Five Catholic College students from Years 9-12 have earned themselves a place to compete internationally after being crowned the Victorian State Champions at the Hydrogen Grand Prix on 23 July.
The four-hour race was held at Toyota in Altona, on a track designed and kept secret until the day. Each team had to manage speed and fuel to complete the race with only 18 hydrogen fuel canisters.
The car could be modified within the rules; including weight reduction, where the students designed and 3D printed new parts, removed non-vital components and worked on various strategies.
The Catholic College Wodonga (CCW) Team performed well against 16 other schools from across Victoria, including a three-car team from NSW. They dealt with a few issues but nothing they couldn’t handle and, at the end of the four hours, Catholic College Wodonga walked away with the coveted ‘First in Victoria’ and a ticket to compete in America in September.
While being crowned the best in the State is an incredible feat, the learning along the way has also been invaluable. The students have had the opportunity to work with teachers Richard Anderson and Dave Goodwin in the Hydrogen Grand Prix (or H2GP as it’s called), a program by Horizon Educational, made possible through sponsorship from an external agency. The CCW Team was supported by the wonderful team at Australian Gas Infrastructure Group.
As you can imagine, the drive home from the State titles was a buzz of excitement, especially since the Team didn’t know this prize was up for grabs until the day. Team members were already brainstorming the next lot of modifications, with all they had learned that day and how to make their next dream in America a reality.
Congratulations and best of luck to Kail, Rory, Johal, William (Billy) and Noah. We can't wait to see what you can do in America!
