Powerwheels racing spawns the “Mini Leo”

i3 Detroit and Detroit GT have begun a wonderful symbiotic relationship of Power Wheels awesomeness.  Starting this race season Detroit GT will be our official Power Wheels Racing Series team sponsor.  And as a thank you to Detroit GT we made them their very own little promotional vehicle which henceforth shall be known as the “Mini Leo”.  Mini Leo is built from a Power wheels Jeep chassis and features an OOGA horn as well as bubble blower exhaust.  We look forward to our new relationship with Detroit GT as they have designed new logos for us and we plan on rolling out more t-shirts and signage here in the near future!                                  

Power Racing Series season wrapup: i3′s medal count: Nine!

I3 Power Sports has completed another hugely successful season of PPPRS racing. We fielded two cars this year, and both collected a good number of medals, for 9 total. I3 was represented at all three races: Kansas City MO, Detroit, and Evanston IL. The I3 banner and name were on display, and there was a lot of contact with other maker-spaces and event-coordinators. That contact alone could define this as a successful endeavor for the space, but a big clutch of medals is nice too!

The season began in late June at Kansas City Maker Faire. Car #13, racing as SuperLuminal Racing, made the trip. As a brand new car and team, this was somewhat of a ‘shake-out’ race. Despite that, the car performed well, we qualified second, and we took home two bronze and a silver. It was also discovered that ‘SuperLuminal Racing’ is more syllables than the announcer likes to say, so we adjusted for future races.

The biggest race of the season took place at Detroit Maker Faire in July, and both i3 teams competed. #3 was freshly rebuilt before the Faire, and #13 (now “Tiger Hacker”) was running at half-power due to a controller issue. Despite this, we still represented. Our own Karen “Cannonball” Corbeill, on #3, took gold in the 15-lap races and the endurance race, finishing first for the weekend. Sean on #13 was handicapped on speed but buoyed by reliability, and managed to take bronze in the enduro.

The season finale took place at Evanston IL’s Mini-Maker Faire. Both of our teams made the trip, and the field was again large, with just a few less teams than Detroit’s race. The track was short and tight, which favored both of our teams. Sean was back to full speed on #13, and laid down the fastest qualifying lap. Even after multiple attempts by multiple teams to beat it, the time stood at 14.8 seconds. I3 took 3rd and 4th in the drag races, and then Cannonball cleaned up on #3, taking bronze in the 15-lap heats and gold in the endurance race, earning I3 2nd overall for the series!

Thanks to Jim Burke, Patrick Callahan, and the whole crew at PS:1 for putting on the races. And Thank You to Tom G. from Milwaukee Makerspace for loaning us an awesome controller for #13.

Maker Faire 2012: After Party i3:photobooth

Over the weekend was this years Detroit Maker Faire.

We built, Make and Partied the weekend away!

On friday creators spent the day at i3 putting the finishing touches on their creations, while others prepared for the party saturday night. The space was spotless as a dedicated group stayed over night and constructed a photo booth which became a huge success at the party.

i3Detroit’s PowerWheels teams took 1st(#3) and 3rd(#13-Sean’s car) in the endurance race Sunday. Saturday, i3 took 1st in the 15 lap road course. There is a “YES”(1st place) medal that has been added to the trophy cabinet. For the Power Racing Series, Detroit was weekend 2 of 3, so we head to Chicago next weekend and hopefully all kick some butt to bring home so real trophies!

The party may not have won any awards this year, but we still had fun!! El Guapo taco truck came out, as did Treat Dreams, and Meed by B nektar to help party the night away.  Sunday at least 5 projects from i3 walked away with editor choice ribbons.

Maker Faire and After Party

Maker Faire starts today!!
Stop by the i3 tents and check out our projects!
Also don’t forget about the official after party hosted tonight at i3 from 8PM til 3am

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