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Day 7 was hard to get into, with a record 12 alarms going off before we finally got up. However when we finally reached the start there was some confusion over the starting order, after it was suggested that the order would be that which the teams turn up in. There was concern form both Sunswift and Tuggers that having slower cars ahead of them could be dangerous (due to unnecessary overtaking). The race organiser, John Hoerner, decided that it would be in the best interest of all teams if the original rule was in this instance overruled. Proceedings weren't delayed in any way and the first car rolled out at 10am. There was little separating Aurora and UNSW Sunswift II up to the first control stop of the day. Aurora started a couple of minutes ahead of us, but by the time we reached the stop UNSW Sunswift II was right on their tail. This driving virtually eliminated Aurora's overnight lead, with just seconds between the two teams. The entire stage had been run at the speed limit, 110 km/h most of the way.
Not long after the stop we suffered a setback when our rear tyre, which is on our wheel motor, punctured. It took us about 15 minutes to change the tyre and get back on the road. This was a pretty good time for the change, but it left us with a lot of catching up to do. While we were stopped Tuggers passed, opening a 6-8 minute lead over us for the day. It also allowed our trailer to catch up, but it was soon left behind again.
At the next stop we had reigned in some of the gap between Tuggers and us, and they left the stop just 2 minutes ahead. As we set out again the large bank of cloud which was looming in front of us forced us to slow down a bit. We caught up to Tuggers, but decided to wait behind them as both teams slowed to about the same pace. When they slowed further we overtook, but they remained not far behind.
At last a a small gap in the overcast sky allowed us to get some amazingly high array power, so after sitting in the sun driving slowly to make the most of it we sped up, leaving Tuggers behind. We cruised into Broken Hill 16 minutes behind Aurora, and well ahead of Tuggers. Most of the lost time seems to have been in changing our tyre, but we've got a lot of work to do if we want to catch up.
The team set up the array on its charging stand to get a bit of charge into the depleted batteries, but the overcast conditions didn't help. The rest of the afternoon, as always, was spent relaxing, socialising with the other teams, sharing stories about the day's events, and welcoming home the other teams as they trickled in. We were very grateful for the refreshments and BBQ dinner put on by Broken Hill. At that evening's presentation John Hoerner honoured the achievements of the electric vehicle teams.
In what is becoming a habit, the UNSW SRT was the last team left at the finish. At which point long time team member Marc Salem asked "Where are all the solar car groupies???" To which most of the team raised there eyebrows. Time will tell if Marc's comment was ill founded. It seems we had spent too much time chatting and not enough time doing the work required on the support vehicles. We didn't leave for the caravan park until it was nearly dark, too late for a planned rendezvous with Aurora at the swimming pool. This disappointed a few team members...
| Race Results: | Time taken | Average Speed | | Aurora | 2 hr 53 min 25 sec | 96.32 km/h | | UNSW Sunswift II | 3 hr 09 min 21 sec | 88.20 km/h | | Spirit of Canberra | 3 hr 17 min 44 sec | 84.48 km/h | | Ned | 3 hr 47 min 13 sec | 73.52 km/h | | Zoom Eagle | 3 hr 57 min 42 sec | 70.42 km/h |
Willy The Whale
Willy!
Mail Bag
If you have a question for the team, or would like to wish them well, write to our mail bag, care of Ask Willy. | | | |
