ASC 2010 Day 5

We started the day in 2nd place, an hour and five minutes behind Michigan, and a little over half an hour ahead of Bochum. Bochum apparently had issues on the starting line and was forced to start late, so the gap widened considerably right off the line. A few miles into the race route, our navigator missed a turn, and we ended up behind Calgary and Missouri S&T. Fortunately for us, we were able to quickly get around them... only to get stuck behind a different kind of slow moving, three car caravan. We were held up behind a group of three vintage automobiles, and the race route today was on curvy hills, so we did not have an opportunity to pass for 20 minutes! We later heard from S&T that they had the same issue.

Despite all this, we were somehow able to catch up to Michigan's caravan! I still have not heard official word on the weight of their car (if 713lbs is fully loaded, it's 537lbs empty, but a Michigan team member I talked to said "I'm not sure, but there's no way it's under 600lbs empty", so who knows), but it's clear that Infinium accelerates slower out of stops and goes slower up the long hills than Centaurs 2 does. We would catch them in the twisty parts of the route and then get dropped on the long flats or at stoplights in towns. We ended up pulling into the Alton checkpoint only one minute and eleven seconds behind them; not bad considering that we started a minute behind! Stanford was right on our tail, and S&T pulled in pretty soon after as well. The Taiwanese showed up as well, and Calgary rolled in just as we were leaving. It sounds like Kentucky was hot on their heels.

Upon leaving the checkpoint, we managed to turn the tables on Michigan. At a stoplight, we got the jump on them, and managed to pass them. The Michigan caravan was clearly unhappy with the whole "not being the leader" situation, but due to the congestion in town, were unable to do anything about it. As we left town, it turned out that we were driving faster! At several point, we were actually out of sight of Michigan.

Unfortunately, we were unable to sustain that pace, and had to pull over due to dropping voltages in some battery modules. While on the side of the road, we were passed by both Michigan and Stanford. We drove as fast as we were able for the last two hours of the day, and got a good evening charge in at Chatham.

Even counting some potential penalties for a malfunctioning taillight early in the day, we're still solidly in 2nd place, and expect to be driving at highway speed or close to it for the last two short days of the event. We're very please with the car thus far, and already have ideas for the C3 project cycle.

-Adem Rudin

June 24, 2010

Comments

Thanks for this great update! Good luck on the final legs of the race. We're glued to your blogs and twitters!

Posted by: Judy Hawkinson | June 25, 2010 7:06 AM

Thank you for posting this info!!! Sorry to hear about the blown tire it looks like it might have taken quite a while to fix... can't wait to hear all of the details, & I hope the penalties are not too punishing... anyway you look at it you seem to be having a great rayce, learning new things, & having fun - Go GOPHERS!

Posted by: Louise Somers | June 25, 2010 2:15 PM

Awesome job, everyone! I'm glad to hear you've been doing so well, even with blown tires and heating issues. Way to adapt, and best of luck for the run into Chicago!

Posted by: Taylor Hill | June 25, 2010 8:42 PM

Congrats on winning the Sportsmanship Award for the 3rd time! It's great to see the Big T (seems usable for 10, 11, or 12 members) so well represented.

Posted by: Rainey UM Alum | June 26, 2010 7:38 AM

Awesome job guys. Overcoming adversities with determination and teamwork.

Posted by: Vehicle Graphics | June 26, 2010 6:32 PM