Sacramento students head to Switzerland after zero-emission racecar wins gold
FROM SACRAMENTO TO SWITZERLAND. THAT’S THE JOURNEY THAT THESE STUDENTS ARE GOING TO BE MAKING. IT’S ALL BECAUSE THEY JUST WON THE HYDROGEN GRAND PRIX WITH THEY’RE GOING TO PUT ON DISPLAY IN JUST A MINUTE. OF COURSE, THIS MORNING WE’RE SPEAKING WITH DANIEL AND MICHAEL FROM FUTURES HIGH SCHOOL. THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. YEAH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SO WE’RE GOING TO SEE YOUR CAR IN ACTION IN JUST A LITTLE BIT. BUT MICHAEL, IF YOU COULD JUST GO AHEAD AND TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT JUST THE IDEA OF HOW, HOW TOUGH WAS IT TO PUT THIS CAR TOGETHER? YEAH. OF COURSE. SO AT THE BEGINNING, THIS WAS WHERE SEPTEMBER, NOVEMBER, WE GOT THE CAR. IT WAS GIVEN TO US BY HORIZON EDUCATION. AND THEIR ENTIRE GOAL IS TO JUST TEACH KIDS ABOUT HOW HYDROGEN POWER WORKS. AND BEFORE WE HAD NO UNDERSTANDING OF IT AT ALL. AND THEN THE CURRICULUM HELPED US SO MUCH. WE WERE ABLE TO LEARN A LOT ABOUT HYDROGEN POWER, AND THIS IS WHERE WE ARE NOW. WHEN YOU FIRST PLACE FROM THE COMPETITION AND YOU GOT THE GOLD MEDAL, SO WHAT WENT INTO THE ACTUAL COMPETITION ITSELF? SO INTO THE ACTUAL COMPETITION, WINNING A LOT OF MONTHS OF HARD WORK AND OF COURSE, MODIFICATIONS. AND FOR THE FIRST, I’D SAY TWO MONTHS AFTER WE RECEIVED THE VEHICLE, WE WERE BUILDING IT. AND LATER ON AFTER THE FIRST RACE, WE FIGURED OUT THAT WE SHOULD PROBABLY MAKE SOME MODIFICATIONS TO THE ACTUAL CAR. AND AFTER WE MADE THOSE MODIFICATIONS, WE OF COURSE RACED IN OUR SECOND RACE AND WON FIRST IN STATE FINALS. VERY NICE. OKAY, SO LET’S NOT BURY THE LEAD. LOOK AT IT GO. OF COURSE, THERE’S A WE HAVE A DRIVER. AND THE DRIVER, OF COURSE, IS WHO? AGAIN. SORRY, NIKITA. NIKITA. VERY NICE. SO AGAIN, AS WE SEE THIS CAR IN ACTION, IT GOES PRETTY FAST. SO WHAT’S THE TOP SPEED HERE? THE TOP SPEED IS 20KM AN HOUR IF YOU REALLY PUSH IT. WOW. WE TEND NOT TO BECAUSE IT DOES. YOU REALLY WANT TO GO SLOW TO HAVE LIKE BE PATIENT. AND THERE. YEAH. ENDURANCE. WELL, I WAS GOING TO SAY ALSO, I MEAN, IT’S HANDLING THE TURNS PRETTY WELL TOO. AND THE TIRES. SO WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SPECS THAT YOU ENDED UP PUTTING INTO THIS VEHICLE? YEAH. SO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE MODIFIED THIS VEHICLE WITH ARE A 20 KILOGRAM SERVO, SINCE THE OLD ONE HAD TOO MUCH BACKLASH. AND IT ALSO HAD NOT ENOUGH SPEED AND THEN WE ALSO SWITCHED IT OUT WITH A, WE CUSTOM 3D PRINTED SOME PARTS LIKE A. WHAT DO WE PUT IN THERE? REMIND ME AGAIN, OUR OWN STEERING SYSTEM, A MOUNTING PLATE. OH MY GOSH, THAT’S UNREAL. YEAH. SO WE DID A LOT OF THINGS TOO. WE ALSO CUSTOM 3D PRINTED A BATTERY BRACKET FOR IT. AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE ARE A COUPLE FANS YOU PROBABLY SEE THERE SHOULD BE A BLUE LIGHT ALSO SOMEWHERE. AND YEAH, WE DID A LOT OF WORK TO IT. WOW. AND AGAIN, JOB WELL DONE. SO HERE’S THE THING THOUGH. COMPETITION DOESN’T STOP. YOU GUYS ARE HEADING TO SWEDEN, BUT YOU NEED A LITTLE BIT OF HELP. EVERY DOLLAR GOES A LONG WAY. SO WHAT ARE YOU ASKING FOLKS? WE’RE ASKING FOLKS TO HELP US GET TO THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO SWITZERLAND TO FIND PEOPLE LIKE MINDED LIKE US, WHO GO THROUGH ENGINEERING. AND THIS IS A GREAT OUTLET TO JUST PRACTICE OUR HOBBIES, PRACTICE OUR PASSIONS. AND, YOU KNOW, WE’RE JUST ASKING FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO GET TO SWITZERLAND AND BE ABLE TO COMPETE IN A WORLD FINAL. OKAY, SO WHEN IS THE DATE, WHEN DO WHEN DOES THE COMPETITION AND HOW CAN FOLKS HELP OUT IN TERMS OF, IS THERE A WEBSITE WHERE THEY CAN MAKE A DONATION? YEAH. SO OUR RACE IS GOING TO START ON JUNE, CORRECT? JUNE 28TH. SO IT’S GOING TO START ON JUNE 20TH 8TH OR JUNE 29TH BETWEEN THOSE TWO DAYS. AND THEY CAN REACH OUT TO A WEBSITE CALLED FUTURES HIGH SCHOOL, AND THEY CAN REACH OUT TO SOME OF THE PEOPLE OVER THERE. AND IF THEY ARE WILLING TO PUT IN SOME OF THEIR TIME AND MONEY INTO US, THAT’D BE PERFECT. VERY NICE. WELL SAID. WELL AGAIN, LET’S TAKE ONE LAST LOOK. LOOK AT THOSE PLAQUES. THE GOLD MEDALS. FIRST PLACE FOR FUTURES HIGH SCHOOL. AS THEIR SWEET RIDE GOES JUST AROUND AND AROUND. THIS IS REALLY PERFECT DRIVING WEATHER. TAMARA. I KNOW TRAFFIC IS FLOWING PRETTY SMOOTH OUT HERE. YEAH. IF YOU HAVE LIKE A SUNROOF OR A CONVERTIBLE, GREAT DAY TO BE O
Sacramento students head to Switzerland after zero-emission racecar wins gold
Updated: 11:42 AM PDT Apr 30, 2026
From Sacramento to Switzerland, students from Futures High School will head overseas to compete in an international competition.The trio of Captain Daniel Zhidovlenko, mechanic Michael Yurkib and Nikita Artemov brought home the gold at the Hydrogen Grand Prix California State Finals.Now they need to make sure their hydrogen-powered racecar has enough fuel to compete against the world’s best.The students are hoping to raise $30,000 to cover travel and other expenses for their trip in June. To make a donation, go here.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
From Sacramento to Switzerland, students from Futures High School will head overseas to compete in an international competition.
The trio of Captain Daniel Zhidovlenko, mechanic Michael Yurkib and Nikita Artemov brought home the gold at the Hydrogen Grand Prix California State Finals.
Now they need to make sure their hydrogen-powered racecar has enough fuel to compete against the world’s best.
The students are hoping to raise $30,000 to cover travel and other expenses for their trip in June. To make a donation, go here.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel