Q&A Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2013

1 - Where will the 2013 edition of Shell Eco-marathon Europe take place?

Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2013 will take place in Rotterdam in the Netherlands between 15-19 May. . The competition in Europe is taking place on a street track around the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam. This is a way of showcasing the exciting student innovations and futuristic vehicles on a more realistic stage.

2 - Where exactly in Rotterdam will the event be, on what racetrack?

The street circuit at Ahoy in Rotterdam provides teams with a real-life driving experience. And its city location makes it easier for more spectators to join in the excitement.

• Visitors address:
  Ahoy Rotterdam
  Ahoy-weg 10
  3084 BA ROTTERDAM

3 - When will the 2013 edition take place?

Shell Eco-marathon Europe will take place between 15-19 May 2013.

4 - Why did you choose the Netherlands as location?

The street circuit at Ahoy in Rotterdam provides teams with a real-life driving experience. And its city location makes it easier for more spectators can join in the excitement. The city’s focus on sustainability makes it a suitable location for Shell Eco-marathon, which sparks debate about greater energy efficiency into the future.

5 - How often will the event be rotated?

The possible rotation of the Shell Eco-marathon is closely intertwined with its Europeanisation. Shell wants to match this Europeanisation by bringing the spirit of the event to new geographic locations thus giving opportunities to new teams to compete and allowing for a greater diversity of participating teams.

Shell is considering installing a rotation principle for future events, bringing the event closer to participants while fostering diversity.

To make the rotation a success, a number of fundamental criteria need to be taken into account. All options are currently open.

6 - When exactly will we receive the Official rules Chapter I?

The complete Official rules Chapter I will be made available on the Shell Eco-marathon Europe website as of September 2012.

7 - Can you give more details about the registration process?

The complete Official rules – Chapter I will be made available on our website in  September 2012. Chapter I contains all technical details that you need to know. The Chapter II European rules will become available at the end of December 2012.
The application process to Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2013 consists of two phases: Phase I and Phase II. Below you will find a timing overview of the different phases, as well as more detailed information about the different steps.

• Phase I Opens - Soon
  Phase I Closes - 31 October 2012Phase I Results - 15 November 2012
  (By email to the team manager and teacher)  
    
• Phase II Opens - 15 November 2012
  Phase II Closes - 17 December 2012
  Phase II Results – 21 January 2013

Click here for more details about the application process.

8 - What specific criteria will the Selection Committee use to select the teams?

The Shell Eco-marathon Selection committee will decide which teams will be invited to participate in Shell Eco-marathon 2013 ensuring maximum safety, efficiency and as much diversity as possible in terms of competing countries, education institutions, performances, fuel categories and engine types.

We are committed to offering everyone a fair chance to participate in this event under the best possible conditions. Previous results will also be taken into consideration.
We want to offer everyone a fair chance to participate in this event under the best possible conditions. This means there will be a mix of new teams that have not yet participated in the event and teams that have already taken part.

9 - Why have you limited the number of participants to 200?

We want to ensure maximum safety, efficiency and as much diversity as possible in terms of competing countries, education institutions, performances, fuel categories and engine types. By limiting the number of participants to 200 we will be able to provide safer working and living conditions both on and off the circuit. Safety is as you know one of our top priorities during Shell Eco-marathon.

10 - Is there are specific number of teams per country that can participate?

No. At this point we have set no limit to the number of teams that can participate per country, provided we do not surpass 200 vehicles. The Shell Eco-marathon Selection will decide which teams will be invited to participate in Shell Eco-marathon 2013 ensuring as much diversity as possible in terms of competing countries, education institutions, fuel categories and engine types.

11 - Will the teams that have taken part in the event last year(s) have priority over new teams?

No, not necessarily. The Shell Eco-marathon Selection committee will decide which teams will be invited to participate in Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2013 ensuring as much diversity as possible in terms of competing countries, education institutions, fuel categories and engine types. We want to offer everyone a fair chance to participate in this event under the best possible conditions. This means there will be a mix of new teams that have not yet participated in the event and teams that have already taken part.

12 - Why aren't you using objective criteria to select the teams?

Committee is not using any objective criteria to select the teams that can and cannot participate and that these people can basically pick and choose whoever they want… - why aren't you using objective criteria such as for example the race results of last year, the size of the school, etc…?

The Shell Eco-marathon Selection committee takes previous results into account.
We want to offer everyone a fair chance to participate in this event under the best possible conditions.

13 - Will there be a waiting list of possible participants?

Yes. These teams will be informed beginning of January that they are on the waiting list. The other teams that have registered will also be informed at this time whether they are invited or not to Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2013.

14 - When will these teams be informed of their participation?

You say that there will be a waiting list of possible participants in case some teams that have been invited cancel their participation at the last minute. When will these teams be informed of their participation - taking into account that projects like these take months to prepare!

The teams that are part of the waiting list will be informed by the Shell Eco-marathon Selection Committee in beginning of beginning of January 2013, at the same time as all of the other teams.

15 - Why can't we participate with several vehicles from 1 school?

We are maintaining the current rule that schools can enter a maximum of 1 Prototype and 1 UrbanConcept vehicle per university/school. However, to offer everyone a fair chance to participate and to ensure as much diversity as possible in terms of competing countries, education institutions, fuel categories and engine types, the decision on whether or not both vehicles will actually be invited to the event will be taken by the Shell Eco-marathon Europe Selection committee.

16 - How are 200 participants / vehicles divided?

Is there a limit to the number of Prototypes and the number of Urban Concept vehicles that are able to participate?

At this point, there is no specific division or limit between the numbers of Prototypes or UrbanConcepts vehicles that can participate in Shell Eco-marathon Europe.
Traditionally, there have been more Prototypes than UrbanConcept vehicles. However, we are very pleased to see that since the introduction of the UrbanConcept category, this category has become more and more popular and that an increasing number of UrbanConcept vehicles take part.

We want to offer this category every opportunity to further develop not only because of its immense innovation potential but also due to the fact that Urban Concept vehicles are more closely 'related' to the current commercial vehicles compared to Prototypes.