Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Just under three hours ago Sunseeker and many other teams from around the US and Canada begin the Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP). The Weather here in New York is nothing short of gorgeous, and an ideal day for solar racing. Over the next few days teams with either blue or green approval ratings from scrutineering will participate in the FSGP -- a track race taking place at the Monticello Motor Club, which also serves as the qualifying event for the 2012 American Solar Challenge. Teams hoping to take part in the cross country event must complete a minimum of 105 laps in one day, or 160 laps over two days. For the time being though, we'll continue to enjoy the nearly cloudless sky for this initial race day.

Monday, July 9, 2012

We've finally seen some reprieve from the blistering temperatures we were met with here in Monticello, New York. After Saturday's intermittent showers and storming, Sunday was beautifully sunny, yet cool, and the pleasant conditions have followed us into this afternoon. Furthermore, the team is excited to have passed all but one stage of qualification.

Yesterday the car passed on Body and Sizing, and we put our drivers and the car up for dynamic testing. Dynamics consisted of a slalom course followed by a braking test where each driver must show they can come to a complete and controlled stop under wet driving conditions, and within a set amount of time. All three drivers passed the slalom course, but we only managed to pass two drivers in the braking test. This was just enough to qualify the Sunseeker car for dynamic scrutineering though, after which we were able to enjoy a dinner of hamburgers with the team from Michigan State University.

This morning we headed back to the test track for dynamics again where our third driver had another chance at the braking qualifier. After another shot, he was qualified to drive for FSGP and the 2012 American Solar Challenge. This leaves approval of our support vehicles as the final barrier between Sunseeker 2012 and the upcoming road race, spanning from Rochester, New York to Saint Paul, Minnesota. We wish the rest of the teams here in Monticello luck as they also continue to prepare for the remaining events.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

The Sunseeker team was able to finish up today in overall high spirits. As it turned out the rain did not manage to hold off and teams were forced to head for cover several times, but we were able to hold up in the tent (while holding it down to the ground) until the weather cleared. Despite several minor setbacks with the mechanical and electrical systems, the car eventually made it to all three scrutineering sessions that were planned for the day. We're excited to have passed two of the three, but need to make some modifications to battery protection before it will pass inspection. The system was reengaging from a fault detection -- though under safe conditions -- without acknowledgement from the driver. This did not provide time for and encourage assessment of the error's source, and was deemed unacceptable for race conditions. Therefore the electrical crew is hard at work fixing the issue.

We're also happy to have successfully put out the first Sunseeker cooking fire with nobody hurt and nothing damaged. With a solid day under our belts though, we've made it back to the hotel to sleep and get ready for another day of scrutineering tomorrow.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Good morning! Today will be the second day for the team at the Monicello raceway. Yesterday afternoon we participated in the first of our scrutineering events and are happy to have passed with green marks for our array. The next evaluation scheduled will be for the battery protection system, followed by electrical and mechanical systems later this evening. Last minute preparations are being made with hopes that the fair weather will hold out for the remainder of the day.
Posted by Kenwood Hoben

Friday, July 6, 2012

The Sunseeker solar car team arrived in Monticello, NY about 10:15 last night. Most of the team went directly to bed at the Best Western - Monticello. A team meeting was scheduled for 10:00 am this morning in the hotel parking lot to get rolling with the needed activities. Posted by Abraham Poot, Advisor

Thursday, July 5

The WMU solar car team departed this morning about 8:30 for Monticello, New York. They have a long drive ahead of them (730 miles) on a very hot day. They will start scrutineering on July 7 and assuming they pass, will begin the track race portion of the event, the Formula Sun Grand Prix on July 10. We wish them luck and a safe drive. Posted by Abraham Poot, Advisor

Tuesday July 3, 2012

Welcome to all our readers! This blog is the beginning of the race blog for the American Solar Challenge 2012. The WMU solar car team this morning had a photo session for team and individual member pictures with the solar car. The local television channel WWMT was on hand to take some videos for the news later today. There were interviews of team members by Ursula Zerilli of MLIVE and the Kalamazoo Gazette and our team leader was interviewed on live radio by a Grand Rapids radio station. The team members are putting the final tweaks on the car before departing for Monticello, New York on Thursday July 5. The team will spend six days in Monticello, NY at the Monticello Raceway going through three days of scrutineering where the car is inspected by electrical and mechanical engineers for adherence to safety regulations and will go through dynamic testing before the car is allowed to enter the track. Scrutineering will be followed by three days of track racing, the Formula Sun Grand Prix portion of the event. On July 13 solar car teams will travel to Rochester, New York, display the cars for the remainder of the day and prepare for the start of the cross-country rally, The American Solar Challenge. On Saturday morning, July 14, solar car teams will leave on the start of the race at 9:00 am at one minute intervals. At the end of the first day, all teams need to reach the stage stop at Erie, Pennsylvania. Restarting on July 15, teams must reach the Mansfield, Ohio checkpoint before the end of the day. They are allowed to continue after the mandatory one hour stop and drive until 6:00 pm when they must find a place to stay overnight and resume racing the following morning at 9:00 am from the point at which they stopped driving the night before. At the end of the day all the teams should arrive in Ann Arbor, Michigan. From Ann Arbor, the route will take solar teams through Lansing on the way to the Kalamazoo checkpoint at the WMU College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The checkpoint event is open to the public and provides the opportunity to view solar cars from all the teams and talk to team members. After the Kalamazoo checkpoint, the route heads toward Normal, Illinois. Teams must arrive at the Normal, Ill stage stop by the evening of July 18. On July 19 the race resumes and follows the route to a checkpoint in Verona, Wisconsin. The route continues from here to LaCrosse, Wisconsin for a stage stop that all teams much reach by the end of July 20. July 21 marks the last day of racing with a finish at the capitol building in St. Paul, Minnesota. Submitted by Abraham Poot, Advisor