Australia's Solar Race
Solar Race Car
The ‘Nuon Solar Team’ continues to dominate the solar race across Australia that started in Darwin and will finish in Adelaide. Racing without conventional combustion engines, the various teams from around the world converged on Darwin having built their vehicles as completely solar-powered electric machines.
There are three categories that are completing the journey. The first being the quickest team to complete the 3000 km race distance – this race is known as the ‘Challenger Class’.
The second class is the known as the ‘Cruiser Class’, where there are points given to the teams for the number of passengers on board, the amount of energy that they are using in terms of the number of battery recharges that are occurring throughout the journey and the general practicality of the car. Being a part of the ‘Cruiser Class’, the points aren’t all about speed.
Solar Race Cruiser Class
Finally, the third category is known as the ‘Adventure Class’ which is the non-competitive class, allowing cars built for previous races of the event to run again – usually with new team members. The ‘Adventure Class’ can also be used as a catchment for those who, while meeting the exacting safety standards, may not have quite made full compliance with the latest race requirements. This is the category with the more laid-back travel style.
At the end of day three: the quickest team competing in the ‘Challenger Class’ is the ‘Nuon Solar Team’ from Holland.
Nuon Solar Team
Second is the team from Tokai University.
Tokai University Race Team
Third is the team from Michigan University.
Novum Race Team
Just over halfway through the race and there will still be plenty of challenges ahead for all race competitors. One of the major influences on how well a car performs in this race is the amount of sunshine there will be. Cloudy days do impact the speed and progress of the cars.
This is an exciting race held here in Australia that is sponsored by Bridgestone, and it’s these sort of races that enable the evolution of production cars being run on electricity and solar energy. If you can, get out and have a look at the cars as they silently run into Adelaide in a few days time.
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