During the months of June and July I have had the privilege of working with the AppState SolarCar team on behalf of Catawba College during their preparation in the 2025 Electrek Formula Sun GP.
As apart of the Catawba college newly founded Solar Car team I had the privilege to attend and take notes during the 2025 Electrek Formula Sun GP preparation. Appstate placed 2nd place in the competition for multiseated cars where the team was able to showcase their engineering prowess and teamwork. And me and my teammates were able to contribute to the project by documenting the process for our future car and helping with any preparations they needed us too.
Place Finish
Solar Powered
Seated Category
The team is made up of students from a variety of majors working together to design, build, and race a solar-electric vehicle. The 2025 car emphasizes efficiency, reliability, and driver safety while trying to maximize solar energy capture through an optimized array design.
Race days are a mix of strategy, endurance, and quick problem solving. Pit stops and weather all influence decisions on the fly. I had the privilege of being an observer of the race allowing me to be on the track and comunicate with HQ letting them know if there was any problems on the track (luckly there was no major problems).
Following this team taught me a lot about engineering and the value of collaboration and how everyone has their own insight and diversity is a strength not a hinderence. Solar car racing is a great example of learning by doing and the real-world constraints that shape engineering choices.