1,200 Students From Across The Americas Competed For Energy-Efficiency Crown During Shell Eco-marathon Event At Sonoma Raceway

SONOMA, Calif., April 23, 2018 /CNW/ -- Under blue skies on the sun-drenched track of Sonoma Raceway, Brigham Young University of Provo, Utah earned top honors in their category at the 12th edition of the Shell Eco-marathon Americas competition, recording 1,985.4 miles per gallon with its ultra-energy-efficient "BYU SMV" internal combustion Prototype vehicle. Among the 98 student teams, half were powered by renewable energy sources.

More than 1,200 students from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico and the United States participated in the 2018 event. They were joined by thousands of visitors who packed Sonoma Raceway to enjoy numerous activities focused on the future of energy and mobility. Visitors included nearly 600 students from many nearby California Public Schools Community Districts.

Make the Future California featuring Shell Eco-marathon Americas brought together government officials, businesses, entrepreneurs, students and local communities for collaboration and conversation around global energy challenges. Eleven strategic global and local partners helped Shell stage the increasingly popular, awards-laden event, which added new visitor elements for 2018. Shell's Festival and Technical partners, many of whom actively used the event as a recruitment ground, included: Agility, Altair, Delta, Honda, HP, Linde, O'Reilly, Sonoma Raceway, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), Toyota, and United Airlines. 

Competitors worked diligently from Thursday through Sunday fine-tuning their custom-built vehicles. Students were required to pass strenuous technical inspections before testing their vehicles on the Sonoma Raceway track to ensure they were ready for the competition. In order to record a successful run, each team's car was required to make 7 laps for a total distance of 6.4 miles within 25 minutes around the iconic Sonoma Raceway.

Drivers' World Championship Regional Final

Returning to the Americas for the third year is the Drivers' World Championship – a competition of the top performing UrbanConcept Americas teams who earned the right to compete on Sunday, April 22, in the Shell Drivers' World Championship Regional Final. The top three finishers of the Americas regional run locked up a chance to compete amongst winning teams from Asia and Europe, July 5-8, 2018, in London.

First Place - Saint Thomas Academy Experimental Vehicle Team Alpha, Saint Thomas Academy

Second Place - Sask Eco UC, Saskatchewan Polytechnic

Third Place - Mater Dei Supermileage, Mater Dei High School

These teams will now prepare to compete for the Drivers' World Championship Grand Final Title and earn the exclusive opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime experience at the home of Scuderia Ferrari in Italy.

Shell Eco-marathon General Manager Norman Koch noted, "The Drivers' World Championship demands the best in vehicular innovation and automotive technology to push the boundaries of energy efficiency. Sharp skills and a sound strategy in handling the vehicle and managing fuel efficiency are imperative in helping the winning team cross the finish line first. We saw amazing action and excitement today and my congratulations goes to all the teams."

The Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2018 Winning Teams

Student teams compete in two vehicle classes at the event. The Prototype class invites students to enter futuristic, streamlined vehicles. The UrbanConcept class focuses on more "roadworthy" vehicles aimed at meeting the real-life needs of drivers. Entries are divided into three energy categories:

• Internal combustion: gasoline, diesel, and ethanol
• Hydrogen fuel cell
• Battery electric

The Americas winners in each class follow, based on vehicle class and energy category:

• Prototype internal combustion: "BYU SMV," Brigham Young University, 1985.4 mpg
• Prototype battery electric sponsored by Honda: "Duke Electric Vehicles," Duke University, 367.9 m/kWh
• Prototype hydrogen fuel cell sponsored by Linde: "Duke Electric Vehicles H2," Duke University, 383.1 m/m³
• UrbanConcept internal combustion: "Mater Dei Supermileage," Mater Dei High School, 841.3 mpg
• UrbanConcept battery electric sponsored by Honda: "Experimental Vehicle Team Alpha," Saint Thomas Academy, 63.2 m/kWh
• UrbanConcept hydrogen fuel cell sponsored by Linde: "CNS Performance Engineering," Cicero North Syracuse High School, 38.2 m/m³

Teams also won prizes for their work off-track, in the following categories:

• Travel Safety Stipend: Alden-Conger High School
• Most Innovative Hydrogen Newcomer Award sponsored by Linde: Warren Tech Central High School
• Communications Award sponsored by Edelman: University of Ottowa
• Vehicle Design Award UrbanConcept: Louisiana Tech University
• Vehicle Design Award Prototype: San Antonio College
• Technical Innovation sponsored by Southwest Research Institute: Duke University
• Safety Award: James Madison University
• Perseverance and Spirit of the Event Award: Universidad del Valle de Guatemala

To learn more, please visit the Make the Future California website.

About Make the Future Festivals

Make the Future Festivals is Shell's global platform for conversation, collaboration and innovation around the world's energy challenges. With events hosted in countries around the globe, they aim to provide an opportunity for multiple stakeholders: including students, entrepreneurs, businesses, governments and the public, to experience, test and contribute bright energy ideas.

About Shell Eco-marathon

Shell Eco-marathon is a global program built to offer students hands-on opportunities to develop ideas and technology, knowledge and skills, within an arena of competition.

Currently held in Asia, the Americas and Europe and made up of two key competitions: Shell Eco-marathon Mileage Challenge, and Drivers' World Championship, students from countries across their respective regions use innovative problem-solving skills to design and build their own cars. Looking at every aspect of design and technology, students compete to prove that their bright ideas will produce the most energy-efficient vehicle when tested on the track.

Shell Eco-marathon began in 1939 at a Shell research laboratory in the United States as a friendly wager between scientists to see who could get the most miles per gallon from their vehicle. In 1985 in France, Shell Eco-marathon as we know it today was born. In April 2007, the Shell Eco-marathon Americas event was launched in the United States, and in 2010, the inaugural Shell Eco-marathon Asia was held in Malaysia, up until 2013. In 2018 Shell Eco-marathon Mileage Challenge and Drivers' World Championship competitions will be held in Singapore, California and London, with London hosting the Drivers' World Championship Grand Final.

About Shell Oil Company

Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Royal Dutch Shell plc, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with operations in more than 70 countries. In the U.S., Shell operates in 50 states and employs more than 20,000 people working to help tackle the challenges of the new energy future. Shell Oil Company is a leading oil and gas producer in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, a recognized pioneer in oil and gas exploration and production technology and one of America's leading oil and natural gas producers, gasoline and natural gas marketers and petrochemical manufacturers.

About Sonoma Raceway

Sonoma Raceway, located in the Sonoma Valley, is Northern California's premier motor-sports destination, featuring a world-class road course, drag strip and karting center.  Its annual race schedule is headlined by the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and Verizon IndyCar® Series. In addition, Sonoma Raceway boasts a motor-sports industrial park, which serves as home to more than 70 businesses, including the Simraceway Performance Driving Center. Sonoma Raceway is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Speedway Motorsports, Inc., a leading marketer and promoter of motor-sports entertainment in the United States.

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SOURCE Shell Oil Company

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