Infinium completes qualifying

Posted Sat, 10/24/2009 - 12:25am by Steven Hechtman

Infinium has completed its hot-lap with a time of 2:09.95. We were delayed in our running due to a number of on-track incidents before us, including a broken wishbone suffered by Umicore. Umicore has already completed their repairs, and it sounds like there should be no lasting damage. They will be able to complete another hot-lap, but we're not sure whether it will count for starting position. With Umicore and Nuna both repaired, it should be exciting to face these and other top teams at full-strength.

In the challenge class, we believe we will be starting sixth. The teams ahead of us are, as we know it:
Aurora
Nuon
Bochum - BoCruiser
Tokai
Stanford

If Umicore starts based on their next lap time, we expect them to be in the top 3. We are excited that Infinium qualified so well, since our high-efficiency motor and large battery pack are ill-suited for track driving. With a 3000 km race ahead, we should have plenty of time to pass the teams in front of us.

Official starting position will be announced at 3:00 PM Darwin time today (1:30 PM Eastern Time--Darwin is 13.5 hours ahead of US Eastern time).

Comments

Well Michigan should be off
by Harrisons (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 7:16pm
Well Michigan should be off by now! We'll be checking the computer for updates. Wish we were there with you again this year! Drive safely!! Best of luck and GO BLUE!!!
Good luck to you guys. Blue
by Andy Berner (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 6:40pm
Good luck to you guys. Blue skies through the end of Monday.
Hi Michigan Supporters, I
by Steve and Alisha Cook (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 6:01pm
Hi Michigan Supporters, I just recieved a call from the Steve and the team on the start line. 35 minutes to go and all is looking good with Infinium. Not so good for Umicore, yesterday they had another crash, the car is repaired but looking a bit ugly, yhey are also down about 100 watts on power output. Steve will be contacting me during the race and i will be updating this blog with news as it happens.
Brian is defintiely not the
by Maggie Hayes (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 8:19pm
Brian is defintiely not the only one
Glad to hear that you'll be
by Brian Ignaut (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 7:10pm
Glad to hear that you'll be on the horn for all the Michigan fans. I'll be refreshing the blog 5-10 times per minute. No pressure.
The race starts in an hour!
by Chris Hammond (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 5:59pm
The race starts in an hour! We're all cheering for you from the States - Go Fast, Go Smooth, Go Blue! Let the electromotive force be with you!
I agree. Very well written.
by best consolidation loan student (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 5:13pm
I agree. Very well written. You know what you are talking about. I hope you plan to write more on this topic.
So, they start out one team
by tclambert (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 4:57pm
So, they start out one team per minute, right? Michigan should start at 8:35. Stanford at 8:34, Principia at 8:41, MIT at 8:43. What they did last time was the solar cars started from the official start line, then merged with the lead and chase cars to form up the convoy. Scout should already be well up ahead, dragging dead 'roos off the road. Weather should be even further ahead with their balloons and drones, scouring the skies for any stray clouds . . . and destroying them.
Wish we could be there with
by Ferman's (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 4:57pm
Wish we could be there with you - this brings back great memories. We will be watching from home and looking for a win for Michigan. Hello to Jeff. Marty and Denise Ferman
Go Team! Your fans stateside
by Maggie Hayes (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 3:59pm
Go Team! Your fans stateside are anxiously counting down the minutes here until the start. Once you get out on the open road, I can't wait to see what Infinium can do!!
Good Luck and Go Blue!
by Lukas Pankau (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 3:15pm
Good Luck and Go Blue!
Sounds like you're well
by Douglas Arrison (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 1:02pm
Sounds like you're well positioned for the start. Stay focused and win it! Cheers.
Team, Congratulations to all
by Peter Balogh (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 11:28am
Team, Congratulations to all of you with getting this far. Get some sleep and get ready for the best time of your lives. GO BLUE! -Peter
Somewhat interestingly:
by Andy Berner (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 11:22am
Somewhat interestingly: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=-6.2000,130.4700(M7.0+-+Banda+Sea+-+2009+October+24+14:40:46+UTC)&t=h&z=6&iwloc=A http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/messages/indian/2009/indian.2009.10.24.1451...
Results from qualifier are
by Jose (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 10:13am
Results from qualifier are up... WSC Daily Results We were faster than Twente, which should be a good sign, surprised that Borchum's Audi lookalike made it to the Top 5.
Thanks, Jose. Interesting
by tclambert (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 4:41pm
Thanks, Jose. Interesting numbers. Aurora 101's lap time was 9 seconds faster than second place Nuna 5. Then second thru sixth (Infinium) were clustered within about 7.7 seconds of each other. Stanford starts 5th, Michigan 6th, Principia 12th, and MIT 14th, out of 25 Challenge class cars. Not a bad showing for the stars and stripes.
Stanford here, you won't have
by Ben Stabler (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 8:58am
Stanford here, you won't have to worry about us, we have our best asians driving chase.
What do you mean
by Call Center Blogger (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 11:42am
What do you mean ...Asians...? Not to be a little too sensitive here but do you have to indicate race on this statement?
...wow.
by Andy Berner (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 9:28am
...wow.
Principia reports they will
by tclambert (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 7:09am
Principia reports they will start twelfth, after posting a lap time of 2:35. They said 32 teams had qualified, so far.
Oh, good, WSC has updated
by tclambert (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 7:04am
Oh, good, WSC has updated their website, http://www.globalgreenchallenge.com.au/the-event/ with a blog, race rankings and a LIVE TRACKING MAP!
Umm, I get 3:00 PM Darwin
by tclambert (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 7:02am
Umm, I get 3:00 PM Darwin time is 1:30 AM here.
Sunny, with a high of 92, low
by tclambert (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 6:54am
Sunny, with a high of 92, low of 78. Sunrise at 5:47 local time. The fastest cars should be able to go the posted limit. It will be a test of mechanical reliability rather than speed, to start with. (I would like to see a little weather stress the cars to see who can wring the most drops of sunlight out of a cloudy sky.) One of the blogs said Darwin traffic control is setting all the lights to green for the first ten teams. If that's true, it's obviously good to start in the top ten. They should be able to get out of town and onto the open road without anyone slamming on the brakes in front. (Not that anyone would do that.)
Weather won't start to get
by Andy Berner (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 8:41am
Weather won't start to get interesting until days three and four, I don't think... The day two and three outlook has cloud building in the east and west with a nice little gap right down the Stuart Highway :) Once out of the NT, though, weather rolling across the southern coast will make the run in a little more thought provoking (from a weather strategy perspective, anyhow). Andy
Ooh, I just looked at a
by tclambert (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 6:50pm
Ooh, I just looked at a satellite weather map of Australia and the ocean south of it. It looks like solid cloud cover over the entire ocean, throwing lots of clouds over the Southern Territory. The Northern Territory looks clear, so that will test mechanical and electrical reliability of the cars. But once they hit the border, the weather will become a big factor. That's where Infinium's concentrators could make a difference.
We're proud of you in
by Ethan's Mom (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 5:08am
We're proud of you in California, Massachusetts, New York and Istanbul! Go Blue!
Watch out for Stanford and Go
by FN (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 4:40am
Watch out for Stanford and Go Blue!
Great job guys, especially
by Jose (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 1:50am
Great job guys, especially considering the extra weight for the battery pack. Let's give Stanford a little bit of a wide berth tomorrow eh? ;)
Congrats on qualifying!
by Chris Hammond (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 12:56am
Congrats on qualifying! Definitely get some rest, you need to be on your toes tomorrow (especially since Stanford is starting right ahead of you). Just remember to go fast, go smooth, and go Blue!
Yes yes. Beware of Stanford's
by Pickles (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 1:20am
Yes yes. Beware of Stanford's patented "cut off and stop" maneuver!
Congrats to the all the
by Brian Ignaut (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 12:47am
Congrats to the all the Infinium Team members in Australia and here in the states who worked so hard to get this far. You should be very proud. Get some rest tonight, this is sure to be an intense week! GO BLUE!!!!
Brian, what do you mean an
by Steve and Alisha Cook (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 1:38am
Brian, what do you mean an intense week, hopefully it will only be an intense 4 days. Team we will see you at the finish line on Wednesday.
Congratulations team, go hard
by Steve and Alisha Cook (not verified) - 10/24/2009 - 12:34am
Congratulations team, go hard and go fast, we are waiting at the finish line with the Maize and Blue M