Part Wacky Races and Mario Kart, with a good measure of technical wizardry, graduating students from BCIT's Technology Teacher Education program put their skills to the test Wednesday on the go-kart track at TBC Indoor Racing in east Richmond.
The teams were taking part in the 11th annual Vehicle in a Box competition which had them design and build a racer that could be packed into a box the size of a footlocker which had to be assembled in a timed competition.
They then had to pilot their contraption around the track in a timed event, and later in a full-fledged, bumper to bumper, endurance race.
Randy Schultz, the program's instructor said the teams had to rely on their ingenuity, technical skills and teamwork to pull off the feat that included building their racers as electric/gasoline powered hybrids.
Each team was given the same gas engine, charged battery and electric motor, plus a $100 budget to get their vehicle constructed.
"That meant they had to also go out in the community, use the contacts they have made and get sponsorships to help build their cars," Schultz said.
Once they graduate, the students will go on to teach secondary school shop classes.
Troy Dakiniewich, a member of Team Widowmaker, said his group put the better part of 150 hours of work into their creation, which was assembled in the shortest time.
"We pretty much designed it to be pulled out of the box and have wheels slapped on it," he said, adding it was also the smallest in the event, "and probably the fastest."
Unfortunately, reliability plagued Team Widomaker in the fast lap portion of the event, and they finished out of top place in the endurance race.
That was won by Gears for Fears, the only team to use bicycle tires on their kart. They were also the sole group to go all-electric in the speed lap competition - a strategic decision that saved using the 125 ml splash of gasoline (about half a cup of coffee) each team was given to run their engine.
Another group, Team Phun, did not have a fun day out at the track as their kart's throttle jammed open on the speed lap and crashed hard enough to damage suspension and steering components that ended things early.
That left Team GTR (Guerrilla Team Racing) and Team Four Guys in their Four Guys Mobile to duke it out for the endurance title.
"This brings together a lot of proponents of what technology education is," Schultz said.
