Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Testing Incidents in the Outback

There have been a few incidents in the outback this week.

First, Twente apparently had a brush with a kangaroo this morning out on the Cox Peninsula - we're glad to hear that it sounds like Red One is undamaged, 'roos can be a serious hazard even for "real" cars!

Next, someone writing for SolarRacing.org is on the ground in Hidden Valley tweeting, and they've met up with the team from Minnesota. UMN showed up from testing on the Stuart Highway in South Australia with some damage to the front left corner of their car Eos. I'm curious to hear what happened...

We're still hearing some rumors about one other team, but I don't have any authoritative confirmation... We'll just have to wait for all of the teams to make their way up to Darwin.

Stay safe out there, everyone!

2 comments:

  1. Quick and dirty translation of the news story:

    ‘Kangaroo!’, shouts the Solar Team Twente test crew, but too late. Their solar car Red One could not avoid the animal. The kangaroo sprang unexpectedly out in front of them (they are testing their car on the open road), and hit the right front part of the car with its tail. Fortunately, the accident was without negative consequences. They stopped as soon as possible, to check that driver and vehicle were undamaged. Happily, they both were, although driver Coen Hartjes had had a nasty shock. ‘I saw the kangaroo jump out in front of me: it moved really fast, and I had no time to brake.’ Says team leader Irene van den Hof, ‘It could have ended badly. For a moment I saw our dream lying in ruins. Fortunately the high-tech material from TenCate we are using is light, strong, fast, and safe. That last attribute was particularly important today.’

    Kudos to the driver for making the right choice here, and not trying what far too many people do -- a desperate swerve that rolls the car.

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  2. Testing isn't without any danger in Australia. We hope every team is warned to stay focussed at all time!

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