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Today was the final day of racing, and for most of the team it was somewhat of a relief after 7 days on the race to finally be going home. There was however, some concern in one of the rooms when one of the team members attempted to dry their socks in the microwave, no names to be mentioned... Luke. At the start line there was a reunion with a number of retired and retiring team members dropping by to see how we were going. It seemed that the time on the road had taken its toll on the cars, with the three front-runners all stopping before the start of timing. For us it was a blown fuse in the telemetry system, a problem that could have seriously affected our ability to run strategy during the race. Tuggers stopped up the road, and a Mexican standoff ensued as neither team wanted to lead the other out of Canberra for tactical reasons. Eventually Tuggers gave in and we moved off soon afterwards.
Once the cars moved out of Canberra, the pace of the race quickly picked up, however there was concern over the weather on the way to Sydney. The forecast was for fine weather, but up ahead there were large banks of clouds and a quick phone call home confirmed that conditions were similar in Sydney. Nevertheless we travelled at or close to the speed limit and caught Tuggers before the first control stop. They hung close by though, and at the stop we were just a couple of minutes ahead of them.
After our luck with tyres on the trip so far we were taking no chances, and so all tyres were changed as a precaution. This made for a frantic pit stop. With everything checked we moved out again, setting our target speed at 110 km/h and sticking to it all the way to Pheasant's Nest. When we pulled in the lead over Tuggers had grown a little. The speed had put a considerable load on our batteries, and there was some concern over overheating. A makeshift air duct fashioned from cardboard and gaffer tape provided a low-tech but effective solution.
From here it was a 60 km sprint to the finish of timing. Still sticking to the speed limit we stayed clear of Tuggers the rest of the way, and secured second place overall in the race. Over this day's racing we were 15 minutes ahead of Aurora, averaging 102 km/h, there was some celebration in the solar car and support cars as we passed under the overpass, which marked the end of racing. However the strategy was run so well that it wasn't long after the finish line that we ran out of power, and were unable to make it up the steep hills between there and Homebush Bay without damaging our batteries.
At Homebush bay, as the trailer was struggling with directions even back in our home town, just as we parked... it was called back from the finish line while our driver was left sitting in the sauna which is our car. At Homebush the car was pulled out and driven through the finish arch to be met by a crowd of well wishers. Our journey of 2300 km had come to an end, with just the cavalcade to the Sydney Opera House to come tomorrow. The race finish brought with it a mixture of relief to be finished and disappointment that it was over, and that we would be parted from the friends we had made in other teams over the race.
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. | | | |
