Rayce Day 9: In to Medicine Hat

After locating a motel less than 3 minutes from our charging location last night, the team was grateful to 'sleep in;' we only had to get up at 6AM! After an excellent evening charge and a respectable morning charge, we were ready for the long push in to Medicine Hat, AB.

After a short morning run, we pulled in to Regina, SK in the middle of the pack (due to all of the trailering that had occrued). A power tracker fuse mysteriously blew early on in the stop, but EE team was able to replace it without a problem. Then, it was time for the 300-mile drive to the Stage Stop in Medicine Hat.

In order to make it on time, we had to drive an average of 37MPH on the day. Everyone was nervous that we would not be able to make it due to our battery's state of charge and array problems. Fortunately, the weather cooperated with us, and we had clear skies all day, allowing us to run well over the speed required. Centaurus cooperated for the most part; the only major problem was a broken microphone on the driver's radio headset.

We arrived in Medicine Hat at 5:30PM race time (4:30 Mountain Time), and, due to impeccable timing, were allowed to charge straight through to 8:30 race time. We ended up placing 3rd in this stage (behind Michigan and Waterloo), but it wasn't enough difference to move us up in the overall standings; we currently stand in 5th place, and, unless something drastic occurs to one of the teams ahead of us, we will likely finish in that position.

Tomorrow is our last day of racing! We are all looking forward to crossing the finish line in Calgary and celebrating our accomplishment with the rest of the solar car teams. Fun as this journey has been, it will be nice to get home and have some rest.

--David Towey
Crew Chief

July 21, 2008