After our strong finish on the last day of raycing, we packed up the car and headed over to downtown Adelaide. We parked our support vehicles at the fairground parking lot and waited for our turn to cross the finishline at Victoria Square.
The team gathered at the finishline and nervously waited for Mike to drive the car to the finish. As soon as Mike pulled in, we began chanting Bear Territory with our Cal and US flags. The atmosphere was so hyped up and we were so proud to be there!
After snapping some snazzy team photos, we then proceeded to the highlight of the celebration: we lifted up Chris and dumped him in the fountain! Unfortunately, I got thrown in there in the process as well!
On Sunday October 23rd, we had a nice meeting to work out some post-rayce logistics, and then we packed up Impulse from her little exhibit spot back on the trailer and went to the award ceremony at the fancy Adelaide Convention Center.
The ceremony began with an aboriginal performance; it was a very delightful touch to the event. The aboriginal culture is so closely tangled with the sun, just like our solar car project! Oh yea, we also learned that we REALLY had the worst weather possible ever since the very first WSC.
The event director, Chris Selwood, then showed us a nice video the media team had put together for the ceremony. It was so inspiring to look back at all the disasters we faced and all the struggles we had to go through in order to be there. Even though we didn’t win or finish the whole 3000 kms of the rayce, we did our best to solve all the last-minute problems and fought the nature. Here I’d like to thank the wonderful Australian crew for all of their commitment and dedication. Without this amazing group of people, we wouldn’t be able to complete this challenge. Thank you Abhay, Amando, Ankur, Brian, Chris, Ed, Hilary, Lily, Martin, Marc, Mike, Nicole, Rafael, Ryan, Stephanie, Steven, Carlos, and the Cartland family for this unforgettable experience!
Now that WSC has come to an end, we are shifting our focus to the upcoming rayce in June, the American Solar Challenge (ASC). While most of the members on the crew are old and will soon leave the university, we are hopeful and know that the younglings from this trip and the team in Berkeley will continue carrying over our legacy.
Go Bears. Go CalSol.