7th February 2014, 5pm: Failure
Everything was going wrong. On a list of 100, we failed half. Our brakes couldn't work, our steering wheel had half a turn of play before the wheels started to move, and even when it started to move it was making loud clicking noises that heralded impending doom, the engine wasn't starting (well), the circuits had issues, the body kit had safety issues and it was the last day of technical inspections, the last day to obtain the pass to race. "There's a chance that we'll open the inspections tomorrow for teams who haven't completed the full inspection yet" was what they were saying, but their faces spelled a different story: "Good job kids, good try but better luck next time". No one expected us to solve the problem within a day, the task was too huge, too far off a dream. Everyone was quiet as we pushed the car back into the paddock, each fighting an inner monolog of only if's and have been's. We had lost, we had failed to achieve even the least of our objectives: Getting Tropic Thunder on the track. The air was stale, the mood sour, our spirits defeated.
7th February 2014, 6pm: Hope
"The inspections area will be opened for a final day for teams who have yet to complete a full inspection" The news came to us through our ambassador, whom I believe deserves an award for being the most optimistic and encouraging ambassador of SEMA 2014. We still had no solution to our problems, no way to turn it around, no idea where to look, but now we had time. Time to think, time to plan, time to prepare. 6pm the lights in the paddocks went off, 6pm the lights in our brains came on. We were still dejected, we were still lost, but we had hope.
7th February 2014, 10pm: War Room
We were all in my room. My notebook was in front of me, a whole list of open items written on it. Master Jedi DK and V believed that they found a solution to our biggest issue - the brakes, Tin knew what was needed to be done for the body, Rice and myself would look into the steering issue, J needed an hour to fix the electrical issues, Master ENG would tune up the engine again. We planned the day by the hour, knowing we had a maximum of 8 hours before we were required to push the car back into inspections. Each member knew their role, their task, their goal. It was the last day of battle, and we were not going in unprepared.
8th February 2014, 7am to 4pm: y=e^x
When the lights turned on in the paddocks, we were ready. Everyone knew they role, everyone knew their goal, and so the work began. However up until 1pm, things were still looking bleak, the brakes were still not optimal, the body work was progressing but there still seemed much to do and we had yet to solve the steering issue. Progress seemed like y=k. But then suddenly, like a gust of wind, we hit e^x. Exponential Efficiency. In the short span of 3 hours, we checked the boxes. The brakes were finally gripping (tho yet to be tested), the body was undergoing the finishing touches, the engine was running again and we found a perma fix to steering problem. 4pm, we started pushing the car to the inspection area. Still unsure if our repairs would work, still unsure if the brakes would hold, still working on the electrical circuits in the car; 4pm, we started to push Tropic Thunder to the inspection area.
8th February 2014, 4:45pm: Anticipation
Our hearts bet faster than Usian Bolt after a 100m sprit as we watched Tropic Thunder go up the ramp for the brake test. They stopped when they told Rice to press the brakes, and then we exploded. I think everyone within a 100m radius heard us shout. The inspectors asked if this was our final test before we passed the inspections, we said no this was only the first but it was the one we feared the most. We changed the brake calipers twice, disassembled and assembled the whole caliper, played around with the pistons and seals, all with no clue what we were doing, no way of knowing if we had destroyed the brakes or improved it. But with the power of Master Jedi DK and V, we fixed it. We passed the brakes test.
8th February 2014 5pm: Redemption
"How did you all do it?" Almost every inspector in the area were crowding around us. "How did you fix your steering system?" as we demonstrated our new and improved, no play, no noise steering. Not minimal play, not minimal noise; no play, no noise. From half a turn of play, noise that sounded like the earth was cracking to no play, no noise. Every inspector who on the previous day took a look at our steering and ruled that we were never be able to fix an issue like that in time, just stood there amazed and speechless. No play, no noise, perfection within a day, that's the GO8 way.
8th February 2014,, 5:30pm: Achievement
2 stickers on Tropic Thunder, one red on the left, one blue on the right. Safety inspection and technical inspections passed. A day earlier we pushed Tropic Thunder with back with sadness and sorrow. That day we marched along side her with speed and elation. The Malaysian colours were hoisted, secured high above the paddock with aluminium tape. For that day we made our country, our university, our team and most importantly ourselves, proud. We had achieved the impossible. In the words of Body Department Head Tin on his FB post only a few minutes later, "28 days, 15 builders, 8 departments, 3 troubleshoot days, 2 inspection checks, 1 permit to race tomorrow."
13th March 2018, 12:25am: Inspiration
4 years have passed since that day, yet I still remember those events as clear as yesterday. I thank God for allowing me the chance to be part of such a great team and the opportunity to have led it. Today I share just a glimpse of the teamwork and bond of the TMA GO8 during that time. Of how a group of engineering students, with no prior experience whatsoever, motivated by a common passion and goal, challenged the impossible and achieved the improbable. Let it be a reminder and motivator to all engineers out there: Engineering is a superpower, if a group of students can build a working car, if SpaceX can send a Tesla Roadster to space on a Falcon Heavy, who's to say you can't?
My name is Lord Papadum, and I am a design engineer.