Cambridge Team Crash Out Of Eco-Racing Competition

The Cambridge Eco Racing (CUER) Team have been forced to withdraw from their 3000m trek across the Australian Outback in their aerodynamic solar powered car following a crash last week.

The team, made up of sixty Cambridge students, had been optimistic about their chances in the World Solar Challenge, landing the RBS ESSA Award for being the most enterprising student society in the UK.

The group also won top prize in engineering firm Matchtech’s 2013 Engineering Showcase, as judges praised their entry for being “a great demonstration of innovation” and “undoubtedly inspiring”.

The team were forced to pull out of the competition following an accident during which their car, Resolution, rolled onto its side.  The driver was unhurt.

According to the statement on their website, further tests soon revealed various “dynamic instabilities” however, which the team were unable to correct in time for the race.

Professor Hawking swings by to register his approval

Team Manager Keno Mario-Ghae announced the decision on the CUER blog: “With great regret, we have decided to withdraw. The team is very disappointed but we are confident that we have made the right decision.”

Keno stressed that there were positives to be drawn from the experience, as later tests revealed that Resolution would have been extremely competitive and the team have been able to work on new technologies that can be implemented next year.

Helena Barman, Head of PR, posted on Facebook: “We will be completing the first kilometre and the last kilometre of the race in Resolution, and towing her the rest of the way… We always knew that a car packed with so many new and unknown technologies was going to be a risk. These were brave choices. We hope the next year’s team will learn and build on these.”

She continued, “In the meantime, as a final farewell as Head of PR, I will be rebranding Resolution… Revolution. Watch out world, by the time I’m finished a car that flips every time you turn a corner will be a ‘revolutionary’ design feature. Hey hey.”

The Tab would like to congratulate the team for getting this far.

Viva la Revolution.