KARO

Karo was going to be the first car my brother and I made as a team. Our dream was to make the fastest in NSW, but we knew it was going to be a very hard process. Research was all we did for 3 months! Gears, motors, maximizers, solar panels, all possibilities that could make the difference between cars. We thought of a simple design, but we wanted the best of materials. We ordered a Faulhaber 2232 motor, Easymax 3 maximizer and found some spare carbon fibre lying around in the workshop.

Before designing the car, there were points to consider. There had to be space for the driver’s cabinet, which had to be able to hold a ‘driver’, which was to be a large egg, and most importantly the cargo area had to be big enough to hold a 2L milk carton. We thought of building a prototype first, so that we didn't make any mistakes with the expensive carbon fibre. We went with a simple 4 wheeled 'box' shaped car, which we thought was quite a good size and weight. Simple aluminum wheels and axles were used and solar panels from Dick Smith.

Competition day came and there was no room for error. The weather wasn't the kindest. Raining heavily and less than 10% sunlight was visible. We knew it was going to be tough, but we were ready for the challenge. After a slow but fun day of qualifying, there was always going to be a problem. Since it was raining, the track was wet and there were puddles everywhere. While tuning the maximizer, we exposed it to too much to the rain and it stopped working. At this point, we thought our weekend was over, until Tony was found! Tony was the designer and builder of the Easymax series maximizers and helped us greatly with our problem. A whole new maximizer was desperately needed, which Tony kindly gave us to use for race day. Day 2 came, and the weather didn't change, except that the rain was not as constant. First race, we were racing the fastest car from the Friday's qualifying, Ecstasy. We knew that we were not going to win, but were hoping for a good race. As we placed our cars down, the sun shone between a gap of cloud and both of our cars flew around the track at a quick pace. We were both running around 24 seconds, which was very exciting to watch. We did lose the race, but we lost in great fashion. As we were about to pack our bags, the adjudicators called us in and told us we had a second chance as we were the fastest car that was knocked out in the first round. And so, the racing began again...

We zoomed past our next opponents, and we found ourselves into the top 8 in NSW. The rain continued to fall, but KARO still went on strong as we passed the quarterfinals and into the semi’s, against the second seed, Raptor from Moorebank High School. We knew whether we won or lost we made it very far for KARO's first appearance on the big stage. After losing the semi-finals, it meant we were up against Cougar, also from Moorebank High for third and fourth placing. An exciting race it was with the final result coming down to the centimeter quite literally as both our cars were stopping under the bridge where it was shaded. "And third position goes to... KARO!" We jumped up as one. Third position on our first appearance, what an achievement! We also got 'Best quality' award from the scrutinizers as we used a quality material in carbon fibre. By coming third, were given the opportunity to go to the national’s event in Hobart where we would race the champions from all around Australia!

A huge thank you must be directed to ASV Computing for their financial help, and to Tony B, who without his help could not have even dreamt about a podium finish.