Though it was Montol Sittipreechacharn's first time competing at the Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) Asia — a contest to find the most fuel-efficient, student-made car — he was sure his team would be taking the trophy home.
"I'm not afraid of any teams," said Montol, "I'm very confident in my teammates."
Montol, 17, was the manager for his school's team, the Kong Thabbok Upatham Changkol Kho So Tho Bo School — also known as the Army Transportation Engineering School (ATE). The ATE, as a champion from previous years, has a tough selection process. Montol said it took him a year in training and taking tests before he was able to join the team, which joined the competition in Manila, the Philippines, last month.
Students from changkol schools — vocational institutes specialising in mechanical engineering — often make headlines with gang fights and violent behaviour. But the sight of Montol speaking politely in English to the event organiser may present a different light on vocational students, who are also hard-working and are innovative.
"Before we could get a single car out, everyone had to sit down together and work. There are occasional disagreements. Everyone's thoughts can be different. But in the end, we have to talk it out and give it a shot," said Montol.
Montol Sittipreechacharn, team manager of ATE 1 from Kong Thabbok Upatham Changkol Kho So Tho Bo School.
In the end, their hard work paid off as the ATE ended up as one of the winners at this year's Shell Eco-Marathon.
The Shell Eco-Marathon was first held in France, 1985. It has since been expanded from Europe to the Americas and Asia. At this year's race in Manila, over 120 student teams from 17 countries competed to find out who among them could design the most energy-efficient cars in two categories: prototype and urban concept. The teams could select their own fuel of choice — anything from diesel and petrol to electricity.
"The Shell Eco-Marathon is a crucible of innovation. It's a place where good ideas and energy efficiency and smart design can get their first real-world trials. And maybe one of these individuals will go on to design a car of the future," said Hugh Mitchell, chief human resources and corporate officer for Royal Dutch Shell.
On the racetrack and inspection area, eager students from different countries stood proudly next to their handiwork. The atmosphere was filled with excitement as each car went through a thorough inspection before it can get a test run on the track. And many teams erupted in a loud cheer when they finally passed the 239 checks on the inspection checklist.
"There is only a small gap between creativity and cheating," laughed Norman Koch, amused by his years of experience at the SEM.
Being SEM technical director, Koch has seen almost everything during the inspection. From adding sails to their car, using bamboo to make the car body and even developing cars with no steering wheel, students around the globe have come up with unexpected ideas through the years that both puzzled and amused the experts. Some ideas, like the sails, were eventually forbidden in the SEM handbook.
Koch said that, while the students' designs are innovative, he was concerned that many of them seem to disregard the car's safety — giving it a lower priority compared to the energy-saving aspect. He reported that seat belts and brake systems were two of the most failed tests during the car inspection, and this has been an ongoing trend at the SEM for many years.
To Koch, the competition was not so much about coming out on top of other teams. It was rather about the challenges each team faced trying to better their works from years of trial and error at the SEM. Continual development, for him, was the goal each team should strive for.
A Thai student driver prepares.
"If you can improve from your previous years, you are already a winner."
As the fifth SEM held in Asia since 2010, there were many return entrants among the students. Muhamad Rafiuddin Bin Maidin from Brunei was one of them. Previously a team leader, he has shifted his role to a mentor for his juniors.
"This competition helps me develop my ideas and dreams into something real. We can dream so much, but is it feasible? It helps me in rethinking the idea and its feasibility," said the 23-year-old student from Universiti Brunei Darussalam.
Being away from their own countries, many teams reported difficulties with language barriers and cultural differences. However, none of the problems could work the students up like the inability to find spare parts and tools in time of need. This has inadvertently become an advantage to teams from the host country.
"For us, the parts can be easily located. We know the area better than any other participants," said Joey Diwa, 22, from Mapua Institute of Technology, the Philippines.
For Thai teams, the ones they turned to in times of trouble were their fellow Thais in the nearby booths. Though coming from different backgrounds and being each other's competitors, they supported one another, even borrowing and lending tools among themselves.
"We are competitors, truly, but — in the end — we still represent the same country," said a team supervisor from Rattanakosin Technological College.
He added that many Thai teams, including his own, were composed of adolescents that many would deem problematic. But it's this group of troubled youth, he said, that have the best know-how in mechanical engineering, not those from elite universities.
"These boys have good technique at fine-tuning the vehicles," he said. "If given chances, they could go far."
Each car needs to satisfy all 239 requirements on the list in order to pass the inspection.
