Shell Eco Marathon 2013 recognizes nine student teams from Asia

This year, nine teams were chosen out of a field of 130 hopefuls from across Asia and the Middle East to be recognized with special Off Track awards for the annual student super mileage competition, which challenges students to design and build fuel-efficient vehicles of the future.
Shell EcoMarathon Asia is an annual event which, since its debut in 2010, has been hosted at Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Sepang International Circuit. While this year’s on-track challenge was cancelled to avoid any health and safety risks involving fluctuating air quality, Shell recognized the efforts of all participating teams and proceeded to give the Off Track awards, valued at USD27,500.
Winning teams were selected based on their written submissions for the following prize categories — design, technical innovation, communications and eco-friendly design, with each prize valued at USD3,300 each.
Two new Off-Track awards were introduced in 2013. The Student Energy Challenge: A Look into the Future was valued at USD5,000. It invited students to share ideas on how the world can meet changing energy demands, and demonstrate these ideas in an infographic.
The Shell Helix Tribology Award, valued at USD3,300, was introduced this year to inspire students to consider the use of lubricants in the fuel efficiency performance of their car as part of the development of their Shell EcoMarathon vehicle.
The winners for both these new Off-Track Awards came from Indonesia, with Team Rakata from Institute Teknologi Bandung winning the Energy Challenge Award and ITS Team 2 from Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember securing the Shell Helix Tribology Award.
Registered participants for the 2013 competition will be granted automatic entry to the next installment of Shell Eco-marathon Asia, due to be held in February 2014 in Manila. They will join a new batch of students looking to push the boundaries of fuel efficiency with vehicles designed and built from scratch, on a brand new track created just for the event on city streets.
(August 28, 2013)