CalSol began the last day of the race looking forward to 10 hours of racing, but unfortunately we were unable to begin with the other teams due to some mechanical problems from Thursday’s racing, and also our brake lights stopped working. By 10:30 AM we had fixed the problems, tuned the suspension, and demonstrated to the scrutineers that our car was solid and safe. We quickly discovered that retuning the suspension improved our handling and made the drivers more comfortable on the numerous sharp corners on the track. After a couple of hours of racing, our driver came in to report hearing strange sounds coming from the motor. It took a while, but we finally determined to our relief that our motor was fine and that a bad wheel rim was to blame for the sound. With a replacement wheel on the car, we sent our drivers back out for the last 2 hours of the race.
Unlike the other teams who had drained their batteries after 3 days of racing, we had a relatively full pack, so we were able to finish the race very strong, lapping most other teams several times near the end. Everyone, from the race officials and corner flagmen to the other teams, was very supportive and flashed us thumbs up as we passed by. It has been touching to experience the camaraderie that the teams share, and we would again like to thank all the teams for giving us advice, loaning us tools and materials, and cheering us on as we made progress.