Electrifying Finish

After COVID stalled out the Shell Eco-Marathon fuel efficiency competition two years in a row, Ruston High School’s Bearcat Motorsports team recently made it back to the track and took home a first-place victory.

The team raced two electric vehicles of their own design in the Alamo City Electrathon in San Antonio, Texas on Jan. 21-22 and placed first and third overall.

“It was really incredible that the students could pull together and make a completely different car and get it ready for a different competition,” sponsor Randall Elliott said. “It goes to show that if you give these kids an opportunity, they’re able to adapt and adjust to the challenge.”

The eco-car team is made up of RHS and Choudrant High School students this year and is open to all high school students in the district.

The team generally designs and constructs fuel-efficient vehicles to enter into the Shell-Eco Marathon, an international efficiency contest that pits dozens of universities and high schools against one another to see whose cars can go a set distance while using the least amount of fuel.

But COVID-19 protocols made the Eco-Marathon impossible in 2020 and 2021.

It’s coming back this spring, but before then Elliott said he’s been looking for other opportunities for the students to show what they can do.

Enter the Alamo City Electrathon, in which RHS competed against 15 other schools from Texas as the only out-of-state entry.

Unlike the Eco-Marathon, students raced their cars on the track at the same time, competing to see who could do the most laps in one hour given the same amount of energy.

“There’s a lot of jockeying for position because you’re all out on the course at the same time,” Elliott said. “It’s about coming up with a strategy to manage your energy — what speed will give us the most laps in an hour?”

Students worked on the cars from the beginning of the school year right up until competition time. The winning vehicle was built from scratch using carbon fiber.

The team faced challenges in the middle of the competition when parts started breaking on one of the cars. In a two-hour break between heats, the students were able to rebuild and replace the motor and switch out other electronics to get the vehicle back on the track in time.

“This is only our second electrathon ever,” sponsor Susan Williams said. “So our expectations were for our car to perform — for it to last the hour. So for us to win overall grand champion, it really shows the dedication and perseverance of the students on our team.”

The team is now preparing for the Shell Eco-Marathon on April 10, this time to be hosted in Indianapolis rather than the usual Sonoma, California. It’s also a North America-only event this year.

The Bearcats will enter two vehicles: an urban concept electric car that they entered in 2019 and are outfitting with new electronics this year, and a new prototype gasoline car, a first-time category for the team.

“Urban concept” means the cars in this category must be street legal, while prototypes can be designed in practically any way that boosts fuel efficiency.

It’s been a hard wait to get back on the track, Williams said, but the payoff has been worth it.

“It was devastating for them not to get to go,” she said. “And it was really exhilarating to see them compete again. I had almost like one of those proud parent moments.”

Elliot said the motorsports program provides the students a culminating experience to all they’ve learned through their time in the school system. “They have to give presentations, talk to people from all over the world, work with engineers during technical inspections at these competitions and explain how it works,” he said. “It kind of gives them a capstone from all they’ve learned throughout their whole career at Lincoln Parish schools to showcase their abilities.

“The credit goes to all the people who have helped them each step of the way, from the Pre-K teacher up to high school.”