Things are going well for Team Schluckspecht

Due to the current high temperatures in Poland—around 30 degrees Celsius—the schedule for the Shell Eco-marathon was adjusted as decided yesterday. As a result, the paddock opened as early as 6:30 a.m. today, Thursday. First on the agenda was the continuation of the technical inspection. The process continued to move slowly, but unlike many other teams, both the S5 and the S8 passed without any issues. As a result, they were two of the few cars on the track during the subsequent practice runs.

The test runs showed that the complete overhaul of the S5’s engine seems to be paying off: The Urban Concept completed a total of five practice runs and performed great. Until the first competitive runs tomorrow, the team will continue testing the engine control system to find the optimal settings. Although the S8 only made it to the first turn during its first practice run because the chain came off, this problem was resolved by the second practice run. Things went well then: The team was able to complete the full run and thus gain initial experience with the new prototype. Now they’re fine-tuning the details to ensure they can successfully complete the first qualifying runs tomorrow.

For the S8 drivers, the high temperatures are manageable thanks to the prototype’s cooling system and the now early or late driving times. Nevertheless, the motto is: Stay Hydrated—drink plenty of fluids. The “super” kitchen team is taking care of that and other meals, providing lunch in the paddock and freshly cooked food every evening. And the forgotten racing suits also arrived today.

So tomorrow, Friday, the team will head into the races refreshed and fully equipped. Everyone wants to make the most of these races to gain as much experience as possible, so they can continue to optimize and improve their performance through Sunday. Many other teams that haven’t yet completed the technical inspection today will have to start directly in the races tomorrow without any practice runs.