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Congratulations Unruly HPV Cone Shooter

Human Powered Vehicle Team

The UC Davis Human Powered Vehicle Team enjoyed one of its most successful competitions in recent memory at this year's 2001 HPV Challenge.

The competition, sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, was held in Reno, Nevada on April 27-29. A small but dedicated UC Davis team entered its vehicle, "Unruly", in the single-rider category.

The design competition, held on Friday, April 27th, provided the teams a chance to exhibit their vehicles and present their work to the judges. With its striking paint job and large windshield, Unruly turned heads at the competition as fellow HPV'ers inspected the UC Davis entry. The judges were also impressed with the design of the vehicle, especially the unique features such as the rider-controlled "landing-gear" system, which allows the rider to come to a safe stop without assistance from team members. In the end, Unruly placed 8th in the design competition.

The Sprint Event was held on Saturday, April 28th near the Reno airport. Strong headwinds of 35-40 mph provided a tremendous challenge to the riders as they attempted to reach their maximum speed on a 1.5 mile straightaway. Sudden crosswinds at several locations on the course sent many vehicles crashing to the ground, leading to several spectacular crashes by Davis riders. Ken Dean, Josh Morejohn, and Taylor Cheung each suffered high-speed slides, but fortunately all emerged unhurt.

Thanks to a few crash-free runs, UC Davis ended up in second place in the Male Sprint with a speed of 33.1 mph, by Ken Dean. Thy Tran propelled Unruly to a 14.5 mph top speed in the strongest headwinds of the day, leading the Aggies to a mid-pack finish in the Female Sprint.

The Endurance Race was held on the following Sunday, and the Davis team enjoyed the fruits of their labor with another excellent result. Lining up with the 26 other vehicles, Thy Tran started the team off with four strong laps around the 1-mile course. Ken Dean rode the next twelve miles, followed by Taylor Cheung and finally Miguel Piedrahita. Consistently high speeds and efficient pit stops kept the UC Davis team near the front of the pack throughout the 40-mile race. In the end, the Aggies placed 3rd in the endurance race after finishing just one lap behind the winning Cal Poly entry.

With its strong results in the Design, Sprint, and Endurance events, Davis took home 3rd place in the Overall Results.

For their excellent showing, the team received a cash prize and a trophy, which is now on display in the HPV shop.

The 2001 UC Davis HPV Team was led by returning members Ken Dean and Miguel Piedrahita, and advised by faculty member Dr. Michael Hill. Other team members included Taylor Cheung, Josh Morejohn, Andrea Nelson, Brad Penfold, Ryan Powell, and Thy Tran. For questions or if interested in joining next year's team, email Ken Dean at kadean@ucdavis.edu .