Winning teams from the inaugural Drivers’ World Championship Asia
Winning teams from the inaugural Drivers’ World Championship Asia

Make the Future Singapore, Shell’s festival of ideas and innovation for Asia, came to an exciting close today with Team DSLU Eco Car – I.C.E from De La Salle University in Philippines claiming victory in the inaugural Drivers’ World Championship Asia, where the most energy-efficient student teams competed in a head-to-head race.

Held on a purpose-built 1.19-kilometre circuit at the Changi Exhibition Centre, the Drivers’ World Championship Asia saw winning teams from the UrbanConcept category of Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2017 earn a place in the Drivers’ World Championship Grand Final to be held at Make the Future Live in London, UK, on May 28, 2017.

Team DSLU Eco Car – I.C.E will be joined in the English capital by Bengawan Team 2 from Sebelas Maret University and ITS Team 2 from Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember both from Indonesia, who rounded out the podium places in the Asia heat in Singapore. They will now prepare to face-off against the best three teams from both the Americas and Europe to be crowned overall Grand Final champions and earn a once-in-a-lifetime experience at the home of Scuderia Ferrari.

Team Virgin from Thailand, winners of the Prototype competition (Internal Combustion Engine category)
Team Virgin from Thailand, winners of the Prototype competition (Internal Combustion Engine category)

Winning driver Carlo Miguel Flores, 19, who used a gasoline-powered car, said: “I can’t believe it! None of us can. This is just such an amazing achievement for all of us and we’ve worked so hard to get here. Now, to be given the opportunity to travel to London and compete for a trip to Italy and see Ferrari, it’s amazing. We already can’t wait!”

Last year saw Bumi Siliwangi Team 4 from Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia claim the inaugural DWC title in London, before heading off to Maranello, Italy, later in the year. Once there, they joined a group of fellow SEM cars to be the first purpose-built fuel-efficient vehicles in the world to drive Ferrari’s legendary Fiorano Circuit since it was built in 1972 – and later resurfaced using Shell Cariphalte in 2002.

Mattia Binotto, Technical Director for Scuderia Ferrari, said: “It was great to meet everyone from Shell Eco-marathon at Maranello last year and we cannot wait to do the same again in 2017. The enthusiasm that everyone had was inspiring and there is no doubt that these young engineers are the future, so anything we can do to inspire them further is a privilege.”

Norman Koch, Shell Eco-marathon General Manager, said: “Everyone involved in Make the Future Festivals is excited about the possibilities afforded by the Drivers’ World Championship and the challenge it offers our competing students. Marrying efficiency with speed has never been easy but I am confident that this competition will uncover some impressive automotive technology for the future. It will also add even more excitement to the on-track action at Shell Eco-marathon, which is great for everyone involved.”

Team Virgin from Thailand, winners of the Prototype competition (Internal Combustion Engine category)
Team Virgin from Thailand, winners of the Prototype competition (Internal Combustion Engine category)

The last day of Shell Eco-marathon Asia also saw Team Virgin from Sakonnakhon Technical College, Thailand, best the 2016 record in the Prototype competition (Internal Combustion Engine category) with a result of 2,288km/l. Other winners in the Prototype competition included Team HuaQi-EV from Guangzhou College of South China University of Technology, China with a result of 474.1km/kWh in the Battery Electric category, and Team UiTM Eco-Sprint from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam, Malaysia with a result of 359.4km/m3 in the Hydrogen category.

Aside from the On-Track awards, five Off-Track awards recognised student teams for their outstanding technical and creative skills, as well as their approach to safety and sustainability. Categories included Vehicle Design, Technical Innovation, Safety, Communications and Perseverance and Spirit of the Event.

The inaugural edition of Make the Future Singapore saw members of the public, alongside representatives from business, academia and government, explore the future of energy and mobility through open dialogue and thought-provoking experiential zones.

Prototype Category Results

Internal Combustion Engine (ICE)
Rank Team name Country School Name Fuel type Best attempt (km/l)
1 Virgin Thailand Sakonnakhon Technical College Gasoline 2288.9
2 Clean Diesel Team Japan Hyogo Prefectural Tajima Technical Institute Diesel 1416.5
3 Zeal Eco-Power Proto China Tongji University Diesel 1061.1
Battery Electric
Rank Team name Country School Name Best attempt (km/kWh)
1 HuaQi-EV China Guangzhou College of South China University of Technology 474.1
2 BIT Econopower Club China Guangzhou College of South China University of Technology 427.0
3 NSTRU Eco-Racing Thailand Nakhon Si Thammarat Rajabhat University 391.2
Hydrogen
Rank Team name Country School Name Best attempt (km/kWh)
1 UiTM Eco-Sprint Malaysia Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam 359.4
2 Eco-Voyager Malaysia University of Malaya 255.7

Enquiries:

Sudarat Peetakanont
External Relations – Retail/ SI & SP Adviser
The Shell Company of Thailand Limited
+662 262 7839/ Sudarat.peetakanont@shell.com

Yada Sintavarattana
Hill + Knowlton Strategies
+662 627 3501 ext. 213 ysintavarattana@hkstrategies.com

Notes To Editors

About Make the Future Singapore

Make the Future Singapore is a festival of ideas and innovations for Asia that supports bright energy ideas and provides a platform for innovation, collaboration and conversation about the global energy challenge. It is a four-day event that will take place at Changi Exhibition Centre in Singapore from March 16-19, 2017.

Through virtual reality and hands-on experiential zones, visitors will be able to explore what is happening now and see what the future of energy might look like, from renewable energy to natural gas and low-carbon technologies; learn about bright ideas from around Asia; and participate in interactive zones about the future of energy, mobility and innovation by Shell and other partners. For more information, please visit www.shell.com.sg/makethefuturesg.

About Shell Eco-marathon

Shell Eco-marathon is a unique, global competition that challenges students to push the boundaries of energy efficiency on the road. There are three regional Shell Eco-marathon competitions held throughout the year in Asia, America and Europe. The competition provides an arena for students to test vehicles they design and build themselves. It aims to inspire young people to become scientists and engineers of the future.

Shell Eco-marathon began in 1939 at a Shell research laboratory in the United States as a friendly wager between scientists to see who could get the most miles per gallon from their vehicle. In 1985 in France, Shell Eco-marathon as we know it today was born.

In April 2007, the Shell Eco-marathon Americas event was launched in the United States, and in 2010, the inaugural Shell Eco-marathon Asia was held in Malaysia, up until 2013. The event was held in Manila, Philippines from 2014 to 2016 and moves to Singapore as part of the Make the Future festival for the first time in 2017.

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