It may be the dark horse in the world's premiere solar car race but QUT-sponsored Team Arrow is looking on the bright side.
After starting the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in pole position on Sunday, it is the only Australian team in its class currently in the top 10.
While a top-three finish for the Arrow 1 car would be a bonus, the Queensland contenders are happy just to finish the gruelling 3000 km trek from Darwin to Adelaide.
More than 10 teams have already pulled out of the race.
"Our budget is about one-tenth of what the top teams have invested in this race," said Amy Gunnell, a third-year engineering student at QUT and one of Team Arrow's four drivers.
"The University of Michigan brought a semi-trailer with them; we're working out of a Land Rover.
"A lot of people were surprised by our late entry back in April as well as our amazing qualifying lap that gave us pole position - I think we may just surprise ourselves with a good placing."
Amy is one of two QUT engineering students on Team Arrow, a group of private, Queensland-based engineering and software companies that is partnering with QUT for the solar challenge.
She and Rob Mair, who are also members of the Science and Engineering Faculty's QUT Motorsport student club, have worked with more than 30 others to build Arrow1 from scratch.
Team Arrow is racing against 40 teams from 23 countries, including past winners Nuon Solar Team and Tokai University, as well as international heavyweights Michigan, Cambridge and Stamford universities.
But they have a secret weapon - the invaluable expertise of past competitors from Queensland's Sunshark team, whose solar car placed highly during the 1990s.
It's this combination of experience and enthusiasm that could get Team Arrow over the line in Adelaide.
"I've learned an incredible amount about building power systems for electric vehicles," Amy said.
"But more than that, I've learned a lot about working harmoniously in a team in high-pressure situations.
"Team Arrow is an amazing group of people and I think the fact that we work so well together is reflected in our fantastic placing for the first half of this marathon race.
"It's such a privilege to be able to drive Arrow 1, although its aerodynamic nature means it tends to get blown all over the road when vehicles pass by, which can be a bit scary."
Arrow 1 travelled more than 1100 km during the first two days of the race, cruising at speeds of up to 80 kilometres per hour.
Team Arrow anticipates crossing the finish line on Thursday October 10, provided the skies remain clear.
Follow Team Arrow's progress @teamarrowracing.
An image of Rob and Amy with Arrow 1 is available on flickr.
Media contacts
- Kate Haggman, QUT Media, 07 3138 0358 or kate.haggman@qut.edu.au.
- Lauren Ritchie, Team Arrow, 0427 137 022 or 0424 216 631 (satellite phone).
