Published Thursday, April 10, 2008 1:59 PM
Updated Thursday, April 10, 2008 2:00 PM
Chad Landon, left, and Amber Locklear race the Pinewood Prep moonbuggy. Pinewood fields the only team in S.C. to compete in the Great Moonbuggy Race which draws entrants from around the world.
Moonbuggy team powers to fifth place
Pinewood Preparatory School’s Moonbuggy Team bumped, drove and maneuvered itself into a fifth place finish in the National Moonbuggy Race April 3.
Despite the dreary, overcast day, a persistent drizzle failed to dampen the smiles and sprits of the Pinewood Moonbuggy team, as they set off to Huntsville, Alabama to compete in the National Great Moonbuggy Race.
By the next day at that time, the group would be racing their way to fifth place in the national competition, breaking Pinewood’s personal time record and placing higher than groups from Germany, India and across the United States.
First time competitors and drivers Amber Locklear and Chad Landon got up with their team early Thursday morning, strapped into the buggy, and rode around the ‘pits’ area of the Huntsville Space and Rocket Center where the competition was held. By powering over curbs and around sharp curves, they ensured themselves that any hidden weaknesses of the vehicle would at this point be exposed. Despite the rigorous testing and practice runs to prepare for this day, a vital chain of the buggy snapped just as Pinewood was called to the starting line.
With a show of solidarity the Pinewood Moonbuggy team made the unanimous decision to participate in the first run of the race, regardless of the significant disadvantage that it faced. The decision meant that essentially Amber not only would control the steering of the buggy, but also would be the central source of propulsion.
The first run of two went exceptionally well allowing the team to become familiar with and get a feel for the obstacles on the course – in effect serving as a test run. The penalties acquired on this run came from veering off course after a quick descent down a slope of gravel and for passenger-to-ground contact when it became necessary for Chad to get off and push the vehicle through an area where it was stuck. In total, these penalties added an additional six minutes onto the run time of eight minutes and thirty-nine seconds. The final time amounted to around fifteen minutes.
After a short break period, a team meeting and some repairs, Locklear and Landon mounted the buggy one last time for what would be the final race of the competition; perseverance at heart, strategy in mind, the plan was to “go for the gold.” The two coasted through the race, only becoming stuck once in a rain-drenched gravel pit; a two-minute penalty that when added on to the final race time of seven minutes, eleven seconds would leave the Pinewood Moonbuggy Team with another personal triumph, cutting almost a fourth off of the group’s initial time.
The announcers told the tale, “Lets give Pinewood a big hand as they are coming across the finish line, the official time for their second and final run looks to be seven minutes-eleven seconds.”
The team’s success inspired not only strength within the group itself, but cemented plans to strengthen and expand the program for next season.