UM Solar - ASC - Day 3
UPDATE: Quantum has arrived at the Control Stop in K-zoo. Looks like a perfect day for solar car racing, a few puffy clouds but mostly clear. I would think they'll be close to the MI/IN border when they decide to stop for the day.
Day 3 is complete and Quantum enjoys a 3+ hour lead. Obviously, it was nice to be back in Ann Arbor. Even President Coleman came out to show her support.
Today, the Team is off to Lansing with a check point in Kalamazoo (Western Michigan). They will stop some place south of K-zoo in either Michigan or north central Indiana.
Here Quantum charges batteries at Black and Veatch:
Showing off at the Starting Line with a quick tire change:
After hitting a sign post, MIT was sporting some damage:
All fixed now:
ISU explains the damage to their car (from hitting a curb):
And, they're off!
All video courtesy of Furqan Nazeeri
Here's a LINK to the Team's web site. They'll be at Illinois State University, in Normal, IL, on Wednesday, July 18.
and for how long? I will be in K-zoo this afternoon and know where their stop there is, so (if time permits) I'd like to see the Quantum and crew and take some pictures.
I can understand hitting a curb if you're trying to optimize your route with tight corners, but how the heck do you hit a post at 15 MPH?!
They will be arriving in K-Zoo around 1:30pm, will be there for their control stop for just 1 hour. Location (according to their website) is at WMU's College of Engineering, just off Drake Road, for anyone in the Kalamazoo area.
Is it stalking to tweet the Solar Team?
I'm sure they would love your support, via Tweet.. =D
Isn't that like asking the cometitor's stable to hold your horse overnight? Somebody will get on the adjacent rooftop with a big tent to block out the sun.
Note: I don't really think they'll do that.
Well, I guess you could wonder the same thing after spending the night in A2. Additionally, they'll be in Normal, IL tomorrow night @ Illinois State. IL St. has a car in the race as well. And, the race finsihes in St. Paul where a certain University of Minnesota resides. I'm sure Goldy will be hovering somewhere. However, at that point, it won't matter. =D
I noticed they made an update when entering Ohio and entering Michigan. Any guesses to an update on when they enter Indiana? I would hate to miss them when they are so close but can't just sit outside all day.
Edit: Nevermind, they just updated and have crossed over into Indiana! Looks like I will leave a little early so I can see them!
At that rate, the run over to Normal (IL) tomorrow will be short and quick. Considering the weather, chance of rain = 30% & pop-up t-storms, perhaps that's the plan. Thursday may be interesting, too. The precipitation pssibility goes up somewhat (40%) as the front pushes thru.
So I tried to run out at work to get a glimpse of Michigan as they go through Goshen and I missed them by a couple minutes. I wish I would have had a couple more minutes to because I feel like this would have been awesome, and was probably my best chance to see something like this.
On a side note, in heading back to my office I saw what I thought was going to be them but it was someone else. I couldn't tell who it was but is it possible that someone made up that much time today? I thought we (I know I am not part of this) had like a 3 hour lead?
Everyone started within the same hour or so in Ann Arbor this morning. It's a little bit like the Tour de France where time is kept in the aggregate but stages have starts and ends where everyone is in the same place.
Tomorrow's weather will be bad. Michigan's lead might be 6 hours by the time they hit Normal, IL
With over a year to analyze data and make tweaks, I wonder if we have a good shot at the WSC in 2013. Been third the last THREE times, and not by much. It's time to take it home.
Would have been at least second if not for the fairing/fender issue in Australia. Not to sure that they could have been first regardless.
Quantum at WSC is sort of like Achilles: Designed to destroy its competitors with its efficiency, but ultimately undone by a fatal weakness.
But you'd think they must be getting closer to hammering that issue out.
Which issue? When you are pushing the boundary of what you know and what you are capable of, new problems occur.
Progress is when the problems you encounter move from being the result of fundamental mistakes to being the result of venturing into the unknown.
We can be confident that when the 2013 team rolls out their car it will be free of the issues that have dogged previous cars, but their chances of winning will depend on how they solve the problems that no one has seen before.
I also read that the winner of WSC 2011, from Japan, was using some sort of advanced electric motor/drive system made by Mitsubishi(or Panasonic ??). One of the team members did his doctorial thesis on it and it was produced as a "one off" so no one else would have access to any of its components. The Japaese team also got their pick of thousands of solar cells, choosing the most efficient ones to put in their solar array (on the car). The WSC is about professional teams that do this year-round. For UM to have finished third three times in a row is almost unbelieveable. If they ever win it, it'll be like USA v USSR 1980. However, we already know how that turned out....