Perfect weather for a strategic plan, but...

Today should have been MY day as Punch Powertrain Solar Team's weather man. It would have been! But other than dynamic or convective forces decided otherwise.

Already at the end of last week, I noticed that a weak perturbation, associated with a low over the Great Australian Bight, would approach from the south up to the Alice Springs region on this Tuesday. The exact timing and location were still uncertain, but it was already clear that this would be the kind of weather one could build a cunning plan upon.
As this day was getting closer, more and more team mates came to me with questions about the weather. How cloudy was it going to be? And what about that wind?

Not only would this perturbation produce cloudiness, but the winds before and after this cloud band would be totally different.

It was exactly what we observed. 

A north-westerly wind was blowing north of the cloud band, while south of it, the wind suddenly shifted to the south-west. Driving southwards on the Stuart Highway (yellow line on this satellite image) a north-westerly wind is a tailwind from the right. A south-westerly wind means a headwind from the right. So indeed, a perfect situation for a strategic plan.

But, as I mentioned, other forces decided otherwise. Due to a penalty, our team had to wait for an hour at the second control stop. And our tactical plans just went up in smoke...