Electrathon Challenge at Lime Rock

LIME ROCK — It was a pep rally, of sorts. Students from all over the state traveled to the race track at Lime Rock Park on Friday, Oct. 30, to take part in the autumn edition of the Connecticut Electrathon Challenge. Only 13 cars were entered this time; the big race is in spring, when about 35 of the peppy little electric cars whiz silently around the track.  

The cars are powered by regular car batteries, usually two. The combined weight of the batteries can’t exceed 64 pounds, according to the national Electrathon rules. Weight is an important element in this contest.

There is a great deal of discussion on the sidelines about ratios. This race is in many ways as much of a contest for math-letes as it is for race cars. The winning car is not necessarily the one that stays ahead of the others in the pack; it’s the car that completes the most laps around the park’s upper auto cross .2-mile track  in the one-hour time limit. Often, there is only one car still standing at the end of the hour.

There were two heats, if such a word can be applied to cool little cars traveling silently along at low speed. The ultimate winner was Nathan Hale Ray High School in East Haddam. The school brought two cars; the winning vehicle went 119 laps (or 23.8 miles).

The other schools that raced were Nonnewaug, Lyme-Old Lyme High School, Somers High School, Farmington High School, Cheshire High School and Old Saybrook High School.

Several schools came out on Friday just to watch and learn. They will spend the coming months preparing cars of their own. No date has been set for the spring race, but it will be held at Lime Rock Park, too.