The Eurobike is one of the largest international bicycle exhibitions and is held this year for the 20th time. It will end on Saturday, 3rd of September. On the last day the exhibition is open for private visitors.

Finally the photos taken at the Wind Turbine Race 2010 in Stauning, Denmark are online. Please click here to view the slide show »
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The last day of the Wind Turbine Race at Stauning air field is already four days ago and it is time to report about the exciting events of this Sunday. Finally the wind had picked up. But at the same time the sun of Saturday was gone and instead it rained. These were not the best conditions for the race either.

Since the cars of all the teams were not designed to be run in the rain no-one was much too happy about the situation. Using loads of plastic film and sticky tape the InVentus team spent most of the morning trying to make their vehicle water proof the best way they could and stayed in the dry hangar as long as they could instead of doing test runs. After the rain had lessened to a sporadic drizzle it was decided to start racing at around 12 o’clock.

The landing strip was wet from the rain but weather conditions were more or less passable for beginning the race. Heats were run at high rate only interrupted by a quick lunch break. Finally all the vehicles got to run against all of the others with three cars in each heat. The most dramatic moment of the whole race happened when the Baltic Thunder II of the Kiel team was racing against Spirit of Amsterdam 2. At first the new car of the Amsterdam team had taken the lead. But then with a good gust in the turbine the Kiel team headed to take over only 40 meters approximately before the finishing line. This almost became a photo finish with the Baltic Thunder only 20 cm behind the Amsterdam car when crossing the line. A little disappointing but still triumphal for the Kiel team: After failing to produce an operative car in previous years they finally managed to succeed with a soundly engineered vehicle that could even compete with the fully automated Amsterdam Spirit.

To our regret the Stuttgart team was less lucky during this third day of the race. After good performance before lunch the team had to encounter several set backs in the afternoon. Due to some erroneous strategical decisions and an empty battery in the electronics the Ventomobile did not perform as well as expected after lunchtime and failed to win against both Amsterdam cars and against the Baltic Thunder. Otherwise the Stuttgart team had had the chance to be among the top three. This way the team ranked fourth, only one point behind the old Amsterdam car.

The first rank was achieved by Spirit of Amsterdam 2 closely followed by Baltic Thunder II and on the third rank was Spirit of Amsterdam 1. The lower ranks were taken by Anemo II, the two DTU vehicles, Flensburg and Bristol. The official scores and details on the heats will be posted as soon as we receive the from the organizing team.

The organizing team of the race has provided us the scores of today’s race. We are posting them here although the results of today’s and yesterday’s runs might not be counted in the final evaluation since the rules of competition require a minimum wind velocity of 5 m/s.

The track measures 380 meters in length. If today’s results are counted the winning team of each heat earns 3 points while the other teams earn lower points according to how fast they were and if they have reached the finishing line.

First heat
Wind velocity: 3,0 m/s

Amsterdam 2: 3 points; 26,8 % of mean wind speed
Bristol: 1 point; stopped at 80 meters
Flensburg: 0 points; did not show up

Second heat
Wind velocity: 2,8 m/s

Stuttgart: 3 points; 11,8 % of mean wind speed
DTU 1: 2 points; 11,2 %
Anemo: 0 points; stopped after 250 meters

Third heat
Wind velocity: 3,6 m/s

Kiel: 3 points; 18,1 % of mean wind speed
Amsterdam 1: 2 points; 11,3 % of mean wind speed
DTU 2: 0 points; did not show up

Fourth heat
Wind velocity: 4,0 m/s

Stuttgart: 3 points; 22,6 % of mean wind speed
Amsterdam 2: 2 points; 20,7 % of mean wind speed
DTU 2: 0 points; stopped after 30 meters

Fifth
Wind velocity: 2,3 m/s

DTU 1: 3 points; 9,3 % of mean wind speed
Amsterdam 1: 2 points; 6,7 % of mean wind speed
Bristol: 0 points; stopped after 30 meters

Sixth
Wind velocity: 2,3 m/s

Kiel: 3 points; 16,8 % of mean wind speed
Flensburg: 1 point; stopped after 340 meters
Anemo: 0 points; stopped after 300 meters

Now the second day of racing is ending. The wind today let the teams down again although the average wind velocity was slightly higher than yesterday. All teams were able to race their cars twice against other teams with three cars in every heat.

Both the Kiel and the Stuttgart team won both of the heats they were running while most of the other teams had less luck. Again the Bristol team’s vehicle was not able to keep rolling after the pushing start. This seems to be due to the low wind velocity. The Amsterdam team got their new car working with low wind in an over-night effort by improving the programming of the automation.

Now everyone is curious how the Baltic Thunder II from Kiel will perform at higher wind velocities. Due to their very basic design the InVentus team members showed admiration for their winning of two heats. It will be very exciting to see both of the up to now strongest teams, Baltic Thunder and InVentus, compete against each other tomorrow.

For now we can cheer to the so far brightest success of the Stuttgart team this year: The Ventomobile established today’s track record with 6 minutes and 55 seconds at an average wind velocity of 3.3 m/s. This means 27.8 % of wind velocity ratio.

Our third day at the site of the Wind Turbine Race has begun. Most teams have spent many hours last night to make adjustments and fine ups on their vehicles. Obviously no-one was much too satisfied with yesterday’s race. But this seems to be more due to the unfavourable wind conditions.

Right now not much is happening at Stauning air field. The InVentus team is making a test run on the landing strip although the wind is very soft. The good news is, the Ventomobile proved to be able to run at extremely low wind velocities of around 2 m/s. According to the team this would not have been possible with the 2008 vehicle. Also the problem with the slipping chain seems to be solved. But the bad new is, looking at the forecast we can hardly expect a higher wind velocity through the day. So all hopes now lie on tomorrow, when velocities of 6 m/s are expected.

For now all we can do is enjoy the sun and almost clear blue sky and see what the day will bring. Also our readers might be interested in the InVentus twitter channel. If you would like to read the latest news of the team please follow @Windauto.

The first day of racing at Stauning airfield is ending and it is time to sum up the events of the day. Unfortunately the wind really let us down today: The highest velocity the InVentus team measured during the race was around 4 m/s. So the heats today turned out to look like a race of slugs.

In the first heat Anemo II from Delft and the Ventomobile from Stuttgart (InVentus) lined up for competition. The teams are allowed to push their cars for about 30 meters after starting off. For most vehicles this is necessary to pick up speed. After the pushing both the Anemo II and the Ventomobile slowed down quickly since the wind power was very weak. How ever both cars where able to keep moving at a very slow speed and managed to reach the finishing line. At first Anemo II was slightly faster but Suell Mües, the driver of the InVentus team was able to take over along the track and to finish first. So InVentus made the first win of the day.

The second heat was a competition of Baltic Thunder II (from Kiel) and Spirit of Amsterdam 1 (last year’s car from the Dutch team). Similarly to the previous race this run was also extremely slow. To the surprise of many the low-end car of the Kiel team won the race. The solidly built mechanics proved to be more efficient at minimum wind velocity than the more advanced technology of the Amsterdam team.

The third and last heat run today consisted of Spirit of Amsterdam 2 (the new vehicle), Flensburg and Bristol. All three cars stopped right after the pushing and were not able to pick up speed again. Until now we do not know if a winner of this heat was determined.

All in all today’s wind conditions made a slightly frustrating impression on the participants. Looking at the forecast tomorrow will bring even less wind. Only on Sunday there is going to be a velocity of 7 m/s.

Anyway the race today helped the InVentus team to observe a weakness in their vehicle: The chain tensioner in the drive train proved to be to weak and caused the chain to slip multiple times during the race. Right after leaving the race track the team addressed this problem and apparently solved it.

The first day of the race has just started and it is already pretty busy at Stauning airfield. The teams have set their vehicles for display in the hangar of the Danish aviation museum. While preparations for the first test runs are carrying on it is time to give a quick over the teams participating in this year’s race.

Spirit of Amsterdam from the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. The winning team of last year’s race has built a completely new vehicle for this year. It appears to be much smaller and lighter than the car from 2009. For transmission the Amsterdam team is using a dual system of two Rohloff hubs each equipped with an electrical clutch which are shifting in turns. The shifting is completely automated. It will be exciting to see the vehicle’s performance in the race.

Baltic Thunder from the University of Kiel. After the team’s vehicle has failed to run in the race of 2009 the students from Kiel have built a completely new vehicle. This year’s philosophy of the team was to build a very basic and functional car.

Team Anemo from the University INHolland Delft. This teams most definitely has the most stylish looking car at the event. As explained in their presentation the Delft students have made a completely new approach to last year. We are looking forward to see this black beauty on the racing track.

University of Bristol. The only vehicle with an electrical concept at the race comes from England. The Bristol team has built a solidly looking car with two turbines that generate electric power directly in the hub of the rotors. The wheels are propelled by four two slow rotation motors. A very exciting concept that completely differs from any of the other cars at the event.

InVentus from the University of Stuttgart. This stunning red racer was built on the frame of the vehicle from 2008. With improved aerodynamics and transmission system the Stuttgart students are trying to exceed their success from two years ago. Eckart Hettlage and his team are especially excited about the Ventomoblie because InVentus are using the HettlageVariator. The team’s philosophy is to design and produce all the aerodynamicly relevant parts by themselves.

Flensburg University of applied science. The vehicle of the Flensburg team is looking pretty basic. It is the smallest car at the event. So far we do not have more information about it.

winDTUrbinracer from the Technical University of Denmark. The Denmark team are the organizers of the Wind Turbine Race. For thhe design of their vehicle the have concentrated on the aerodynamic optimization of the rotor and the shroud of the rotor.

An exciting day at Stauning (Denmark) is ending. Eckart Hettlage is visiting the site of this years Wind Turbine Race to support the InVentus team of the University of Stuttgart.

Today the attending teams have arrived and spent the day assembling their vehicles. The InVentus team has put all their strength into setting up their thoroughly improved vehicle. After winning the first race in 2008 they could not attend the race in 2009 and are willing to exceed their great performance from two years ago. As part of the improvements they made the Stuttgart team is using the HettlageVariator in the core of the drive train rather than a standard bicycle chain drive. The HettlageVariator is much more suitable for the wind turbine powered vehicle because it is able to be shifted under full load of the rotor without any wearing. Before the chain drive had to be replaced after every heat of the race.

The busy day today was concluded by presentations of all the teams attending the race of this year. From the first glance all the teams bring in highly exciting concepts for the use of wind energy. Tomorrows report is going to feature a more detailed introduction of the teams this year at Stauning. For today we just look back on an inspiring first day of the event that will last until Sunday. Tomorrow there are going to be test runs and last fine ups on the vehicles followed by the first heats of the race. According to the weather forecast wind velocities of up to 15 5.8 m/s are expected for tomorrow afternoon at the Stauning airfield, which is pretty soft. So But still we are looking forward to an exciting race.