RP's 1st solar car passes 2,000 km in Aussie race

Sinag, the Philippines' first solar car, has breached the 2,000-kilometer mark from Darwin to Cadney Homestead Thursday, passing through Alice Springs, the halfway point of the 3,000-km race of the World Solar Challenge, according to statement released by the team on Thursday. Sinag has kept its pace at 11th spot in the Challenge Class of the race, which drew 40 participants. On Friday, Sinag will make its way to the last two control centers in Glen Dambo and Port Augusta before hitting the finish line in Adelaide. Sinag was designed and built by a group of faculty and students from the Mechanical Engineering and the Electronics and Communications Engineering Departments of De La Salle University in Manila. "We are making good time so we can make it to Adelaide by Saturday or early Sunday morning," lead driver Eric Tan said. "We just need to reach the next designated control stops before the deadline in order for us to be able to continue to race. Missing two control stops will disqualify us." According to Sinag's technical personnel, the solar car has been performing better than expected since the start of the race Sunday. Sinag easily passed the 1,000-km mark without needing to rely on auxiliary power – an option that, though allowed by contest rules, would reduce the team's overall score. Team Sinag also managed to correct a minor problem with Sinag's brake system, which had been causing its tires to wear out faster than expected, prompting frequent changes. Since then, the team experienced no other major technical difficulties and more than made up for lost time. Despite its fine showing, team members remain wary of their chances of finishing the race, although La Salle students feel already triumphant that their entry has been performing better than the other cars. "Whether or not we finish this race, we feel we've already accomplished our goal of building a working solar car and letting people at home know that solar power is a viable and reliable source of energy," team leader Robert Obiles said. The solar car was built with the support of Ford Group Philippines, Motolite, Philippine Airlines, San Miguel Corp., Shell, SunPower, U-Freight, and Ventus. The project is also supported by Aurora, Cabrera Lavadia and Associates, JWT, Creasia, Merritt Partners, Tuason Racing School, Gochermann Solar Technology, and Stratworks. - GMANews.TV