Mater Dei students win fuel efficiency competition

By John Martin (Contact)
Originally published 10:33 a.m., April 14, 2008
Updated 10:33 a.m., April 14, 2008

Mater Dei High School students pose with the vehicles they ran in last weekend's Shell Ecomarathon of the Americas in Fontana, Calif. One vehicle captured first place, for having the best fuel efficiency in the competition. The other came in third place. (Photo courtesy of Dan Ritter).

A vehicle built by Mater Dei High School students won last weekend’s Shell Ecomarathon of the Americas, a fuel efficiency competition.

The event in Fontana, Calif., was attended by a few high school teams and many university teams from throughout North America.

Mater Dei entered two vehicles. One finished first and the other came in third. The first place vehicle ran the California Speedway track at a clip of 2,843 miles per gallon, while the third-place entry reached 2,383 miles per gallon.

Placing second was a team from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The University of British Columbia came in fourth.

Mater Dei has had success in the event before. A car built by Mater Dei students came in third last year.

“We’ve been at it a while and that’s one of the reasons we’re successful,” said Dan Ritter, who works at SABIC Innovative Plastics in Mount Vernon and who has a son on Mater Dei’s super mileage team. “We’ve been doing it eight years, and each year you learn a little.”

While preparing for this year’s event, Mater Dei sought the assistance of Mike Hall, a member of Master Tire’s unlimited hydroplane boat team, owned by Ed Cooper Jr.

Hall worked with Mater Dei students on making the car’s belly pan, which is the bottom of the cars, more aerodynamic, Ritter said.

The cars were built smaller than in year’s past, and this year’s models used a fuel-injected engine.

Mater Dei won the competition’s $10,000 grand prize, as well as $1,600 for finishing first place in combustion engine and $800 for third place.