Power and the passion

At whatever event Aurora participates, the team meets the most interesting people.  Solar car racing consistently brings together the best minds and brightest personalities, and this year's Suzuka Dream Cup was no exception.

Completely dependent on sunshine

The last of the early mornings had to be endured as we left for the track at 7.30 AM. We needed to do many jobs to prepare for the second heat of the 2010 Suzuka Dream Cup. Importantly, the only recharging session was scheduled for 10.00 AM and the weather forecast was for cloud. Most teams had used all of their battery capacity the day before in the hard-fought first four hour heat. Every team was in need of a good charging session.

Ready to race, nearly

The first free practice session was scheduled to start at 7.00 AM. This meant a departure from the hotel at 6.15 AM and without breakfast.

Getting the car ready was going to be easy. Application of race stickers, tyre pressure checks, installation of the old battery pack and we were away. But the Suzuka voodoo struck us again. The motor sensor plug had a broken wire, probably caused by the stress of practicing motor changes on the previous day. Tom fixed it fairly quickly and finally we were able to send Derrick out for the latter part of the free practice session. He did three laps, with his fastest being 4 min 14 secs or second fastest.

Pandasan Wakaba-Go Dream Factory

A great confusion of names and new teams greeted us when we reached the track at 7.45 AM. We thought we were early but already about 25 teams and their cars were lined up to start scrutineering. They included both Sky Ace TIGA from Japan and Nuna from the Netherlands.