Off to a Rocky Start
What a rollercoaster of a dynamic scrutineering day!
Dynamic scrutineering, the set of tests that solar cars must pass to qualify for the competition, brought us on quite a journey. It encompasses a figure-8 test, slalom, brake test, and a control point simulation. Meanwhile, all teams are also tasked with completing a hot lap around the Hidden Valley Raceway track, and the lap time determines the starting order – the faster you go, the sooner you start.
In the lead-up to this challenging day, we encountered some unexpected hurdles during our hot lap practice. While our car performed flawlessly on public roads, the Hidden Valley Raceway presented a different challenge. It seemed like our car was plagued by frequent motor issues when attempting high-speed runs.
Ultimately, we made the call to revert to our older motor. While weathered, it had shown incredible reliability during our mock races. The moment we made the switch, the motor problems that had been haunting us vanished. The day before dynamic scrutineering, we finally managed to practice our hot lap, with our fastest time clocking in just over 2 minutes and 24 seconds. We left the workspace that day in high spirits, confident that our motor issues were history, and we were ready to drive Astrum’s best lap yet.
The next morning, the energy on the raceway was higher than ever. Teams were running around preparing their cars, speakers were blaring, and reporters and cameramen captured every moment. The atmosphere was electric.
As Astrum, rolled out of the pit, every team member was on edge with excitement. After seeing so many amazing cars whiz by on the hot lap, we were anticipating our car doing the same.
The team cheered as our driver, Ethan, pulled onto the track and drove his practice lap. Everyone was gearing up for a great start with bated breath, ready to make as much noise possible as the car drove by the spectator area.
Right as Ethan was coming around the last turn, the bad news arrived on the radio—the car had suddenly turned off and wouldn’t turn back on. In that moment, our race manager, Will, concerned about the chaos from having multiple cars out on the track at once, called for him to pull off into the pit lane immediately.
The team wheeled Astrum across the parking lot back into the pit box. Without a word, there was a unanimous understanding that we needed to address the issue as soon as possible. At the same time, the big question of whether we would be given another chance on the hot lap, remained.
Our electrical engineers sprang into action, quickly diagnosing the issue and implementing a solution. However, just as things seemed to be looking up, we received disappointing news: the event rules dictated that we wouldn't get another hot lap attempt, and we would start at the back of the pack.
We were disheartened. We had worked tirelessly to make Astrum the best car possible, only for it to not perform how we wanted it to at the most crucial time. But, there was no point in moping around. Although we did not finish the hot lap, there were still the remaining dynamic scrutineering tests we needed to pass to be able to participate in the challenge. Luckily, Ethan performed brilliantly, and we had no issues with the remaining tests, earning Astrum a license plate.
However, during one more attempt to drive around the track, the same issue occurred – the car abruptly turned off.
Our electrical engineers got straight to back work on diagnosing the issue. Anything could have been causing it. From there, it was the long game of testing every little component to see what it could have been.
After much effort, they managed to replicate the problem in a controlled environment, finally identifying the root cause. It turned out that the motor controller was damaged from the extreme heat generated on the track during the previous day's testing. Unfortunately, we couldn’t discover this earlier because the internal mechanism responsible for displaying errors was broken. So, while we believed the car was running smoothly due to the absence of errors, it was, in fact, not alerting us to the issues it was facing.
Astrum was initially designed and optimized for long-distance efficiency on the Stuart Highway – a straight, flat road. It is not the optimal car for driving on a racetrack with tight turns and rapid accelerations. That means that luckily, the issues we saw on the track will likely not follow us into the Outback.
Although we are disappointed in our starting order, we know we’ll be able to make up for lost time while on the road tomorrow. With over 3,000 kilometers ahead of us, there is still a long way to go.
Looking ahead, being at the starting line is extremely exciting. We are feeling very optimistic about our car and strategy, and can’t wait to show the world what we’ve got. Go Fast, Go Smooth, Go Blue!