EAGER competitors battled heat, wind and storms at the 19th annual RACV Energy Breakthrough at Maryborough on the weekend.
But the wild weather did little to quell the enthusiasm of more than 6000 students from 160 schools, who converged on the Central Goldfields town to test their eco-friendly vehicles.
More than 300 teams took part in pedal and hybrid-powered vehicles designed and built during the school year.
Organisers were forced to call off the 24-hour endurance race, the weekend's main event, early on Sunday as rain lashed the course and flooded parts of the track.
RACV events co-ordinator Ernest Litera said it was just the second time in the race's history that it had been called off.
"We had a huge downpour at 9am on Sunday and it was just too severe to continue with the event," Mr Litera said.
"It was cold and wet at the end but it didn't put a dampener on things.
"The prospect of designing and building a vehicle then coming to the race is a bit like going to Bathurst for the kids."
Bragging rights in the hybrid-powered vehicle category went to the Bendigo Senior Secondary College team, which completed 505 laps of the circuit before the race was cancelled.
