2021 QLD Comp Day 2

We returned to Queensland Raceway for day 2 of Queensland Student Shootout, this time with some much dreaded wet weather to spice things up.

With the knowledge that we would not be able to continue the competition with our current vehicle configuration, we made some key adjustments to prepare the car for a rain test. Using some very unconventional methods, we were able to swap to semi-slick tyres and adequately protect our accumulator with copious amounts of tape.

Once we were ready, we moved Barnacle outside into the rain for two minutes before bringing it back undercover for another two minutes. With no errors detected, we were able to pass, enabling us to drive in the wet weather.

Once some cones were set up on the main track, we cornerweighted with our Acceleration drivers, Kyra and Caleb and took the car into the downpour. Caleb sat behind the wheel first and managed to get some great launches in given both the weather conditions and having to sit in the car for over three hours.

We had another lunch of sandwiches and some fleeting moments undercover to become somewhat drier before we braved another round of the Acceleration event in the rain. After a few electrical fixes, Caleb had some more launches. Kyra then hopped into the driver’s seat and likewise managed to achieve some impressive times. Despite having to brave the wet terrain, she got through one of her launches without braking once. By the end of the day, we managed to achieve a best time of 5.2 seconds which is a testament to both our fantastic drivers and engineering team.

While we packed our cones and gear back into the pits and took our car up with the trailer, we completed the Design event from yesterday with some of our team members talking about management.

This brought our second day to a close and despite it being a somewhat miserable day, we still had a lot of fun and got to perform in conditions we haven’t been able to yet this year. We can’t wait to come back tomorrow for our final action-packed day at Queensland Student Shootout (but hopefully it will be less wet!)