With a marching band and a cry of “Let the Shell Eco-marathon begin!” more than a thousand students and volunteers shook the rafters of Cobo Center and officially kicked off the fuel economy competition’s first visit to Detroit.
High winds forced opening ceremonies indoors. Shell Oil Company President Marvin Odum welcomed the students to the historic home of the US auto industry, praising their commitment to innovation and engineering excellence. In his own welcome, Detroit Mayor Michael Duggan noted that a man named Henry Ford built his first car just a few blocks away, and tested it on the same city streets they’ll drive during the weekend’s competitions.
‘The first competition day at Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2015 comes to a close! Under sunny skies, dozens of teams from the Prototype and UrbanConcept categories took to the track to compete for energy-efficiency records!’
Title: The Thrill of the Ride
Duration: 2:36 minutes
The Thrill of the Ride Film Transcript
[Text displays]
Shell Eco-Marathon
The thrill of the ride
Americas 2015
[Background music]
Bright, pop music.
[Video footage]
American flag on flagpole in large city.
Panning over large city buildings.
Sped-up footage of a large warehouse being set up – lorries being unloaded and stages set up.
Sped-up footage of young people at an event.
[Team member]
“It was actually a lot of fun being able to start right from scratch, brand new vehicles. It was a great learning experience for the team.”
[Video footage]
Teams working on their vehicles.
Team members talking and discussing.
Driver putting on seatbelt.
Someone working at a laptop.
[Team member]
“Totally new course so we’ll see how it goes.”
[Video footage]
Large auditorium with lots of people walking around.
Cars set up on show.
[Speaker]
“This is your weekend. It’s your weekend to prove to us what this next generation of innovators and leaders looks like.”
[Video footage]
Young person at a stand, playing with a large metal globe.
Marching band.
Groups of young people chatting and laughing.
[Speaker]
“I couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to honour the original founders of this industry.”
[Video footage]
Streamers coming down on crowd of Shell workers.
Large city buildings.
[Team member]
“We’re going to be first ones on this brand new track, first ones ever, and we’re not sure what to expect.”
[Video footage]
Green flag being waved in front of car at starting line.
Car starting off on lap.
Close-up of driver in car.
[Team member]
“For the first run we were just trying to get a baseline, seeing what it was like out on the course.”
[Video footage]
Car going around lap, racetrack has large buildings all around it.
[Team member]
“That was a lot better than my first run.”
[Team member]
“It looks pretty smooth on the outside but inside it’s… you can feel every bump.”
[Video footage]
Car going around track.
Shot from inside of car, looking out at track as car goes round.
More cars going around track.
Person with goggles on inside testing area.
[Text displays]
324.
[Video footage]
Woman with goggles high-fives the driver.
[Team member]
“I’m just so happy we completed a run.”
[Team member]
“599 miles to the gallon.”
[Video footage]
Two team members high-fiving.
Driver gives thumbs-up to camera.
Woman with goggles on looking nervous.
Team working on the car.
[Team member]
“I’m having a heart attack here, guys. We don’t know. I’m having a heart attack here!
[Unidentified Speaker]
“6.82ml.”
[Team member]
“Oh my god!”
[Video footage]
Team gathered to hear results and then start to cheer and hug.
Team counting down from five in French and then cheering.
Various teams shouting out their team names.
Cars going around the track.
[Team member]
“Our cars have ran great, we’ve had a great time. It’s been a great experience for all of us.
[Video footage]
Cars going around the track – various different shot angles.
[Team member]
“Yes, we had a great time this year and we did really well.”
[Team member]
“It was really fun this year. Our car is doing pretty good this year.”
[Team member]
“So we’re really happy to be here from Montreal and we enjoyed it.
[Video footage]
People playing ‘Kinetic Soccer’.
Person breakdancing on light up floor.
People laughing at something on a laptop.
Team high-fiving.
[Team member]
“Can’t wait.”
[Team member]
“Can’t wait.”
[Team member]
“Can’t wait.”
[Team member]
“Can’t wait to come…”
[Team member]
“Back…
[Team member]
“Coming back…
[Team member]
“Coming back next year.”
[Video footage]
Teams gathered around their cars.
Teams lined up on the track, seen from above.
Track with all the teams lined up waving at camera, camera flies up into the air.
Still shot of teams on track waving at camera.
[Team member]
“See you next year, guys.”
[Music]
Riff plays.
[Text displays]
Copyright Shell International Limited 2015
Weather kept those streets off limits for the first day. Fortunately the cavernous center accommodates a full track in addition to space for all the competitors’ cars and equipment. The 20 teams whose cars had already cleared technical and safety inspection lined up for early test drives immediately after the morning’s events.
Those with work to do headed back to their paddocks and cars to make tweaks, adjustments and, in some cases, major work ahead of technical inspection. Shell Eco-marathon Americas Technical Director Adrian Juergens is in charge of those inspections. “So far, brakes, visibility and fuel are the problem areas,” he says. And safety, as always, is first priority: “We’re checking the driver’s safety restraints more closely than ever this year.”
The patience game! The driver of the Stig, by team Sexton Supermilers from Dalhousie University, Canada waits to enter the track on day one of the Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2015 in Detroit, MI, USA. (Doug Benc/AP Images for Shell)
Participants and visitors look towards the stage during the opening ceremony of Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2015. (Bryan Mitchell/AP Images for Shell)
The Shell car at the Opening Ceremony in Detroit, MI, USA. (Doug Benc/AP Images for Shell)
Participants take part in the opening ceremony before day one of the Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2015. (Rex Larsen/AP Images for Shell)
Participants carry their country flags during the opening ceremony. (Tom McKenzie/AP Images for Shell)
All the participants celebrate during the opening ceremony on day one of the Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2015 in Detroit, MI. (Rick Osentoski/AP Images for Shell)
Team Carbonair II from Milwaukee School of Engineering, Milwaukee, WI, United States get ready to hit Technical Inspection. (Rick Osentoski/AP Images for Shell)
The Huracan ethanol Prototype by team Taq Balam, from Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala in the paddock area. (Rick Osentoski/AP Images for Shell)
An overall view of the paddock area and fan zone at Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2015 in Detroit. (Rick Osentoski/AP Images for Shell)
The driver of The Miliwatt battery electric Prototype, by team EFICEM from Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil during Tech Inspection.
The Zoticus gasoline UrbanConcept by team UBC Supermileage Team from University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada tries to pass Technical Inspection. (Tom McKenzie/AP Images for Shell)
A driver tests her equipment during Tech Inspection. (Rick Osentoski/AP Images for Shell)
Nova Scotia’s Dalhousie University was one of the first teams headed toward the indoor track after making their engine slightly more fuel efficient and prepared for weather changes. Hailing from a colder region, they know the trick of heating the engine before hitting the course.
Right behind them, the only all-girls team in the competition, ShopGirls from Washington, made adjustments based on last years’ experience -- making their car stronger and easier to steer. The team planned to practice coasting and wider turns. “That’s a big part of our strategy,” said team leader Dansil Green.
Ruston High School hit a typical snag on its first try. Despite successful testing back home in Louisiana, at trackside in Detroit the engine wouldn’t run. Back in their paddock they found the problem, fixed it and headed back out. This time it worked perfectly.
Some teams are a lot farther from getting onto the track. Universidad del Valle de Guatemala’s team had shipped their Prototype vehicle here on a boat but the engine wasn’t allowed through customs. They had to buy a new engine online and have it shipped to Detroit. It’s meant a lot more work, but they still hope to compete on the weekend.
Teams start lining up to make their first official mileage runs on the Shell Eco-marathon Americas track through downtown Detroit at 8:00 Saturday morning.
If you’re a participant or want to join Shell Eco-marathon Americas, see all you need to know about the competition.
Get highlights from Shell Eco-marathon Americas in Detroit.