SALISBURY, Conn. – Two flat tires didn’t deflate the enthusiasm of the Housatonic Valley Regional High School team that competed in the Electrathon at Lime Rock Park. In the school’s first entry into the electric car competition, drivers Wayne Purdy and Brian Saccardi managed to get their entry around the track nine times.

The students are members of the agricultural mechanics course taught by Mark Burdick, who said he was looking for a project to challenge the students, and Lime Rock Park is right in the school’s backyard. Purdy and Saccardi, both seniors, were willing to take on the task, and along with a pit crew of other students and dads, they began building just three weeks before the race after a month of raising funds. They finished it at 11:30 the night before the race.

The object of Electrathons, which take place around the country, is to see how many times an electric car can go around the track in one hour. Cars must meet specific design and safety rules, and are powered by batteries that cannot exceed 64 pounds. Purdy said Housatonic’s car, built completely from scratch, has an all-aluminum frame.

The overall successful first-time experience came with a lot of stress.

“Twenty-four hours before the race, we weren’t sure we’d be able to run” because of problems with the controls, Purdy said. Then there were the two flats on the front left tire.

Organizer Michael Grella, a retired technical education teacher from Terryville High School, said this year’s competition brought 36 teams from Maine, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut.