle off the starting line as driver Tiffany Veltman brings the vehicle home from the epic cross-continent rally.
“This race has been a great experience but I am also really looking forward to getting back home,” Veltman said. “The finish line is something we’re all excited about because we know there are so many people following us and supporting us.”
The U of C is 10 hours behind the top-5 NASC leaders in the overall standings for the race but has managed widen the gap between its rivals from the Missouri Univeristy of Science and Technology to two hours. Schulich 1 was given four hours of time penalties for trailering the car into Winnipeg and from Winnipeg to Brandon over the weekend. Many teams also received penalties for trailering after cloudy skies made it impossible to charge batteries sufficiently. The top five teams include the University of Michigan, Principia College, FH Bokum, Waterloo University and the University of Minnesota.
Monday saw brilliant sunshine fuel up vehicles as they continued Stage 3 of the race across Saskatchewan. The U of C team pulled out of the checkstop in Regina at 8:45 am and drove its fastest day yet as Schulich 1 hits speeds of up to 100 km/h. The car crossed the border into Alberta shortly before 5 pm and the team was able to charge the car’s batteries in the evening and will continue charging this morning before heading west for Calgary.
“Our goal was to break even and hold our batteries to 70 per cent of their capacity by charging while we were driving, and we pretty much managed to do that,” the team’s electrical engineering manager Leo Marrero said. “We’ll charge up as much as we can this morning and as long as the clouds don’t move in too fast, we’ll be in good shape to get into Calgary this afternoon.”
The solar cars will head west on the Trans-Canada Highway and the leading teams are scheduled to arrive in Calgary at approximately 12:30 pm. The race route through the city will see the cars and their escort vehicles travel west along 16 Avenue to 52 Street NE where they will head north to McKnight Blvd. The cars will then follow McKnight Blvd. west to John Laurie Blvd before turning south onto Charleswood Drive and then follow 32 Avenue NW to the U of C at Collegiate Blvd.
Wild Rose Country: FH Bokum's car enters Alberta on Monday.
The U of C’s finish line celebration will take place from 10 am to 4 pm and includes a barbecue and environmental expo and a chance for the public to see the solar cars on display and meet solar car team members. It is the second consecutive time the U of C has hosted the NASC finish line after the race left the United States for the first time in 2005.
“The folks in Calgary have really impressed us with their hospitality and creating a real party-like atmosphere for the finish,” race director Dan Eberle said. “We are really glad to be coming back to Calgary for this year’s event.”
