Qatar University win hybrid-electric car challenge

The all-girls team Gernas 114 from Qatar University has won the region's first hybrid-electric car challenge held this weekend in Abu Dhabi. Sponsored by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) and hosted by the Petroleum Institute with support from Emirates Foundation for Youth Development, the event welcomed 120 students from 11 teams to the track. Team Gernas 114 took home the champion title with an impressive score of 101 laps in the final race. Their strategy proved to be the winning formula and crowned them 2014 TAQA GCC Hybrid-Electric Challenge champions. Team leader Chresteen Fareed from Qatar University, said "We are so proud to be titled as champions of the first ever TAQA GCC Hybrid-Electric Challenge. Taking part in this event has been a great experience and has given us the chance to take what we have learnt in the classroom and apply it to a real life situation. It has been hard work and we have learnt a lot but most importantly we have had fun!" The event also saw the attendance of a number of dignitaries which included Dr. Saif Al Sayari, Executive Officer and Head of Energy Solutions of TAQA, Abdulla Saif Al Nuaimi, Vice Chairman of TAQA and Advisor to Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA); Fares Obaid Al Dhaheri, Acting Director General of ADWEA and Murshid Saleh Al-Romaithi, Senior Vice President Administrative Support at The Petroleum Institute. 120 students, both male and female were drawn from the Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi University, UAE University, Khalifa University; the Masdar Institute; the Nizwa College of Technology in Oman; the College of Technological Studies in Kuwait; and Qatar. Each team spent the past five months designing and constructing their single-seater, lightweight hybrid cars to stringent race design and safety rules. Dr. Saif Al Sayari, Executive Officer and Head of Energy Solutions, TAQA, congratulated all of the teams, especially the winners, who took part in the 2014 TAQA GCC Hybrid-Electric Challenge. He said, "We at TAQA are thrilled and extremely proud to have brought the region's first ever hybrid-electric car challenge to Abu Dhabi. The event has been a huge success and we hope to welcome more teams back to Abu Dhabi next year." Team Gernas 214 (all boys) from Qatar University came second and team MCT-Oman (all boys) from Oman' Nizwa College of Technology came third. Besides being overall winners, the Qatari girls also won the final race by achieving 101 laps in 3 hours with a best lap time of 88.4 seconds. The Qatari boys came a close second in the final race and also achieved 101 laps with a best lap time of 90.23 seconds.