Team Schluckspecht has arrived safely at the Silesia Ring

Exactly one month after the rollout of the new Prototype S8, the Schluckspecht team from Hochschule Offenburg spent the past few days packing for the Shell Eco-marathon Europe & Africa, which takes place from today, Wednesday, through Sunday, June 28, in Kamien Slaski, Poland. After the team, the S5 and S8 energy-efficient vehicles, and other luggage were loaded onto the transport trucks, they first headed to Wrocław yesterday, Tuesday, and after a short night’s rest, continued on to the Silesia Ring this morning.

Upon arriving at the racetrack, a tight schedule awaited the 30 team members who had traveled with the team: In addition to setting up the paddock (their own workshop area in the pit lane) and the tent camp, the technical inspection of both vehicles was also on the agenda. “The paddock is extremely well-organized, and we’re going all out for the Safety Award with the safety concept we’ve developed,” explained Hannes Link. The team’s safety concept includes camp and paddock rules, a camp and paddock safety officer, and a web app for reporting any accidents. The only issues today arose on the organizers’ side during the technical inspection. Since the start was delayed, the team was unable to complete it today as planned. Only the brakes on the S8 were inspected.

The team members used the time to apply all the stickers to the car (start number, etc.) and prepare it for tomorrow’s continuation of the technical inspection. And the problem with the forgotten suits has also been resolved in the meantime: Our friends from DTU Copenhagen helped out today by lending us some of their old ones; our own suits will arrive tomorrow via express mail.

Since temperatures are expected to rise from around 30 degrees Celsius to 38 degrees by Sunday, some rules have been changed: The schedule has been moved up by one hour, meaning the paddock will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Only seven laps (in 22 minutes) will be driven instead of eleven. The prototypes, including the S8, will start very early and very late, while the Urban Concept cars, including the S5, will start at opposite times. Medical staff will attend to the drivers after their runs.

In addition to the technical inspection, the first practice sessions are also on the schedule for tomorrow, Thursday. Team Schluckspecht’s goal is to finish on the podium in both classes—Prototype (S8) and Urban Concept (S5)—and to qualify for next year’s World Championship in Qatar.