Regional Results: Taranaki

Words by Jessica Cathro

TARANAKI

The showers didn’t keep teams away from the inaugural Taranaki Regional Evolocity competition. 10 teams from six different schools arrived at Kart Sport New Plymouth ready to demonstrate their electric vehicles.

The teams’ journey had started at the beginning of the year in mid-March, when teams gathered at WITT to learn about the competition and start planning their vehicles. Over the next six months teams met at their schools and at WITT to complete their design and build their vehicles.

Even a four week lockdown did not stop these teams from completing their vehicles. Students arrived on Friday 12th November to participate in each of the events. The Drag Race was a highlight with the top speed from Team Wooloo. The spectators were then treated to the experience of seeing the first North Island Championship class vehicle show off their speed from team JOJ Racing at Mount Maunganui College. The Competition Class was introduced in 2021 to allow more advanced students build a proper electric go kart with the aim of showcasing their engineering abilities.

Next up was the Gymkhana. Teams navigated the cones like pros with some teams completing the circuit in less than a minute and a half.

Finally the teams competed in the Economy Run. There were several who took off with Stratford College Team Go Go Electric leading the way and Last Minute trailing very slowly behind. However energy efficiency cannot be denied and teams slowly began dying leaving on Team Last Minute slowly creeping around the track to win.

The regional event could not have happened without the support of Ara Ake, WITT and Evnex, who provided financially and with judges, volunteers, mentors and supporters