Electrathon: A quiet (very quiet) race at Lime Rock Park

LIME ROCK— Tiny cars in a rainbow of colors dotted the upper auto-cross .2 mile track at Lime Rock Park, some so low to the ground you could swear they would scrape. It’s hard to believe there was a person somewhere inside each of those cars. The only hint was the helmeted heads poking over the tops, glistening in the sun.They took off for the first heat of the Connecticut Electrathon Challenge June 3. Race car roars bounced off the hills and echoed through the valley, but it wasn’t from the battery-operated vehicles made by high school and college students. The noise was coming from the nearby 1.5-mile track where classic cars were racing at top speeds.Speed wasn’t the objective at the Electrathon. The Electrathon Challenge, which started in 2001, is a contest in which high school and college students build cars run solely by battery power (the more sophisticated machines also can get a solar power boost). Cars race around the track for an hour — if they can last that long. Whoever completes the most laps, wins.But of course winning isn’t everything or the only thing.“What it’s really all about is getting the car here, all the technology and fundraising,” said Mike Grella, the state coordinator for the Electrathon Program. “And it’s a chance for the teams to come together and talk about a shared interest. That’s what it’s all about.”Grella explained that there were five classes this year: novice, classic, composite and two new ones, solar and college. About 20 groups participated this year, with new teams from New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey. Nonnewaug High School was the only school from this region to participate.The College of New Jersey was the only college. The team came with one of the two solar-and-battery-powered cars to compete.Jon Saia, who will graduate from the college as soon as this project is over, said the solar panel gives the car a little extra juice.“We describe it as being like a torpedo,” said Hunter Carson, also a senior and one of the car’s drivers.There are many rules and restrictions for Electrathon cars. They must be battery-powered only, unless they are in the solar category. The batteries must weigh 64 pounds or less. The car must weigh at least 180 pounds or have ballasts in the car to compensate.One of the most difficult rules to follow for some high school teams is to have a driver with a license. To add to all of that, students must come up with the funding to build the cars, which usually cost between $2,000 and $3,000.“This project is a problem solver,” Grella said, meaning that students aren’t just tinkering with car parts, they must figure out how to make a design or a concept come to life.One of the bigger issues the college team had to deal with was finding a driver to fit in the car. Most of the team’s members are 6 feet or taller. Carson, who is slim and tall, put on his helmet, preparing for the first race. Saia pointed to the front end of the car, where there were no solar panels.“Hunter didn’t fit, so we had to add more on,” Saia said.Zack Martin, a senior at Farmington High School, was one of 80 or so students who helped work on his school’s car for the classic division.“We finished it last night,” Martin said, grinning. Peter Cirilli, the driver, took off for a test run.“Everything’s on it. It’s a challenge because you’re pretty much building it from scratch. Some people buy kit cars. Ours are built from the ground up,” Martin said.Christine Saradeno from Cheshire High School is one of the few girls driving a car in the race — a car that looks like the batmobile, no less, and even has a Batman emblem painted lightly on its black nose. She said she had heard about the program and thought it sounded like fun. When she showed up for class the first day, she found she was the only girl.“Now, it’s fine,” Saradeno said. “In the beginning it was ridiculous.” She laughed while a few of her male teammates (sporting Batman shirts) began to tease her.“But we all do equal work,” she said.For results information or more information about Electrathon, go to www.ctelectrathon.org.

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