Technology students from Pacifica High School in Garden Grove can boast of their prowess in squeezing maximum mileage from an allotment of gasoline after winning the fourth annual UCI Energy Invitational held earlier this month.
Technology students from Pacifica High School in Garden Grove can boast of their prowess in squeezing maximum mileage from an allotment of gasoline after winning the fourth annual UCI Energy Invitational held earlier this month.
Pacifica’s six-member team with its fuel-efficient go-cart won the high school division and the overall competition after besting eight Orange County high schools and engineering teams in the college division representing Cal-State Los Angeles, UC Davis, and UC Irvine. The competition was held May 11 at Adams Motorsports Park in Riverside.
Vehicles entered by the student teams were required to complete as many laps within one hour as possible while consuming just $1 of energy, whether it be from gasoline, electricity, solar or compressed natural gas. Driven by junior Adam Walsh, the gasoline-powered entry built from scratch by the Pacifica High team completed 60 laps within the prescribed time limit.
Using donated parts, the winning vehicle was constructed by the students over 10 months under the guidance of teachers Eric Scoles and Ed Harris, and was powered by a single-cylinder engine producing a mere six horsepower.
The school’s team, known as “Pacifica Motorsports,” included students Jeremy Lawrence, Ryan Marx, Adam Walsh, John Paul Edwards, Cody Garling, David Todorovich, Cody Blaset, Brandon Halliwell-Taylor and Trevor Sailors.
