So we’re here. Finally setup in Darwin getting ready for the challenge. Most of the hardwork is done, with only a few little last minute things to finish off before we start the challenge on Sunday.
But, first things first – on Saturday we unpacked our trailer into our new pit bay at Hidden Valley race track. This is our home for the next week as we prepare for scrutineering and qualifications. Very quickly we marked our territory with Boxing Kangaroos and Aussie Flags.
With our equipment from home all setup, we were able to work on the finishing touches for the car and setup our support vehicles. Some of the team members have also taken the opportunity to talk to the other teams – Australian and International alike. With three Aussie teams in a row at the pits, we’ve been able to make friends with the newest Australian Team – Adelaide University and catch up with our old friends Sunswift from UNSW. Across the paddock we have caught up with Western Sydney University and SA Tafe, the other Australian Competitors.
Our race team this year has both experienced solar racers and those that are racing for the first team. The enthusiasm of the newer team members reminds those that have experienced this before what its all about. Tanya, our camp manager, has been out making friends with many other teams and can’t stop talking about the other cars and the ways other teams have tackled the same problems as us. Alex, from our mechanical team, has a plan to get a photo with every car whilst he’s here in Darwin.
On Sunday we were out on the track ensuring all the systems of Arrow1-GT are operating well. Jason, our newest driver, enjoyed driving around the Hidden Valley track and looks forward to an opportunity to beat Chris’s track record.
With scrutineering starting today many of the other teams are hard at work on last minute tasks. We too have a few small things to fix with our indicators flashing too quickly and our brake lights not working as they should.
Over the next few days we will be testing on track, preparing our food supplies for the race and doing mock strategy drives out of Darwin. The first time racers in our team are looking forward to camping under the stars next week. Until then, we have scrutineering to pass, preparation for Saturday’s dynamic scruitineering, camping preparations to finish and finalisations for strategy.
