BSSC’s record of success at the RACV Energy Breakthrough continued on the weekend with the college entering three vehicles in the competition. And the tradition of eclectic vehicle names continued too, with ‘Pour the Milk First’ winning both the Design & Construction and Display & Presentation prizes to finish second overall.

Friday evening enabled students to practise and qualify as well as get their first taste of the new extended course on the RACV Track. All bikes performed well but there was mixed feelings about the new section of track and how it would impact on the race.

“Although conditions were clear and sunny, it was evident from the start that it was not going to be an easy race,” Energy Breakthrough coordinator John Cordedda said.

“In the first eight hours we had many crashes and rollovers, causing some frantic repair moments in the pits especially for ‘Atari’ and ‘Uphill Gardener’.”

The night racing was relatively trouble free and all the riders put in a huge effort to make up for the earlier problems. By morning, ‘Uphill Gardener’ was in 10th position overall, ‘Pour the Milk First’ was in fourth place in its category, and ‘Atari’ was sitting in third.

The last six hours of the race saw the return of some problems. ‘Atari’ ran out of petrol, forcing the team to rely on pedal power for the last six hours, and ‘Uphill Gardener’ was involved in some major collisions, causing the brakes to partially stick.

“By the end of the race, ‘Uphill Gardener’ was in eighth position in its category and travelled 796.5 km; a mammoth effort considering the start they had,” Mr Cordedda said.

“’Pour the Milk First’ slipped back a little to finish fifth in its category covering 720.5 km, and ‘Atari’ finished fourth, travelling 735 km. A great effort, considering the team only had pedal power for the last six hours.”

Congratulations to the 20 students who participated, and to the dedicated staff and helpers who made BSSC’s involvement in the event possible.

 

Uphill Gardener                                     Pour the Milk First                                   Atari

Lachie Atherton                                              Shelby Gahan                                                 Corey Beilharz

Will Beasy                                                        Tayla Foster                                                    Nic Coates

Hugh Beaton                                                   Eliza Schwab                                                   Kyle Harris

Sam Dean                                                         Shannon Taylor                                              Mitch Larson

Cooper Gaylor                                                 Josh Dole

Dylan Hanley                                                  Cooper Gaylor

Anthony Wardell                                            Sam Mustey

Thorne Wilson                                               Corey Ronchieri