THE UST Eco-Tigers bagged five awards during the Shell Eco-marathon last Feb. 2 to 5 at Clark International Speedway, Pampanga, and are set to represent the Philippines in the 2017 Shell Eco-marathon Asia in Singapore this March.
UST competed against 24 teams in two main categories: prototype, which is a three-wheeled vehicle, and urban concept, a four-wheeled vehicle.
John Paulo Diongco, team manager of the Eco-Tigers Urban concept, said they worked overnight on their vehicle to attain the best fuel efficiency.
“We made an agreement [among ourselves] that we [would not relax] until we have reached our goal, and until the competition is finished,” Diongco said in an interview with the Varsitarian.
Jerome Inson, team leader of the prototype vehicle, said they learned from their mistakes last year and built a lighter vehicle, which resulted in better engine performance.
The Eco Tigers received the following awards:
For prototype, the Eco-Tigers bagged first place in the Prototype Diesel Engine Category and clinched the second spot in the Prototype Internal Combustion Engine Category.
For the urban concept, UST clinched the first spot in the Urban Concept Diesel Engine Category, second place in the Urban Concept Internal Combustion Engine Category and first place in the Driver’s World Cup Challenge Qualifying Round.
The teams are composed of mechanical and electrical engineering students. For the prototype team, the members are Dannie Baluyot, Marrion Marteja, Jerome Inson, Haziel Sigua, Janier Roberto, Joseph Bambalan, Tristan Mercado and Melinda Virata.
The urban concept team members are John Paulo Diongco, Allen Yap, Matthew Manimtim, Michaela Lee, Jose Ignacio, Souichi Takahama, Aaron Espinosa, Mia Reyes and Ronald Vargas Jr.
“We know we are going there (Singapore) prepared. We are prepared for any breakdowns or problems that [might happen]. We’re hoping for the best but expecting the worst,” Diongco said.
Shell Eco-Marathon is sponsored by Dutch oil company Shell, challenging student teams from around the world “to design, build and drive the most energy-efficient car” by consuming the least amount of fuel.
Who were the others defeated? I noticed that Varsitarian reports the names of the schools who “defeated” UST in different competitions: “UST is third with UP, Silliman garnering the top spots…in the licensure exam, Maria kurdapia is third, UP is topnotcher, Ateneo is second”……along those lines…In other school websites, they hardly mention the Schools who defeated them….just saying….