Design at heart of Human Powered race

Jack Raplee
ASME NEWS

The Human Powered Vehicle Challenge West Coast, held in Reno, Nev., in late April, showcased the design, aerodynamics, speed and performance of land-based, pedal-powered vehicles. The results of the three-day competition, which included a Winter Olympics-like protest, were awarded.

Competition judges award points in specific events per category. In the single- and multi-rider categories, entries can score as many as 40 points for design and 30 points apiece for the sprint and endurance events. Utility vehicles can score as many as 60 points for design and 40 points in the utility endurance event.

In the single-rider category, the entry from Montana Tech took first place. It was followed by Colorado State, with South Dakota third.

A first-place tie in the multi-rider category came after the judges settled a filing dispute. The teams from the University of California, Chico, and Santa Clara University each took home first-place trophies because the ruling that followed the protest made points moot.

The Santa Clara team filed a protest for a late-penalty fee that it was assessed because it missed the cutoff date for filing its report. After the complaint was filed, Region IX was contacted and showed that the team's mailing was postmarked before the cutoff date.
Colorado State's entry in the utility vehicle category received a perfect score in both the design and utility endurance events — 100 points total — to take first place.

The entry from Michigan Tech captured second place. Third place went to California State University, Long Beach.

A second HPV event in May in Blacksburg, Va., was under way at press time.

back to news & features