Published on December 8, 2023

Lombok in Indonesia is a breath of fresh air, a stretch of blue waters, a winding circuit, a buzzing community, and a congregation of young hopes. In July 2023, it is also where approximately 900 students across the region gather in preparation of an upcoming competition: the Shell Eco-marathon is back for the Asia Pacific and the Middle East region. Held at the Pertamina Mandalika Street Circuit, engineering students compete to design, build and test drive the world’s most fuel-efficient vehicles.

This year, the competition draws the brightest talents from 13 countries. Brunei joins the race with the Mantuka Aswad, a battery-operated vehicle entry from the University of Brunei Darussalam (UBD) participating in the “Prototype” category. Behind the vehicle is Perkasa Darussalam, a seven-member group from the Faculty of Engineering.

The journey to join the competition begins months prior to the event. Students work at their home university to gather resources and assemble their vehicle, while strategising on ways to achieve the most distance using the least amount of energy. Assessed against hundreds of teams, passing the initial inspection was no easy feat. 

All aspects of safety are heavily scrutinised, as students also consider factors such as aerodynamics, energy supply reliability, and materials integrity. 

“Mantuka Aswad took a lot of time and effort, as well as commitment from the team. I’m glad that we made it and we’re thankful of the support from our family, university, and sponsors. I’m proud of the team for their perseverance and making it this far, despite the challenges,” shared team manager, Muhamad Ahmad Hasyer bin Sulong. 

The Shell Eco-marathon is a week-long affair. “Paddock”, an area behind pitland and garages where teams set up their vehicle, becomes home for the students. After a long trip across oceans, students have to re-assemble their cars and prepare them in time for the technical inspection. 

After hours of gruelling and meticulous technical assessment on Day 2 of the competition, the Mantuka Aswad hits the track for its run. Against 41 qualifying teams who made it through the inspection, Mantuka Aswad finishes with the top 20 performing teams, achieving energy efficiency of 103km/kwh.

This year, UBD’s vehicle prototype is driven by a tag team comprised of twin sisters, first driver Amal Bazilah binti Karim and second driver Amal Basirah binti Karim. Achieving the final result in the third track run, second driver Amal Basirah highlighted the importance of perseverance.

 “As a driver, it was important to navigate the track safely and with finesse. It was critical to work seamlessly with our prototype vehicle – I’m glad that we managed to achieve our results after a few tries. It really does show that with perseverance, we can achieve the best results for the team.”

Since 2011, Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) continues to support Bruneian students’ participation in the Shell Eco-marathon programme as part of its commitment to nurture Bruneian talents in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics stream. The experience from Shell Eco-marathon do not only expose students to real-life engineering skills and challenges, but equip them with knowledge on responsible and sustainable ways of meeting the world’s growing energy need.