Solar Car Team Finishes Fifth at the FSGP
Principia College’s solar car team finished fifth out of 14 teams competing at the 2015 Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP), a three-day race at the Circuit of the Americas track in Austin, Texas. Unlike road races where the lead car wins, at the FSGP the car that completes the most laps wins. Principia clocked 136 laps, ahead of University of Texas at Austin; University of California, Berkeley; Southern Illinois University Edwardsville; and Georgia Tech.
Principia’s trip to the FSGP actually began early during spring semester when the team noted that their current car, Ra 9, would need to be packed for shipment to the October World Solar Challenge in Australia before the FSGP took place. “We could race Ra 7s,” a team member offered.
The last time Ra 7s had raced was the 2013 FSGP, where it came in fourth. Pulling it out of storage and racing it again presented several challenges. But then a team member reminded the group, “Isn’t that what we’re good at doing—problem solving?”
Through the rest of spring semester and into early summer, team members modified Ra 7s to meet new regulations and completely rebuilt the electrical system to match the quality they’d built for Ra 9, which won the 2014 American Solar Challenge Electrical Design Award. They also logged hundreds of practice miles on Ra 7s, cruising along the Great River Road and circling the track at Gateway Motorsports Park.
Once at the FSGP, all the teams, including Principia, were challenged by the Texas heat, with track temperatures reaching 130°F. Several teams had to leave the track to cool their battery packs. But the heat didn’t dampen first-time driver Annika Fredrikson’s enthusiasm: “We cut a slit in the canopy and installed a driver fan to allow airflow, so the heat didn’t bother me. Driving was very exciting. I felt a bit like a Formula One race car driver!”
In addition to their fifth-place finish, the team earned its seventh safety award—far more than any team has ever won—and was widely recognized by competing teams for sportsmanship and assistance. The FSGP also provided a great introduction to racing for three new solar car team members and a stroll down memory lane for Principia’s new director of engineering, Chris O’Riordan-Adjah (C’99). Having raced Ra 2 during his student days, Professor O’Riordan-Adjah was able and eager to help in the pit. “Seeing the team work so well together was an excellent experience,” he says. Academic dean and faculty sponsor Dr. Joseph Ritter, who also accompanied the team to Texas, agrees: “No solar car race is routine, and our students did an outstanding job navigating both physical and metaphysical challenges. Now we look ahead to the race in Australia!”
Learn more about Principia’s solar car.