EVolocity

On Thursday 23rd of Oct a group of students from Ōtaki college arrived at school at 7:00am to load their electric vehicles that they had designed and built onto a trailer to then travel to Kartsport Manawatu. Palmerston North to compete in the Lower North Island EVolocity competition.  After unloading and setting up the pits area, we nervously awaited scrutineering, which, this year, was stricter than previous years. One of the vehicles passed but the other needed some quick modifications with some 4x2 to make side intrusion rails (thanks Dave Murray for nipping down to the hardware store). The drivers then had to complete their paperwork and safety briefings before being given wristbands, allowing them on the track. Twenty teams turned up with nineteen passing scrutineering, by the end of the day it was down to just nine vehicles managing to finish the endurance event (including both of Ōtaki College’s)

Ōtaki College’s two teams were Second to Last Minute - Bill Brookman and Hamish Cambell who had built a kart to the standard class rules and Gogo Bieber - Stanley Butler and Zach Heenan who had designed and built a kart to the open class specifications.

The first event of the day was the drag race where the vehicles are timed over 60m of acceleration, then need to be able to stop in 14m (so also a test of the brakes). Both vehicles won their class, setting a precedent for the day. From the drag race they then went down the track and participated in the gymkhana which consisted of three laps of a short slalom course with very tight corners. This event is a test of the drivers skills and the vehicles handling and maneuverability. Again, both of Ōtaki College’s teams won this event in their classes. The final race was multiple laps of the go-karting track with a mandatory driver change. During this race the energy used by the vehicle is measured to give an economy ranking and also placement after the required laps to give an endurance ranking. This challenges drivers to either go slow and steady to minimise power consumption or to try and be the fastest finisher. Both of the Ōtaki teams opted to go for speed, again winning their classes for endurance (but not economy).

Evolocity gives students an opportunity to work collaboratively in groups to design and build, then race their vehicle against other schools. The engineering, driving and team work skills learnt are extremely valuable to the students. 

Ōtaki College gained the following awards;

1st in Drag Race for Open Class Karts - Gogo Bieber

1st in Gymkhana for Open Class Karts - Gogo Bieber

1st in Endurance for Open Class Karts - Gogo Bieber

1st in Overall Vehicle Performance for Open Class Karts - Gogo Bieber

1st in Drag Race for Standard Class Karts - Second to Last Minute

1st in Gymkhana for Standard Class Karts - Second to Last Minute

1st in Endurance for Standard Class Karts - Second to Last Minute

1st in Overall Vehicle Performance for Standard Class Karts - Second to Last Minute

1st  in Overall Placing for Standard Class Karts - Second to Last Minute

Overall, another great year of Ōtaki College students dominating in the EVolocity competition. Roll on next year!