It was a whirlwind of a week in Malaysia at Shell Eco-marathon Asia. The air was constantly buzzing with intense excitement and anticipation, mixed with the tension of competitive anxiety.

So how did Girton go?

(click here or on the image above for a video summary of Day 3)
I also got to hop in and out of the Girton car to see if I could get out in below 10 seconds as per Tech Inspection rules - watch to see me fail to do that!

 

(click here or on the image above for a video summary of Day 4) 

 

Turns out the car had a glitch during its first run, leading it to stop within metres of the finish line!
Attempt 1 efficiency: NA. Driver: Emma.

All Incharge driver Emma had to do the next time a glitch happened was to press the reset button and the car would restart and make its way across the finish line. So the strategy for round 2 was to get a run on the table. It wasn’t perfect, with the motor playing up, meaning the car stopped and started. They were trialling a new strategy that ended up causing the Girton car to stop unintentionally on the second lap, a stressful experience, resulting in a manual restart when the system wasn’t quite right. Despite the glitches, the team managed to get a run on the board, a huge delight to the team! As Emma said afterwards, "Getting a valid run was one of the most relieving things!”
Attempt 2 efficiency: 229.9 km/kWh. (The higher the efficiency, the better.) Driver: Emma.

For the 3rd run, the team reverted to their previous strategy. The motor again played up, never stopping, but not quite doing what the code wanted.
Attempt 3 efficiency: 248.9 km/kWh. Driver: Jess.

The 4th run implemented the same strategy as the 3rd run, eliciting similar results and the same glitches. Again the car didn’t stop but again the motor didn’t perform as coded.
Attempt 4 efficiency: 243.3 km/kWh. Driver: Emma.

For the 5th run, the team decided to change up the drive system. This resulted in the car stalling on the Sepang Circuit’s hill. Having only completed half a lap before getting stuck, the vehicle had to be taken back to the pits.
Attempt 5 efficiency: NA. Driver: Jess.

With only three laps to prove themselves, for the 6th run. the Girton team once again changed their code and strategy. This resulted in Girton driver Jess driving the first full, smooth run, and their best efficiency!
Attempt 6 efficiency: 284.4 km/kWh. Driver: Jess.

Having found the winning formula, it was decided that for the 7th run, the car and Emma would run on the same code and strategy. This run resulted in a similar time and efficiency to the previous run − proving to the judges the Girton drivers’ competency and the car’s consistency.
Attempt 7 efficiency: 282.8 km/kWh. Driver: Emma.

Each team is allowed eight runs around the track. With Girton racing to charge their battery and get back on the track after their 6th attempt, they were the second last car to get out on the track with their 7th attempt and ran out of time for a final attempt.

With all the racing done, and the results tallied, Team Incharge came in 5th place! Beating their 6th place finish from last year! The team was stoked and relieved that they improved and placed better than last year! And were pretty chuffed to achieve that result as a high school entrant!

 

It was a great experience for the Girton team, with Incharge’s other driver Jess saying that “Other students should participate if they feel like they will find this sport interesting and intriguing.” For Jess, she enjoyed “building things and electrical components”, which was why she put her hand up when Mr Smith asked for students to volunteer their participation.

And regardless whether you want to be an engineer or not, the skills you learn from a competition like Shell Eco-marathon are transferable to any industry.

As Emma said, “I don’t suddenly want to be an engineer but I have a great respect for what they can do, it blows my mind how they can connect all these wires and things and have a moving vehicle! For me, this experience will forever be remembered and I have learnt many life skills and things about myself that I will use in the future.” Other team members added: “I learnt things about myself, like pushing myself a bit and staying calm in situations where it is tense.” “I learnt so much! A lot about myself and my friends and lots about F1 tracks.”

The team agrees though that the best part of the week was all about the people with the highlights being “meeting new people and driving on the formula track”, “working as a team and riding the highs and lows of the week with everyone”, and “working with and hanging out with my team was probably my favourite part of the whole week”.

And as for advice the team gives to future teams who may want to participate?

“Get prepared before even leaving for the event. Organisation is key. But once you’re there, just keep a smile on your face and it will spread to people around you.” “It was a really fun week where you can meet other teams.” “It’s an experience like no other.” “I was trying to be open with what I thought would happen as I really had no idea. It was crazy busy and stressful but so rewarding.”

And how was the whole thing?

Weather
I feel that weather played such a big role that it would be remiss not to mention it. The weather there was very trying. It was very hot and humid. When the sun was out, the concourse was clear. People preferred to shelter in the air-conditioned tents, called the “Paddock”, where each team had a small 12 x 12 space to assemble and troubleshoot their cars.  When clouds gathered above and a slight breeze joined the air, people would emerge and collaborate outside.

The weather at Shell Eco-marathon will of course change depending on where it’s held, so it might not be as hot and humid next year, if it’s held somewhere else.

Girton team under the hot sun on the concourse

 

Girton drivers resting from the hot sun

Food
They made sure we were fed and watered. Our goodie bags contained a few bottles of Pepsi, a few packets of potato chips and various other snacks.
We also got a stash of meal coupons for lunch and dinner when we registered. And there were water coolers everywhere. There were meat and vegetarian options. It was packaged like plane food, which made it fun to eat.

Dinner

 

Shell Eco-Marathon Asia Mess Hall 

Teams
Due to the intensity of the heat and exhaustion from the competition preparation, there were a lot of team members sleeping in their Paddocks throughout the week. I don’t blame them − it’s a full-on week! You’re working really hard to get your vehicle ready for competition. And then if you’re waiting for your turn before racing or an event, catching a few ‘zzz’s is a good use of time. The Girton team began the week chirpy and on adrenalin, but by the end of the week, were all falling asleep in their paddock as well! Teams also spent time on fixing and testing their cars, and going around to other teams to find out how their competitors’ cars were made.

Girton team sleeping in their Paddock

The giant tent that housed all the Paddocks

Gender
There were lots of men in the teams. It was wonderful to see the Girton team have four girls and five boys. There were also some entirely female teams as well, which was great to see!

Stats
About 20% of the teams at Shell Eco-marathon were high school students. Around 6-7% of the teams didn’t make it through tech inspections. And about the same percentage would struggle to get up the famous Sepang Circuit hill due to a lack of power in the vehicle.

Organisation
The whole event was very well organised − the organising team were a well-oiled machine. For example, you had to watch a safety video before being allowed to wander around the area. After watching the safety video, you were given a wristband that you had to show wherever you went. If you took the wristband off, you would have to watch the safety video again in order to get a new wristband! (So I had to keep my wristband on all the time from Monday - Thursday). Teams were given buzzers so they could be told when to take their vehicles to the various rooms for the opening ceremony and tech inspections. There was a first aid station in the middle of the Paddock. And copious amounts of a large variety of snacks − in particular Pepsi, chips and gum.

My wristband that I wore for 4 days

Overall
Overall, the entire week was very well done. It was very well organised and all the teams were looked after well. But most excitingly, the teams got to build vehicles and run them on a Formula circuit! How insane is that? Mind blown!

I had an amazing time at Shell Eco-marathon Asia. If you’re a teacher, or a university or high school student, I encourage you to find out more about the competition and participate!

If you have any questions about the competition or the experience, feel free to ask me! :)

 

More photos of cars and teams around Shell Eco-marathon Asia: