La Salle’s Archer second in SEM battery electric tiff

MANILA, Philippines - The De La Salle University Eco Car Team’s entry, “Archer,” finished second in the Urban Concept Battery Electric Category of the Shell Eco Marathon (SEM) held recently at the Rizal Park.

 The team also received the Perseverance and Spirit of the Event Award for helping co-competitors MIT Eco-Warriors from India in the competition which drew 107 teams from 15 countries.

The Archer, which had a record of 66.38 km/kWh, bested 14 cars in the Urban Concept Battery Electric Category. Singapore’s team ITERB03 from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) took the top spot with a record speed of 126.3 km/kWh.

The DLSU Eco Car Team also received one of the six off-track awards. The team’s helpfulness and sportsmanship earned them the Perseverance and Spirit of the Event Award. The DLSU Eco Car Team aided the MIT Eco-Warriors so they could push through with their participation  in the SEM.

The team from India was slated to compete in the Battery-Electric Prototype Category of SEM, but their vehicle was held in Singapore due to carrier mix-ups.

To help the MIT Eco-Warriors, the DLSU Eco Car Team volunteered to lend one of its former cars.

“The MIT Eco-Warriors were given two days to build a new car from scratch. Seeing the impossibility of this, the team decided to help them out. We asked Br. Ricky Laguda, FSC, for permission and he gave us the go signal to do so,” Morris Papio, DLSU Eco Car team manager, said.

He also said  they were glad to have aided the Eco-Warriors in locating and buying parts for their vehicle.

This is the first time the Philippines hosted the competition. Participating countries included Brunei Darussalam, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.