| Rallye Phébus, France, July 2000
In July 2000, the Mad Dog team were invited to participate in the Rallye
Phébus in the foothills of the Pyrenees in south western France. The
rallye for electric vehicles was sponsored by the Centre National de la
Récherche Scientifique, ENSEEIHT and Phébus, an
environmentally-concerned organisation that promotes the use of and installs solar
panels on domestic and other buildings in France. The rallye was
organised as a celebration of solar power and an opportunity to raise
public awareness about non-fossil fuelled transport.
Participating vehicles had to be either autonomously solar-powered or to
have batteries charged with solar-generated electricity and ranged from
a sophisticated rallye car to electrically assisted bicycles and of
course included Mad Dog III as well as Heliotrope, the Toulouse University
solar car. |
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The journey from London to Mirepoix was gloriously sunny and the team
stripped down to shorts and vests. However half an hour after arrival in
Mirepoix, the cloud descended and rain not dissimilar to that of October
and November 2000 fell for two days without stopping. |
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| Some vehicles were 'conversions' - standard internal combustion engine
cars with replacement electric motors. |
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| The adverse weather conditions were not ideal for solar powered vehicles, but all
teams involved were determined to make the best of the situation and
rode and drove despite the weather. Despite having a custom-made cover, Mad Dog III filled with rain water
which had to be carefully scooped and wiped out of the chassis before
beginning the rallye route. |
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| Nigel Burgess drove one leg and can be seen being taped into the
cock-pit prior to departure. |
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| A brief driver-team discussion in a petrol
station! Mad Dog III enjoying the winding tree lined avenues before being the
first solar car to complete the rally at the Cité de la Space in
Toulouse, famous for the European space programme and the Arianne
rocket. |
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| The team would like to thank the sponsors, Land Rover North East,
without whose support we would not have been able to participate.
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