Guimaras boy co-pilots solar car to be used in cable TV series
Jamie Tabanao, a senior at Newburgh Free Academy,
takes the Sol Machine 7 for a test run with the top off
Wednesday before the solar car was loaded into a truck
and shipped to California. Tabanao has never been to
Los Angeles, but he says he's not likely to have much
leisure time. He has to get the car ready for
"Battleground Earth" on The Discovery Channel's
Planet Green Network.
PHOTO FROM TIMES HERALD-RECORD
A 19 year-old boy from Nueva Valencia, Guimaras who is currently studying in Newburgh, New York, USA is about to make a mark in Hollywood as he takes Newburgh Free Academy's solar car to duel in a new series on The Discovery Channel's Planet Green Network.
Jamie Tabanao, son of Jimmy Tabanao and Delia Galila of Nueva Valencia, Guimaras, is co-captain of Newburgh Free Academy high school team which created the solar car Sol Machine 7.
The solar car will be used in the show "Battleground Earth" to be starred by Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee and Dirty South rapper Ludacris. In the show, the duo will travel across the country and compete to save the world using green technologies.
New York-based newspaper Times Herald-Record reported that the NFA high school team raced to steal parts from their new electric car and rebuild last year's racer, which won the Dell-Winston School Solar Car Challenge. The sleek, low-riding futuristic build was the result of hours of sweat and $50,000 in fund-raising by the team, said the newspaper.
The team shipped the vehicle off to Hollywood Wednesday last week.
Physics teacher Chris Eachus, who heads the solar program, and Tabanao, a senior, will travel with the car to Los Angeles to reassemble it, perform maintenance and watch the show taping.
Times Herald-Record further reported that Tabanao has never been to Los Angeles before, but he said the trip would likely be more work than leisure.
The newspaper added, he (referring to Tabanao) wasn't sure whether he'd back Luda or Tommy Lee in the battle. "I'm rooting for my car," he said.
Jamie is the second son of Jimmy and Delia. He finished his elementary education at Holy Rosary Academy in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras in 2002 after which he and his family moved to Newburgh.
Jamie's father in an email to The News Today said, after finishing high school his son will go to college in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York where he received a grant of $60,000 in 4 years.