The 18 electric vehicles made by Vocational Education students were ready to compete. Euskelec 2024 arrived in Vitoria-Gasteiz on the weekend of May 25, and transformed the Plaza de la Andre Maria Zuri and Plaza Berria into an unusual race circuit.

The competition organized by Tknika (the Applied Research Center for Vocational Education in the Basque Country, belonging to the Department of Education) has reached its seventh edition this year, and has already made its place in the Basque Vocational Education calendar.

Dynamic tests

Braking, acceleration, slalom, efficiency... The 18 electric vehicles that participated in the Euskelec 2024 edition had to pass these tests on Sunday. In competition, the fastest vehicle does not necessarily and always win. Euskelec also assesses the cars' energy efficiency, which means passing all tests with a single battery charge. The slope of the Gasteiz circuit in one part was ideal to test the durability of the batteries. The following dynamic tests were carried out in the specially prepared circuit for this purpose:

z Braking: the car had to stop in the shortest possible distance, while traveling at a speed of at least 20 km/h (Mateo Benigno de Moraza Street).

z Acceleration: the time it took the vehicle to travel 60 meters from standstill was timed.

z Slalom: the time needed for the vehicle to complete one lap of the slalom circuit (Plaza Berria) was timed.

z Efficiency test: the cars had to be able to cover the maximum possible distance in 60 minutes, with the same battery charge they had at the start of the dynamic tests in the morning. Each time it passed the finish line was counted, and the team that passed the most points from that point was the winner (the one that makes the most laps around the circuit).

18 teams took part in this new edition of Euskelec: 14 vehicles were made in the Vocational Training Schools of the Basque Country, and the other four arrived from Cantabria. In addition, three other vehicles participated as guests, in the form of a demonstration.

Technical checks, on Saturday

Before starting the dynamic tests and evaluating the performance on the track, all the cars underwent technical checks on Saturday afternoon. These checks were exclusionary: the school that did not comply with the regulations could be declassified. At the end of these checks, the jury would seal the vehicle's batteries to prevent recharging. That way, all cars had to run all of Sunday morning's tests on just one battery charge.

Previously, on May 8, all the teams that participated in the race were in Zornotza, at the Automotive Intelligence Center (AIC) facilities, presenting the technical and construction characteristics of their prototype. The technical jury of the competition evaluated the projects considering the technical solutions used to build the vehicles, aesthetic design and ergonomics, and scored the teams according to the technical aspects reflected in the vehicle memories.