r3 Solar Car Team Progress

From Leon Fainstein, Project Manager:

"The r3 Solar Car Team had two great days of testing June 12 and 13 at Gimli Motorsport Park. The car performed extremely well! The students finally convinced me to drive the car. It handles remarkably well and goes quite fast! It is amazing to think that we tested and 'rayced' the car for two days and never used a drop of gas. Many efficiency improvements were made and verified (the computational fluid dynamics 'CFD' simulation accurately predicted the optimum body angle of attack to reduce drag). Some other lessons learned;

-caster angle and driving stability;
-aerodynamic drag reduction of wheel fairings;
-new wiring durability;
-instructors can fit in the car;
-max and steady state power consumption; 90-amps and 7-amps respectively.

The car also set many records for solar powered vehicles at Gimli;

Fastest lap time; Tim Knight, 1-min 34-sec. Average speed, 80-km/hr ???? (fastest lap is 1-min 4-sec for cars that pollute the environment). This lap time proves two things; 1 - the car goes fast, and 2 - Tim is an excellent driver. We couldn't get a top speed as our speedometer only goes up to 85-km/hr. Some more records;

-fastest quarter mile, Adam Palanuk;
-fastest lap for instructors over 50, me;
-fastest lap for instructors over 40, Dean;
-fastest lap for graduates under 20, Philip Palazzo;
-fastest lap for students who have worked 10 years sorting lumber, Trevor Farski;
-most laps in a single day and over a two day period."

Please check out the videos and pictures of Gimli and the Smart Partners Award:

http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/solarcar/galleries.htm

The team will be awarded once again, this time by fellow Winnipeggers. The team members have all been invited to the Smart Partners Banquet at the famous downtown Fairmont Hotel for Monday, January 30.

The team hasn't been told what they will be awarded, but they'll be dressed up in suits in anticipation.

Also, only 2 days later, the team will be displaying their car during the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Winnipeg Section's Annual General Meeting at the University of Manitoba's new Engineering building.

The team is back into its routine. With weekly meetings, more design, more fabrication, endless discussion, and let's not forget the schoolwork. The team spent the technology week displaying the car at the local Polo Park mall, and are now planning to compete in the Formula Sun Grand Prix 2006 in May.

This will ensure that the team is experienced ahead of its run at the 2007 North American Solar Challenge. Check back for progress!

So ends this year's efforts. Of the 37 originally-registered teams, 20 had qualified, 18 were still in the rayce at the end, and the Red River Raycer finished 16th in points. At the awards banquet, the r3 Team received the following prizes:

-Green Award, for most fuel-efficient convoy. With the Manitoba Transportation-supplied Civic Hybrids, and the Vickar-supplied diesel Silverado, this team was unmatched.
-KISS Award, engineering-speak for Keep It Simple, Stupid. The clean look of the car drew attention.
-Best Workmanship, self-explanatory, and the Red River students are well-deserving.
-Best Mechanical, which just reinforces the fact that the Red River College's Mechanical Engineering Technology department was not outwitted in this world-class field.

That counts 4 of a total 10 awards handed out that night. The Red River Raycer certainly made its mark. Next time out though, they're going for the rayce result, taking everything that they've learned to challenge Stanford, Calsol and Iowa State for top Stock Class honours.

But for now, the team will rest, letting all they've experienced sink in, before preparing for the next rayce 2 years away. They will be putting the car on display, then enjoying a Goldeyes baseball game in a luxury box Wednesday, August 10, courtesy of Polar Bear Windows.

Hope to see you there!

For those glued to the GPS tracking, you may have noticed an uneasy pause in the r3 Solar Car Team's forward progress in this morning's sprint stage. The Red River Raycer stayed put for 10 minutes or so at the start, buying themselves a little extra charging time since pulling in late the day before where it's been cloudy all throughout. They also avoided the traffic jam caused by all these over-excited solar car convoys.

No real worry though. The car was fine, and prepared to go. After the short self-imposed wait, the r3 convoy scattered about in chase of their competitors. From leaving the start line last, they quickly caught up to the tail end of the pack. There, they passed Queen's, then McMaster, then Illinois State, all the old fashioned way; on the road! Imagine the 3-car convoys, the trailing r3 convoy requesting a pass, then initiating lane changes, and slowly passing at minute speed differentials.

The sun came out to play after 10 AM, and the r3 car put some distance on its slower pursuers. Forty minutes before stage close time, the Red River Raycer crossed the finish line in Calgary. This team has done it! A solid performance through the entire second leg.

Preliminary results show them in 16th Overall, and 5th in Stock Class. University of Calgary, the other rookie and Canadian team, finishes 13th Overall and 9th in Class. But it should be reminded that the Red River Raycer Solar Car Team is a College entry, where the car was mostly built by Mechanical Engineering Technology students, where the members either have or will soon have a mere Diploma. This team is unique to the competition, and it ran with the best.

The project started only 10 months ago, and the team has travelled an incredible journey since. Any doubts on their performance in 2 years would be foolish. With wheel fairings, better tires, a more intelligent battery management system, and just plain more running, their fortunes will be infinitely better. The established Universities have better watch out for the r3 car to spoil their Stock Class rayce!

A little partying, and the boys can finally come home. You can bet they won't rest long before preparing for their next rayce!

Day 9 ended with the team just oustide Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Stage Stop is Medicine Hat, Alberta, and they have to get there by 6:00 PM.

By now, this has become a hardened team. Everyone is aware of their responsibilities and the team gears up for the drive to join the others. All the other running teams are already in or close to Medicine Hat, riding on the better weather ahead. Had it not been for that 2-hour setback getting out of Winnipeg, the r3 Solar Car would be right with them.

Steady she goes, as the car reaches Medicine Hat at 4:00 PM. It was a slow trek all the way through with the clouds' constant presence, but it was a good mileage day. Roughly 240 miles, in bad sunlight, and with 2 hours of potential running time left. This is a Stage Stop though, so the team has to stay put, rest up, and grid once again with the rest of the raycers. Tomorrow, they all leave town in 1-minute intervals, and sprint towards the finish line. Calgary, once such a far-out, improbable goal, is tomorrow's finish line. The clouds are denying the team of a full battery charge for the sprint race tomorrow, all uphill, and the forecast calls for more clouds. Another benefit of being up front, Stage Stops provide endless hours of charging time.

The car has completed an entire stage, 630 miles, on its own power. With that, they've made a statement to the other teams. They've come to rayce and see this through. In 2 years, look out for Red River College's entry. This comparitively small College, with the small team and small budget is going to be a contender among these big-time Universities!

Onwards Calgary and the chequered flag!

The exhausting routine cycles again. Up and about by 6:00 AM, having only slept 5 hours, check out and unload the motels, move the car to its last scored position, batteries unlocked at 6:30, array immediately charging, scatter around the ever-changing surroundings scrounging food, water and ice, make sure the support fleet is topped up, check radios, strap in the driver, plan out the day's driving. Every morning is like a controlled panic.

The weather is not kind to the r3 Solar Car Team. Although there were some clear spots in the sky early in the morning, this was when the sun was at its weakest. As the car travelled towards Regina, the clouds came in, and forced the team to drive a slower pace.

Nevertheless, they made it to Regina, just in time before the checkpoint closed. After the mandatory 30-minute stop, they were on the road again, towards Stage Stop Medicine Hat. 220 miles later, they found themselves just past Moose Jaw, having started the day in Virden. Decent mileage, considering the skies. Unfortunately, the teams ahead enjoyed better weather, and put some distance on the Red River Raycer. In this rayce, any hindrance is easily magnified, by weather or other factors. The r3 Team is being penalized further for yesterday's misfortunes.

Some other teams are already waiting in Medicine Hat for the final sprint race to Calgary. Weather-permitting, the r3 Solar Car will power itself through the entire leg. It'll only take 240 miles, and this team's already covered more mileage than that in one day. This would mark the first full stage completed under solar power for this rookie team.

Stage Stop was at the Red River Notre Dame campus. Stage Start is at the Manitoba Legislature.

Early in the morning, the car is trailered to the Manitoba Legislature. There are lots of trees in the area, and the batteries aren't fully-charged. The team gets back into it, seeming more energized than any previous morning. Cleaning the array, and prepping the car for the second leg, they pose for another picture before gridding their car.

It's nice to be back with the other teams, as they can see their competitor's struggles once again. As cars are lined up, some are being serviced in a mad dash. The r3 Solar Car simply looks for sun to top up its batteries, after having cleaned its solar array. Any worry of less than full batteries are erased when the readouts report full as the car is waiting on the grid. The start time is pushed back on Stage Starts.

Onwards to Brandon, with the locals cheering them on. It doesn't take long for the Raycer to hit trouble though. Just past Broadway still in Winnipeg, the car is sidelined. It seems to have hit an electrical snag. Whatever it was, they weren't parked for long before they got back in it.

Further down the road, before reaching Brandon, the car hit trouble once again. Parked on the #1, the team went about troubleshooting the issue, safety vests and flaggers on duty. Some time passed before it was realized that one wire, in the maze of thousands of wires, had loosened up due to the many road bumps this car has trekked. As any electrical troubleshooter knows, these things aren't found easily, and it hurts the team timewise.

Onwards once again, and in Elkhorn, Manitoba, the team parks for the night. They were pumped this morning that they'd be able to show their car's potential all the way to Medicine Hat. It hasn't been the case so far, but it hasn't been an all-bad showing either. Queen's and Kansas State, both open class cars, are within reach, and Stanford and McMaster have been left behind. It's been a 170-mile day for the team with its 2-hour downtime for troubles. Let's see what tomorrow holds for these warrior raycers.

It's been a long, difficult learning experience for this team. Since the Rayce Start Sunday, everyone's been looking forward to getting back to Winnipeg, to get home, get a home-cooked meal, see friends and family, and re-stage the cars with all the other teams.

Winnipeg is a Stage Stop, meaning that it's not just a Checkpoint where everyone breezes through in a minimum 30-minutes. All the teams have to be here by a certain time, and continue the rayce at the same place and time once again. Most teams arrived here before the Red River Raycer, but the team that everyone was waiting for at the Red River Campus was the r3 Solar Car Team.

With all the struggles that the team had faced, they admittedly are no longer in position to compete. The gap to the next-higher position is too large, due to all the trailering penalties, and the gap to the lower positions can be ignored, because those cars are basically sidelined. This team only looks upwards anyway. Getting back to Winnipeg allows the team to reset the rayce, and start a new challenge. Let's see who gets to Medicine Hat first, the next Stage Stop. And then let's see who gets to Calgary first. That'll show the others what this team could have done, given a mere week of competition raycing experience. The r3 Solar Car Team is confident that they can show very well on this second leg.

When awoken in Grand Forks, at the usual 5:45 AM time, they looked up to see gray skies. With the running the day before, the batteries were already low. Again, the rayce is admittedly over for this team. This first leg can be written off. They trailered to a sunny spot, parked for 90 minutes charging the batteries on the array stand, and packed the car up to head towards Winnipeg.

With all the attention on this team, the r3 Solar Car had to make a show of it. They unloaded at the Westburne Electrical parking lot, Notre Dame and Keewatin, and drove the rest of the way as their typical complete raycing caravan towards the College. In contrast to the calm atmosphere of the Westburne lot on a Saturday afternoon, the Red River College bus loop was absolutely packed, with people, cameras, microphones and decorations. The build-up to this moment was intense, and the tired raycers rolled in home.

Several interviews and chats later, the r3 Solar Car team members were ready to go home and find their own beds. They packed up the car in the trailer, confident that the morning sun would completely charge their nearly-full batteries.

Their rayce would begin tomorrow.

Day 6 starts in Pipestone, the accomodating Minnesota town. The team started from where they left off, 11 miles out of town. The car is good, and it runs and runs and runs. The team gets confident, and try to make it all the way to Fargo at a steady, fast pace in a single stint. It would also be convenient for one of the team members, as his brother is supposed to get married in Winnipeg and would like him to be present! His ride to the Winnipeg wedding is waiting in Fargo.

The car is pushed to meet the deadline, and also to fully test its newfound energy capacity. In Breckenridge, Minnesota, the car "kicks out." One of its battery cells has reached low-voltage limit and it shuts off the car.

This is a normal condition, and a charge will cure the issue. It happened much later than it would've with the previous dead cell installed. This conveniently happened at around lunch time in town, so the team took advantage and had a meal. The wedding party member was shuttled off to Fargo, and the already-small team lost a critical member. Tomorrow, the team is regrouped in Winnipeg, so there are not too many worries about team size. The Red River Raycer parks in sunlight and charges for about an hour.

Towards Fargo, the sun gets brighter, and by the time they reach the city, their battery is more highly-charged than when they had left Breckenridge.

After the checkpoint-mandatory 30-minute break, the team enters the next stage, towards Winnipeg. It was getting late already, and they had guessed that only Grand Forks would be a realistic goal.

6:00 PM, and the car stops. A long day of successful running was completed, and the car completed a whopping 290 miles! They are only 8 miles out of Grand Forks, North Dakota. There's everything to be proud of for this team on this day!

Tomorrow, weather-permitting, Winnipeg should be easy at only 180 miles from the car's current position. Unfortunately, the weather will not be very cooperative, and the team are suspecting they may need help from the trailer again to finish the stage in time. Since Winnipeg is a stage finish, and not simply a Checkpoint, the team must make it in before 6:00 PM to avoid disqualification.

They know the pace is in the car, but there's no hope if there's no sun, and with the battery problems of the previous days putting them this far back, they're in a do-or-die situation again tomorrow.

Regardless, they're coming home tomorrow. Destination; Red River College!

The story of the day today was the battery pack. Due to a suspected bad cell, the battery pack would report full-charge too early, and die too quickly. This made for an unreliable car, where most of the battery pack would be at near full-charge, but the one "black sheep" cell would limit the car's ability to fully discharge its batteries for more consistently fast runs.

The car ran for half-an-hour only this time before the safety circuitry in the battery pack shut off the car due to a too-low-voltage state. Again, all this because of the bad cell. Even though they had impressively completed 270 miles yesterday, they had no hope of repeating the performance today. The already-bad cell was deteriorating, and handicapped the entire battery pack's ability to power the car. If nothing was done, the car may not even be able to drive itself into Winnipeg.

A decision had to be made, and after long discussions, it was finally decided. They would replace the cell. The team suspected they would have to spend anywhere between 4 and 8 hours to change out the bad cell, take the points penalty for replacing it, and lose precious daylight running, on a beautiful day. In the end, they were just slowly walking backwards anyway, and they felt this was the best way to go.

A nice, large school parking lot was found in Pipestone, Minnesota, and the Red River Raycer quickly became a big attraction in the small town. Its viewing attendance numbers rivaled those of a local pageant running the same day. Everyone was extremely welcoming, offering discounts and accelerating their services. Most of the team was allowed to relax, as the car was parked and only 3 members were needed around the batteries to change the cell.

They had guessed at least 4 hours for the cell change task, considering its inaccessibility and the complexity of the surrounding hardware. They finished it in a little more than 3 hours. There was still time and ample sunlight in the day to test the new cell. The team pushed on, 11 miles out of town. The running time was up, and the car was parked, its batteries charging to full by the end of the day.

This time, they were truly full, as all the cells were good. The team's motivation went back up slightly, since they now knew that their car was now capable of showing its true pace. They only wished they had done it sooner.

Tomorrow, the team will keep their chin up. They expect to whisk through the Fargo checkpoint, and be on their way to Winnipeg. They won't make it in tomorrow, where they can park the car in its own workshop. It would have to be Saturday for the big arrival. The team can't wait to get back; get back in their own homes, their own beds, their families and their friends, if only for just one night. The r3 Solar Car Team is blessed in that respect, since it'll re-energize them for the second leg of the exhausting event.

Grand Forks, North Dakota, is the optimistic goal for tomorrow.

This team is beaten up. The constant grind and lack of sleep is relentless. This is the smallest team still present, at only 11 members large. Other than for the Solar Car, there are no driver shift-changes. Everyone is playing a critical role, whether it's driving, navigating, or relaying information, everyone is loaded up. There's no chance of sleeping during the long highway drives. There's no chance of relaxation until the car is packed up for the night.

Luckily, the incredible mechanical reliability of the car allows the team to safely store the car overnight untouched, and instead catch a late supper and some sleep. The battery problem still remains, but with the impounding of the batteries overnight, they can't be serviced anyway.

This rule seriously hinders the team, as they know they can get more miles by replacing a dead battery cell, but don't have time to change it and properly test it, then run a stage. They therefore decide to drive the stage at a slower pace.

Another problem created by the slower pace though is the time it takes to reach destinations is significantly increased. More time is spent on the road, following the slow 30-mph average Red River Raycer, eroding the available time to handle logistics like lunch, supper and constant Motel loading and unloading. It's a significant drag to the entire team's operation, and its ability to rayce.

Nevertheless, the team puts on good miles today. With the car starting in Topeka, Kansas, shortly after 9:00 AM, they reach Omaha, Nebraska, early in the afternoon, pause for the mandatory 30 minutes in the Checkpoint, and continue on towards Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Another first for this team full of significant and difficult firsts; the team charged through a Checkpoint and entered two stages in one day.

Mileage total for today was an impressive 270! Impressive, because of the fact that it was all mostly on Solar Power in a very hilly section. Again, the batteries are not 100%, so the team is confident that there's even more pace in the car, but are unable to show it.

It's demoralizing for the team to see the car run its current pace, knowing its potential. But at least the car is still in the rayce. The team is very disappointed, but also accepting of their current situation.

The short night was rough for the team, but they know what's at stake, so they carry on their duties early in the morning. Day 3 starts relatively well, with the team optimistically rushing around to prepare for a long day of driving. The weather's improved. The car should run well, but some electrical readings seem off.

Soon after though, team stress peaks as the cell balancing problems are still not cured while other electrical problems seem to be arising. Regardless, the team carries on attempting to leave the checkpoint early in the morning.

At around 9:30 AM, the caravan starts moving. They hope to perhaps rack up a few miles, knowing they have problems, then trailer to the next checkpoint once again.

To the team's surprise, the car works better than they thought. It's a nice day, and the car's getting power now, so the batteries are not so stressed and the car can hold its own. Before they knew it, they hit 110 miles. A driver change was in order.

The car was a popular attraction in small-town Neodesha. It wasn't long before the pretty r3 Solar Car was completely surrounded by local towsfolk. The driver change went very smoothly, and in short time, the car was whirring down the road once again towards the next checkpoint.

The team had evolved well, now only in their third day ever of running a solar car on public roads. Everything ran like clockwork. Lead, Red River Raycer, chase, scout and trailer all in step, all complimenting each other. The coordination was just as nice as any piece installed in this immaculate machine.

To even their own amazement, they completed the entire stage, all on solar power alone. It was a small victory for the team, one they hope they can repeat often in the rayce. This stage was 212 miles long, average for this competition.

Tomorrow, onto Omaha!

Day 1 ended with a slightly broken car at the checkpoint. Since the batteries are locked up by the rayce officials overnight to ensure no tampering or unauthorized recharging, servicing the battery-systems circuitry couldn't happen until 6:30 AM.

Even with this seemingly early start, the car wasn't ready to go until early in the afternoon. Fred was made quite busy again by the required repairs. It was also a dark, cloudy day around Weatherford, Texas, meaning these batteries would be stressed yet again with little aid from the solar panels.

Finally, after hours of slow, tedious repairs and some design changes, the car gets its body mounted, driver strapped in and canopy closed. With no sun to charge the already low batteries, there wasn't much hope for the day's mileage. Even so, 60 miles later, the car was packed up in the trailer and driven to its next checkpoint in Broken Arrow, 312 miles away from the Weatherford checkpoint. The car could have gone further, but rain had started to pour hard on the fragile body. The Red River Raycer team should feel no shame in having to trailer the car, since the weather and distance of the stage conspired to force the same decision for most of the competing cars.

With the long day, the team didn't get to their checkpoint until 10:30 PM, and into their barely-adequate motel rooms until past midnight. It's going to be a short, rough night of sleep for this team. They do, however, expect to start from this checkpoint early in the next morning.

It's go time. The build-up to the rayce has been long, stressful and exhausting. No one expects the rayce itself to be any different. Despite the difficulty and lack of sleeping, considering the load on the student's minds, the team rises up and presents the car in timely and professional fashion for the Teams Pictures. Some detail polishing later, they grid the car. They find that the Red River Raycer is not in the worst of shape, as 4 cars gridded in front of them yield their starting position to fix some untimely issues. The r3 Solar Car starts in its assigned position.

The rayce starts. This is the first real caravan day for the team. Lead car, Red River Raycer and chase car move in sync. They're making good speed, good time, and even passing a competitor. 10 miles, 20 miles, 30 miles, the r3 Solar Car charges on. But then, bad weather hits. The grip goes away. The visibility goes away. The confidence goes away.

During the whole run, there was little sun to power the car. Texas didn't deliver its usual abundance of sun-rays. Hurricane Emily's presence is felt throughout the area. The car was running mostly on its fragile lithium-ion batteries that require so much protection circuitry. The team, perhaps a little under-experienced, perhaps a little over-excited, charged on through the impossible weather. The battery voltage was dropping. It was sliding down the "slippery slope," as one team member put it.

And then a battery cell died. It's not going to be an easy fix. 111 miles into the 212-mile stage, their running day was done. The team, making the most of its sunlight time, charges whatever they can while investigating their problem. They make it just in time to the checkpoint by trailer to lock up their batteries for the night.

Even though they're often reminded that they've already achieved more than could have been expected of them, the team, true raycers that they are, choose to charge on, full-effort, full-commitment, maximum results. The promise of a better car, more experienced team, and better times in 2 years is not enough. Their time is now. They want to do this thing.

The plan is to get to work on the battery-circuitry first thing next morning, do a quick systems check run, and trailer the car to the next checkpoint. There's just no time for all the repairs, a charge, and a run through the massive 300-mile stage.

This competition is intensely grueling, and it's wearing out the team. But they'll get this done and evolve as the competition carries on. No one doubts the arrival in Winnipeg, which should provide the Red River Raycer team with a much-needed boost.

Today was a press day, and final prep day for the start of the rayce tomorrow. All the teams had their cars displayed, recharging their batteries, tweaking bits and procedures, meeting and greeting other teams in a more relaxed moment, and shaking hands with VIP's.

Comments thrown at the Red River Team included;

-"Best array I've ever seen,"
-"Solid for a rookie car,"
-"Great support fleet,"
-and many variations of "That body looks sweet!"

All directed at the deserving team members of this outstanding first-year effort from the most unlikely school.

The relaxation moment only lasted a moment though. After the organizer's meeting with the teams, clarifying the rules and safety protocols, the r3 Solar Car Team was reminded of the seriousness of their current situation. The pressure sunk in and they gathered to tweak their strategies and prepare for Rayce Day 1. Not only can disorganization and miscommunication lead to a bad result, it can also lead to a bad accident. With the nature of the competition, danger is never far away.

The pressure to perform can be felt more than ever. Let's rayce!

With the r3 Solar Car qualified, today was mostly a tweaking day, and for spectating. The team watched as other cars tried to qualify, and by the time they left, less than 15 cars, including the Red River Raycer, had passed all scrutineering and qualifying tests.

Eating, sleeping and laundry washing, basic functions of normal living, have all been neglected for this project. Today, the team makes up for some of that. Back at the hotel, they re-energize their bodies and minds, and get some well-deserved rest. Fred finally sleeps, although for only the next 5 hours, and the team prepares for the challenge ahead.

Tomorrow, more tweaking and testing before the car is impounded by the race officials.

The team has qualified!

They were off to a late start today. Exhausted by the heat, the tension, and the long hours, everyone slept in, save Fred, who stayed up all night working on the batteries. The turn signals were fixed and approved. Only one test remained; the 120-mile rayce on the track. Down to the wire, the team hit the track at about 1:00 PM.

There were no problems with drivers and both easily qualified. On each lap, a minimum speed of 25-mph is required, and each team must complete 38 laps.

While the team showed off their driving prowess, comically manoeuvring the Red River Raycer around the track, the rest of the team was biting their nails. Months of effort rested on this performance.

On the last qualifying lap, it started to rain. Not just droplets, but a torrential downpour, with wind whipping around the track. Once again, the spirit of competitive cooperation prevailed. All the present teams helped each other get tarps and move the precious cars out of the rain.

Now, the team has been awarded with the coveted route maps, given only to the qualified cars. They may as well be printed on gold paper!

Many top engineering schools will spend the whole day tomorrow still trying to qualify. The r3 Solar Car Team will get a well-deserved night off; time to celebrate, unwind and prepare for the big rayce!

After a few minor tweaks, this team will be ready.

The Red River Raycer is still in the rayce!

Scrutineering Day 3 went extremely well. The team qualified in all the static and dynamic events. The only outstanding problem is the turn signals, which is expected to be cleared up on Thursday. The car encountered some major electrical problems, and Fred will once again be working late into the night.

The driving bit was excellent. The car passed all the dynamic events (braking, slalom and figure 8) on its first attempt.

There's one more hurdle to pass: the Formula Sun event. This is a 120-mile race at 25-mph to be completed on Thursday and Friday.

The scrutineering has been grueling for all the competitors, a real test of endurance under the Texas sun. Unfortunately, while the r3 Team has been cheering its successes, others such as Yale have pulled out of the event.

Let's all collectively cross our fingers for the qualifier rayce!

Tuesday was another early start. Things are still going well. The team passed the electrical station with only a minor problem with the battery protection system. A single driver has qualified for the dynamic testing as well.

All the work is complete for tomorrow's inspections, and it's expected that the team will pass fairly easily. This will allow the team to qualify for the 120-mile endurance test. Wednesday is the final day for some of the scrutineering, and only 4 or so teams have passed all stations.

There were tense moments today when it was found that the chosen tires don't have the proper rated weight capacity, but with some scrounging and begging, some competing teams have agreed to help with supplying tires.

Although the present teams are all competitors, there's mutual respect amongst all involved in the competition. They all know full well what's at stake, and wouldn't want to see any of these special cars sent home if they can help it. There's ultimate camaraderie within this competitive backdrop.

The team arrived safely in Austin, Texas and so did the car, no worse for wear.

Day 1 saw the team get an early 5:50 AM start at scrutineering. This event is proving to be a test of physical endurance. Students from the most prestigious Universities are seen sleeping on the bare concrete floor, exhausted from working round the clock. It's 40 degrees Celsius with 50% humidity. Fortunately, the pit area is under a tent cover, otherwise it would be unbearable.

Regardless, Day 1 went fairly well. The team passed the array station, only requiring some lock-wiring of a few fasteners to pass. At the body station, the car still needs to get the turn and brake signals going, but these too are minor problems. Everyone is in good spirits, working long, arduous hours to get the car qualified.

Day 2 will see the electrical battery protection and driver scrutineering stations. This test is critical and Fred, the team's electrical guru, has not slept well in anticipation.

The cars and teams from the other schools are quite amazing. There's an unusual collection of very bright and talented people. There's also some comfort in seeing most schools working around the clock like the Red River team to get the cars ready for scrutineering.

No one passed any of the dynamic tests on Monday, including the strongest team from the 2003 competition, University of Missouri-Rolla. There may need to be some changes to the slalom and brake tests to make them more realistically feasible.

So basically, things are going fairly well. Let's hope it's the same for the next 4 days.

For those who have been viewing the Live Webcam lately, they'll notice that tonight, it's disturbingly inactive. You may have gotten accustomed to the early-rise of the team, wrenching on the car until well past sunset, only to repeat it again the next day, be it a Monday or a Saturday.

Tonight though, the team sleeps. They leave for Austin tomorrow morning, and prepare themselves for a week long of scrutineering, tweaking and testing, capped off by a qualifying race. Immediately following that is the rayce itself.

The Solar Car that the team has been working towards constructing all this time finally earned that name only today, at 5:30 PM, when the car was for the first time powered by the sun! Anyone familiar with the team's efforts will know that this isn't due to any procrastination, but in fact shows the vast amount of time, knowledge, skill and dedication required for any team to be involved in this competition.

The Red River Raycer Solar Car Team is proud to be one of only 37 teams worldwide in this competition. Let's make it a good show!

It's Tuesday. The team is scheduled to leave for Austin, Texas, Friday.

Earlier today, they visited the Manitoba Legislative Building and received some nice press coverage. The car was just completed in time for the cameras, but after the event, the car had to come back to the shop to complete preparations for actual competition. There is still a lot the team wants to put on the car, and still a lot of work to do before they feel fully-prepared for the challenge ahead. Getting practice miles in the car is just one of many tasks on the to-do list.

So 3 more nights, and the team packs up early in the morning to meet their competitors in Austin. Let's wish them all the best of luck!