World Solar Challenge

Tokai University - Japan has is headed for Victoria Square, Adelaide!

2011-10-20T16:16:00.002+10:30

Tokai University - Japan has is headed for Victoria Square, Adelaide!

Nuna6 Finished at official 'End of timing' at Angle Vale at 14:12 (event time). Nuna will proceed to Victoria Square on Friday morning.

University of Michigan are 25kms North of Angle Vale.

Day 4 - Provisional results

2011-10-20T07:53:00.001+10:30

2011 Veolia World Solar Challenge

Day 4 - 19th October 2011

Provisional Results

OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF TEAM SOLAR PHILIPPINES October 19, 2011 9:00am

2011-10-19T13:33:00.001+10:30

The team has decided to continue the race despite the battery problems encountered by SIKAT II in Tennant Creek yesterday.

Our solar car is in perfect condition, and we are optimistic that we will reach Adelaide on or before Saturday.

The delay brought about by the battery overheat incident doesn't hamper us from moving forward and finishing the race.

Race Leaders Update!

2011-10-19T12:58:00.001+10:30

Team Tokai from Japan has reached the Coober Pedy control point at the Opal Inn!

Day 3 Provisional results

2011-10-19T08:16:00.001+10:30

2011 Veolia World Solar Challenge

Day 3 - Tuesday 18 October 2011

Provisional Results

Day 2 Provisional results

2011-10-18T09:57:00.003+10:30

Provisional results document

Day 3 update

2011-10-18T09:35:00.001+10:30

1. Cars at Wauchope will depart from 0800 maintaining the separation with which they arrived.

2. Cars that were held at Tennant Creek will be given a departure time calculated to maintain their separation at the time the event was disrupted.

3. The published closing times of Control Stops south of Tennant Creek will be extended by 4 hours to compensate for the disruption.

4. As the condition of the infrastructure of the Barrow Creek hotel is unknown, the Barrow Creek control stop will be relocated approx. 100km south to Ti Tree.

Current vehicle locations

2011-10-16T19:05:00.001+10:30

University of Michigan	Qantum	2	USA	Team Page	University of Michigan	715.9	Newcastle Waters
Tokai University	Tokai Challenger 2	1	Japan	Team Page	Tokai University	715.4	Newcastle Waters
Nuon Solar Team	Nuna 6	3	Netherlands	Team Page	Nuon Solar Team	715.4	Newcastle Waters
Solar Team Twente	Twente	21	Netherlands	Team Page	Solar Team Twente	633.5	Dunmarra
UNSW Solar Team	Sunswift iv	74	Australia	Team Page	Sunswift - UNSW Solar Team	633.2	Dunmarra
Ashiya University	Sky Ace V	81	Japan	Team Page	Ashiya University Solar Car Project	633.2	Dunmarra
Apollo Solar Car Team	Apollo VI	95	Taiwan	Team Page	Apollo Solar Car Team	633.2	Dunmarra
Aurora	Aurora Evolution	45	Australia	Team Page		633.2	Dunmarra
Umicore Solar Team	Umicore	8	Belgium	Team Page	Umicore solar Team	603.3	Daily Waters
Istanbul University	Astay	34	Turkey	Team Page	SOCRAT - Istanbul University	544.9	Daily Waters
Team Okinawa	Legion	90	Japan	Team Page	Team Okinawa	491.6	Larrimah
Stanford Solarcar Project	Xenith	16	USA	Team Page	Stanford Solar Car Project	475.4	Larrimah
Nanyang Tech Uni	Venture V	98	Singapore	Team Page	Nanyang Technological University Solar Racing Team	475.4	Larrimah
Sakarya University	Saguar 2	6	Turkey	Team Page	SAITEM - Sakarya University Advanced Technologies	428.3	Mataranka
University of Calgary	Schulich Axiom	65	Canada	Team Page	University of Calgary Solar Team	428.3	Mataranka
Solar Energy	SER-1	15	Switzerland	Team Page	Solar Energy Racers	414.6	Mataranka
Eclipse 7 Solarcar team	Eclipse 7	92	Canada	Team Page	Eclipse Solar Car	383.8	Mataranka
Uni Malayia Pahong	Kilau	17	Malaysia	Team Page	UMPSolar	370.4	Mataranka
Team Bochum	BO gt	11	Germany	Team Page	Hochschule Bochum - SolarCar Team	356.8	Katherine
MIT SEVT	Chopper del Sol	4	USA	Team Page	MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team	356.8	Katherine
Principia Solar Team	Ra 7s	32	USA	Team Page	Principia Solar Car Team	352.1	Katherine
Qazvin Islamic Azad University (QIAD)	Havin	73	Iran	Team Page	QIAU	350.6	Katherine
Cambridge Uni Eco	Endeavour	12	UK	Team Page	Cambridge University Eco	350.6	Katherine
CalSol	Impulse	25	USA	Team Page	CalSol UC Berkeley Solar Vehicle	329	Katherine
TAFE SA	Solar Spirit	62	Australia	Team Page	SolarSpirit Australia	329	Katherine
Uniten	Solar Ranger	10	Malaysia	Team Page	Uniten Solar Ranger	320.2	Katherine
Universidad de Chile	Eolian	85	Chile	Team Page	Eolian Uchile	319.3	Katherine
University of Toronto	Blue Sky	77	Canada	Team Page	Blue Sky Solar Racing	317.4	Katherine
Anadolu Solar Team	Sunatolia	99	Turkey	Team Page	Anadolu University	317.3	Katherine
Team Solar Philippines	Sikat II	88	Philippines	Team Page	Team Solar Philippines	317.3	Katherine
Onda Solare	Emilia 2	9	Italy	Team Page	Onda Solare - Emilia II	317.3	Katherine
Durham University	DUSC2011	14	UK	Team Page	Durham University Solar Car	317.3	Katherine
University of Tehran	Persian Gazelle II	22	Iran	Team Page	University of Tehran Solar Car Team	299.1	Katherine
Midnight Sun	Midnight Sun X	24	Canada	Team Page	Midnight Sun	280.4	Katherine
Seraaj	Wahj	63	Saudi Arabia	Team Page	Seraaj Solar Car	240.3	Pine Creek
Green Maniac	Haegama	87	Korea	Team Page	GreenManiac	223	Pine Creek

Latest position update

2011-10-16T18:05:00.001+10:30

Tokai University	Tokai Challenger 2	1	Japan	Team Page	Tokai University	633.5	Dunmarra
Nuon Solar Team	Nuna 6	3	Netherlands	Team Page	Nuon Solar Team	633.5	Dunmarra
University of Michigan	Qantum	2	USA	Team Page	University of Michigan	633.2	Dunmarra
Umicore Solar Team	Umicore	8	Belgium	Team Page	Umicore solar Team	580.7	Daily Waters
Aurora	Aurora Evolution	45	Australia	Team Page		564	Daily Waters
Apollo Solar Car Team	Apollo VI	95	Taiwan	Team Page	Apollo Solar Car Team	564	Daily Waters
Ashiya University	Sky Ace V	81	Japan	Team Page	Ashiya University Solar Car Project	557.8	Daily Waters
Solar Team Twente	Twente	21	Netherlands	Team Page	Solar Team Twente	552.9	Daily Waters
UNSW Solar Team	Sunswift iv	74	Australia	Team Page	Sunswift - UNSW Solar Team	551.9	Daily Waters
Istanbul University	Astay	34	Turkey	Team Page	SOCRAT - Istanbul University	481.9	Larrimah
Team Okinawa	Legion	90	Japan	Team Page	Team Okinawa	473.9	Larrimah
Stanford Solarcar Project	Xenith	16	USA	Team Page	Stanford Solar Car Project	418.8	Mataranka
Nanyang Tech Uni	Venture V	98	Singapore	Team Page	Nanyang Technological University Solar Racing Team	418.8	Mataranka
University of Calgary	Schulich Axiom	65	Canada	Team Page	University of Calgary Solar Team	396.3	Mataranka
Sakarya University	Saguar 2	6	Turkey	Team Page	SAITEM - Sakarya University Advanced Technologies	367.9	Katherine
Solar Energy	SER-1	15	Switzerland	Team Page	Solar Energy Racers	358.5	Katherine
Qazvin Islamic Azad University (QIAD)	Havin	73	Iran	Team Page	QIAU	350.6	Katherine
Principia Solar Team	Ra 7s	32	USA	Team Page	Principia Solar Car Team	344	Katherine
MIT SEVT	Chopper del Sol	4	USA	Team Page	MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team	336.4	Katherine
Team Bochum	BO gt	11	Germany	Team Page	Hochschule Bochum - SolarCar Team	334.2	Katherine
Uniten	Solar Ranger	10	Malaysia	Team Page	Uniten Solar Ranger	320.2	Katherine
Universidad de Chile	Eolian	85	Chile	Team Page	Eolian Uchile	319.5	Katherine
Eclipse 7 Solarcar team	Eclipse 7	92	Canada	Team Page	Eclipse Solar Car	319.3	Katherine
TAFE SA	Solar Spirit	62	Australia	Team Page	SolarSpirit Australia	317.4	Katherine
Team Solar Philippines	Sikat II	88	Philippines	Team Page	Team Solar Philippines	317.4	Katherine
Cambridge Uni Eco	Endeavour	12	UK	Team Page	Cambridge University Eco	317.3	Katherine
CalSol	Impulse	25	USA	Team Page	CalSol UC Berkeley Solar Vehicle	317.3	Katherine
Anadolu Solar Team	Sunatolia	99	Turkey	Team Page	Anadolu University	317.3	Katherine
Onda Solare	Emilia 2	9	Italy	Team Page	Onda Solare - Emilia II	317.3	Katherine
Uni Malayia Pahong	Kilau	17	Malaysia	Team Page	UMPSolar	317.3	Katherine
Durham University	DUSC2011	14	UK	Team Page	Durham University Solar Car	317.3	Katherine
University of Toronto	Blue Sky	77	Canada	Team Page	Blue Sky Solar Racing	282.8	Katherine
Midnight Sun	Midnight Sun X	24	Canada	Team Page	Midnight Sun	269.4	Pine Creek
Seraaj	Wahj	63	Saudi Arabia	Team Page	Seraaj Solar Car	207.3	Pine Creek
University of Tehran	Persian Gazelle II	22	Iran	Team Page	University of Tehran Solar Car Team	205.9	Pine Creek
Green Maniac	Haegama	87	Korea	Team Page	GreenManiac	143.5	Adelaide River

Team Solar Philippines reported at 282kms

2011-10-16T17:07:00.002+10:30

Event Director reports that Team Solar Philippines (Car 88) are going well at 16:00, 282km mark

Current locations

2011-10-16T16:24:00.003+10:30

Flag Team Name Car Name Car No Country Distance Near

1 Nuon Solar Team Nun6 3Netherlands 440.4 Mataranka
2 University of Michigan Qantum 2 USA 430.9 Mataranka
3 Tokai University Tokai Challenger 2 1 Japan 424.5 Mataranka
4 Umicore Solar Team Umicore 8 Belgium 381.7 Mataranka
5 Apollo Solar Car Team Apollo VI 95 Taiwan 372.5 Mataranka
6 UNSW Solar Team Sunswift iv 74 Australia 367.9 Katherine
7 Aurora Aurora Evolution 45 Australia 362.3 Katherine
8 Solar Team Twente Twente 21 Netherlands 361.2 Katherine
9 Ashiya University Sky Ace V 81 Japan 361 Katherine
10 Istanbul University Astay 34 Turkey 329 Katherine
11 Team Okinawa Legion 90 Japan 329 Katherine
12 Nanyang Tech Uni Venture V 98 Singapore 325.8 Katherine
13 Qazvin Islamic Azad University (QIAD) Havin 73 Iran 317.4 Katherine
14 Stanford Solarcar Project Xenith 16 USA 317.3 Katherine
15 Sakarya University Saguar 2 6 Turkey 311 Katherine
16 University of Calgary Schulich Axiom 65 Canada 305.4 Katherine
17 Principia Solar Team Ra 7s 32 USA 302.7 Katherine
18 Anadolu Solar Team Sunatolia 99 Turkey 297.8 Katherine
19 Solar Energy SER-1 15 Switzerland 281.8 Katherine
20 Universidad de Chile Eolian 85 Chile 263.5 Pine Creek
21 Uniten Solar Ranger 10 Malaysia 241.8 Pine Creek
22 Cambridge Uni Eco Endeavour 12 UK 240.9 Pine Creek
23 Team Bochum BO gt 11 Germany 240.3 Pine Creek
24 Uni Malayia Pahong Kilau 17 Malaysia 237.6 Pine Creek
25 Durham University DUSC2011 14 UK 231.2 Pine Creek
26 CalSol Impulse 25 USA 230.3 Pine Creek
27 Onda Solare Emilia 2 9 Italy 228.5 Pine Creek
28 MIT SEVT Chopper del Sol 4 USA 221.3 Pine Creek
29 Eclipse 7 Solarcar team Eclipse 7 92 Canada 204.3 Pine Creek
30 University of Toronto Blue Sky 77 Canada 204.3 Pine Creek
31 Midnight Sun Midnight Sun X 24 Canada 198.1 Pine Creek
32 Seraaj Wahj 63 Saudi Arabia 182.6 Pine Creek
33 Team Solar Philippines Sikat II 88 Philippines 175.8 Pine Creek
34 TAFE SA Solar Spirit 62 Australia 174.8 Pine Creek
35 University of Tehran Persian Gazelle II 22 Iran 148.7 Adelaide River
36 Green Maniac Haegama 87 Korea 65.2 Adelaide River

All is well with Midnight Sun (Car 24) Canada

2011-10-16T15:55:00.002+10:30

Event Director reports at 14:50, 226km mark that "All is well with Canadian team 'Midnight Sun' as they continue their drive south." Skies are now clear!

Hays Creek Hill claims another victim!

2011-10-16T15:22:00.002+10:30

Report from Event Director: 14:15, 170km mark, Car 62, Solar Spirit (TAFE SA) out of power - deciding whether to trailer to Katherine.....

Katherine - control stop arrival times - 317km mark

2011-10-16T15:01:00.002+10:30

Car Number) Time in - in order of arrival

1) 12:15
2) 12:15
3) 12:17
8) 12:28
74) 12:41
95) 12:41
81) 12:46
45) 12:46
21) 12:56
98) 13:18
90) 13:34
34) 13:38
73) 13:41 * time penalty

other solar cars to follow...

Update 146 km mark

2011-10-16T14:57:00.001+10:30

Event director reports at 13:46 past car 22, Persian Gazelle II (Iran), "All very Happy!"

Update 93 km mark

2011-10-16T12:33:00.002+10:30

Event Director reports Heavy Cloud cover at 93km mark

Pride of Twente starts from pole position in thrilling race Down Under

2011-10-16T12:33:00.001+10:30

Darwin, Twente - 15 oktober 2011

Qualification time of 02:02:20 gives Solar Team Twente ‘pole position’

Pride of Twente starts from pole position in thrilling race Down Under

After a tense qualification session, Solar Team Twente has snatched pole position in the World Solar Challenge. For the team, it it is best qualification result ever. All preparations for the race have been completed and the team is ready for the 3000 kilometre race through the Australian Outback. The race starts tomorrow 08.30 hr Australian time (01:00 hr Dutch time). Having completed all tests, the technical examination and the qualification, the weather now poses the greatest challenge

The qualification for the World Solar Challenge 2011 happened Saturday morning on the Hidden Valley racetrack near Darwin. The participating teams, around 30 in total, were allowed to drive just one lap (one for warming up, the second full throttle). The team from Twente has waited patiently and was allowed to decide for themselves when to enter the track, as long as there would be no other cars. The team subsequently managed to perform a lap time of 2 minutes and 2,20 seconds. Team leader Siebe Brinkhof is content: ‘The team was nervous but with racing driver Jens Hegeman behind the wheel of the 21Connect we have accomplished the best possible result. We have to remain calm however: it’s a race where anything can happen. Together with weather expert Helga van Leur, the team now has to challenge the greatest uncertainty: the weather. We even expect rain.

The top 5 starting ranks after qualifications: 1) Solar Team Twente - 02.02.20 2) Nuon Solar Team - 02.02.50 3) Michigan - 02.03.01 4) Sunswift - 02.04.33 5) Tokai - 02.07.77.

Preparation race and the convoy

Solar Team Twente leaves tomorrow with a convoy of 12 cars. At the front, there is the weather car, the scout and the escort car. Next comes the solar car 21Connect and after the solar car drives the DMU (Decision Making Unit), a bus where all important decisions are made. Escort + 21Connect + DMU are called the ‘racing convoy’. Behind the bus drive the cars with the mechanics and the electro technicians. Thereafter comes the media car, the car with the photographer, the film crew from Saxion and the film crew of RTL. Last on is the truck with among other the tents for the camp and the workshop.

The team is well prepared for the long stay in the Australian Outback. Aylin Knepper: ‘We can only go to a supermarket once, in Alice Springs. We have 1000 liter water, 60 loaves of bread, 20 kilogram cornflakes, 30 liter life milk, 10 kilogram chocolate spread, 300 muesli bars and 300 packages potato chips. At the finish in Adelaide, family members and the partners from Twente, among which Grolsch, so we are motivated to reach the finish line!

Follow the team

This afternoon 15.45 hr the Dutch channel RTL 7 broadcasts the qualification of Solar Team Twente. During the World Solar Challenge in Australia the team from Twente provides news messages, blog items, tweets, photos, videos and their app. RTL Z will daily broadcast a program with weather expert Helga van Leur and Reinoud Broekhuijsen. More info on www.solarteam.nl

Current positions

2011-10-16T12:22:00.001+10:30

	Flag	Team Name	Car Name	Car No	Country	Distance	Near
1		Nuon Solar Team	Nuna 6	3	Netherlands	212.9	Pine Creek
2		University of Michigan	Qantum	2	USA	208.4	Pine Creek
3		Tokai University	Tokai Challenger 2	1	Japan	201.9	Pine Creek
4		UNSW Solar Team	Sunswift iv	74	Australia	194.8	Pine Creek
5		Umicore Solar Team	Umicore	8	Belgium	192.8	Pine Creek
6		Stanford Solarcar Project	Xenith	16	USA	192.5	Pine Creek
7		Ashiya University	Sky Ace V	81	Japan	186.4	Pine Creek
8		Apollo Solar Car Team	Apollo VI	95	Taiwan	184.7	Pine Creek
9		Aurora	Aurora Evolution	45	Australia	183.4	Pine Creek
10		Nanyang Tech Uni	Venture V	98	Singapore	176	Pine Creek

Website Update

2010-12-08T09:27:00.004+10:30

The new-look World Solar Challenge website has just gone live - we're proud of it and look forward to your patronage.

Things to note:

This BLOG will continue to be used for announcements relating to the event, and closer to the event we hope to have a few guest bloggers join the ranks.
There is now a dedicated YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/worldsolarchallenge
Shortly we'll be posting photos from past events online and you'll be able to browse and download these photos for your enjoyment.
The Yahoo! mailing list continues to be used for interested people, both participants and spectators. If this is your first Challenge, it's a good place to search for and ask the myriad questions you'll come up against: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wsc/

As you might know we're intending to provide satellite tracking for each solar-team in the 2011 event - it's been a long time in the making and we're very excited with the insights this will give spectators across the planet - not to mention mum and dad who'll be able to track the progress of their progeny across the country.

The Global Green Challenge has been reborn as the World Eco Challenge - to keep in spirit with the World Solar Challenge and the website at: http://www.worldecochallenge.org/ is expected to be updated over the next few months.

Enjoy and Be Part of It!
--
Onno Benschop

2010 World Environment Day

2010-06-04T20:59:00.000+09:30

Traditionally we use World Environment Day as the day that we announce
big things to do with the World Solar Challenge and this year is no
different. From midnight tonight the http://www.wsc.org.au/ website
will update and you will know more about what's in store for 2011.

Tell your friends and let us know what you think!

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday All Done!

2009-11-03T15:55:00.000+10:30

Firstly a correction has to be made to an earlier Blog entry in which I stated that Tokai had crashed on day one (I officially apologise to Tokai for my error, at the time I believed that this information was correct). In fact it was Umicore who basically totalled their car on day one. I guess this is an example of the rumour and "Chinese whispers" that the teams at the rear of the field receive, there is no one official who can tell us the facts and information about what happens at the top of the field, rumour gets past from observers to teams and to observers and so on.

Thursday night we stay in the Underground Backpackers in Coober Pedy. The temperature 10m underground is cool and for the first time I need my sleeping bag to stay warm. Up early again (thanks to Rick Astley set as some ones alarm tone, waking me) but others have beaten me to the array and it's already set up for the morning charge, well before the sun peaks over the horizon.

We elect to put some extra charge in the batteries. The sun doesn't help us much early in the morning unless you can point the array at it, so rather than use the charge we have stored in the batteries, driving early, we wait for the sun to get higher in the sky when it is much more useful for driving. We want to maximise on road solar kilometres and the solar car leaves at 9:00am. We tow the solar car a couple of k's back to the control stop. There is a big hill that I don't want the solar car to climb I don't want to risk heating the motor and I definitely don't want to take precious charge from the batteries. I push Trent off and walk back to the camp.

This morning I will ride in the bus, the basic plan is that those left in Coober Pedy will finish packing and then catch up with the solar car whilst it solars toward Adelaide. We will then swap and I will drive rear support down to Port Augusta after we have solared as much as possible. We have to be in Port Augusta by 5:00pm solar time.

In 2005 when I spent time on the bus we had a flat tyre (inside rear) which we had to change it was a big job and took quite some time. When I get back to camp I find the bus has a flat battery Doh!!!! We un-hitch the trailer an I roll it out of the car park, which is fortunately down hill and doubly so the bus is pointing in the right direction, a brief push by the team to get me rolling and the bus starts easily. We decide to have the local auto electrician to check that it is charging. Our auto electrician is driving the solar car and my multi-meter is in the solar car trailer, just in front of solar car. The auto electrician checks that the bus is charging and suspects something was left on (other than Engel fridges) all night draining the batteries. We turn it off and then start it again to check that it starts, we decide its best to do it here where the auto electrician is, it's all good.

We pick up the support team and head off to chase down the solar car. We catch it about 90 km south of Cober Pedy and they tell me that motor or controller has cut out a couple of times. We swap drivers, Leonie jumps in the bus with Peter and they head off to Port Augusta. We choose to solar some more and the car goes really, really well, there's no sign of the problems the team had earlier in the day. We are now in the situation that the car is running really well and I could see us clocking up over 250km for the day (maybe more) but our hand is forced by the shortening of the event and the rules that forced us to spend lots of time in the trailer to make check points rather than being allowed to solar. As we tick over 141 km for the day which also marks 950 km for the challenge we decide that we'll trailer the rest of the day. We are about 350km from Port Augusta and it is now 1:30pm.

I am disappointed we have had to stop, the car is running really reliably and we are fairly confident that we have ironed out all of the crinkles. In the last challenge we still would have had another day and a half to go and we could have beaten our past total easily. I console myself in the fact that if I do some simple maths i.e divide this years total by the number of days, and divide last challenge total by the number of days, on a kilometre per day comparison we have beaten our previous best. It's still not quite the same.

We put the car in the trailer and head toward Port Augusta. On our drive we listen to each of the occupant's music the styles vary greatly, I also reflect on what we might have been able to achieve if we had 1 or 2 more days and if the event organisers had relaxed the control stop rules earlier. It is a long drive and the scenery is unremarkable lots of flats, no hills, no trees and nothing out standing on the horizon. We pass the occasional salt lake which breaks up the scenery. Lester our observer, is on his first World Solar Challenge and tells us that this is what he has come to see. He mentions the changes of scenery as we have travelled south and is in awe of whatever he sees.

We stop at Glendambo for a break and I buy some classic roadhouse food, the first for the journey and then remember why I have avoided doing so until now. I casually ask if they have seen a bus load of Leeming kids go by. They say "oh yeah they went through about half an hour ago, but they'll be back soon" I enquire as to why and they say they didn't pay for fuel and their boss is chasing them down in his car. I ask if they can contact their boss and suggest that if they didn't pay it was an honest error and I am happy to pay now. They contact the boss, he hasn't left he was simply going to call the police. I pay the bill and all is okay. It turns out however that it was the attendant's mistake. He watched Peter fuel the bus then come in and purchase some water and food. Peter handed over his card and the attendant only charged him for the food and water. On ward to Port Augusta.

7 km from Port Augusta we see Heliox (Swiss) solaring at around 20 km/h, their batteries are dead flat and they are desperate to make 1000km for the trip. As we pass we flick to their radio channel and wish them well. We make Port Augusta at about 5:09pm, it is windy here, and if I hadn't been here in 2007 in extreme conditions I would have said very windy. It was windy here in 2005 too. We meet the clerk of course who tells us we need to be in Adelaide tomorrow before 12:00, he says not to worry about sitting for the ½ hour control stop and to just take a time penalty. I wasn't planning to wait another half hour. Peter calls ahead to Port Pirie and is told the wind is calm and there is plenty of camping spots available, we go.

When we get to Port Pirie the park owners allow us to stay for free, Heliox also end up here and they stay for free too. It is dusk and the team, after reversing trailers and busses into the camp spot, go about setting up camp. I have my first attempt at putting up one of the tents, I fail miserably and gain an extra appreciation of the work that the support crew have been doing. Some of our younger team members take great pleasure in pointing out where I went wrong in trying to put up the tent. Within half an hour or so the camp is set and the BBQ is cooking up the last of our food, I am very impressed with the team effort, everyone has worked well and things run smoothly. Dinner is a mish-mash of baked beans, tinned spaghetti, eggs, bacon, ham and toast followed up by tinned fruit, we won't need food in Adelaide so we are trying to finish up what's left. No one complains and all the food gets eaten.

Everyone is tired and there is no need for a dawn charge tomorrow so we might be able to sleep past the sun coming over the horizon. 5:00 AM Rick Astley joins the camp with "Never Gonna Give You Up." The student who owns the phone desperately tries to turn it off but by now is fearing for his own existence, for two days in a row many team members and I have been subjected to Rick at 5:00am.

Eventually the rest of the camp rises and we pack up and head off on the final leg into Adelaide. We make it around 10:40am (11:40 civil time) and line up for the ceremonial drive over the finish line. Rhys does the honours. The team bar three, jump in the electric solar bus which ferries team members from Torrens parade ground to Victoria Square, the others jump into the pilot vehicle and call traffic conditions to Rhys via radio. The driver is impressed that our car still has the legs to climb the hill to the finish line. He says many have had to push their car the 2km's up hill. I think of the extra solar kilometres we could have done with what is left in the batteries.

The bus drops the team and we walk behind Rhys over the finish line. Willetton and some of our team members' parents are already here and provide a huge cheer for us as we cross the line. I am very impressed with Willetton and am pleased with how many kilometres they have done, 906. At the beginning of the Challenge Darren told me he would be happy with 750. Photos are taken Batteries are scrutineered and our car is put on display. We head back into town to set up the final camp site, a backpacker's hostel, right in the heart of the city at the western end of the Rundle Mall.

Saturday night we all head to the convention centre for the official closing ceremony and awards. Team members carry extra shirts to swap with others, this is a solar car racing tradition and is probably a much more important part of the evening to many of the participants of the challenge than the awards presentation. We sit through the awards, eco cars first and I count 11 awards for the 17 eco entrants. There are about 9 awards including place getters for the 32 solar cars that participated in the challenge. In past years each team was acknowledged and team managers were presented with participant awards in front of the group. This year it was simply mentioned at the end that teams could pick up their participants memento in the corner of the room.

After the ceremony all team members moved to a large room where the frenetic shirt swapping begin and soon it was difficult to know which team member was from which team. Our team eventually heads off to subway for dinner, but I am keen to talk to a few people whom I have met over the past 4 years. I get the chance to congratulate Dave Snowdon and UNSW on their challenge class (silicon) win and speak with many of the observers, scrutineers and team members from other teams. I guess an unofficial debrief of sorts.

I eventually leave and catch up with the team at Subway however I now seem to have team members from Michigan, Turkey, Japan, Malaysia, France, Germany and England as they are all wearing their new prized shirts.

We retire for the evening.

Sunday, clean bus, pack up trailers, throw out rubbish collect others discarded solar car tyres (some brand new), electrical bits and pieces etc… I pick up Hedgie from the airport and take him to see the remaining cars on display before he heads off on his journey back to Perth driving the bus.

Monday relaxing day before heading to the airport at 3:00 to catch our 5:15 flight home. All is well and we all make it home safely. I am sure many heads hit the pillow not long after getting home. We are done for 2009.

Solar kilometres for 2009

Sunday 25 Oct 163km Katherine overnightMonday 26 Oct 181km Renner Springs Over night
Tuesday 27 Oct 65km Alice Springs over night
(Tuesday 27 Oct trailered long distance in dust storms and strong head winds).
Wednesday 28 Oct 187km Kulgera Road house over night
Thursday 29 Oct 213km Coober Pedy Underground back packers.
Friday 30 Oct 141km Port Pirie Caravan Park over night
(Had to stop solaring at 1:30pm to make Port Augusta by 5:00pm)
Saturday 31 Oct 2km Adelaide 2 km to official finish not counted in total.

Total 950 solar km
2071 diesel km

WSC Results - revised

2009-11-03T10:52:00.001+10:30

After receiving observer reports about log book anomalies, the results for the 2009 WSC have been revised. Specifically, Bo Cruiser distance was revised down to 1850km and Ariba IV was revised up to 1380km.

The ranking has been updated accordingly.

The results can be downloaded as a PDF.

Student Blog 30th and 31st October

2009-11-02T16:42:00.000+10:30

30th of October – Student Blog

Today didn't start off too well. Our bus is being uncooperative in the morning by deciding not to start, and we suspect the batteries to be the problem. They're working pretty hard to keep three Engel fridges running so our food doesn't spoil, and we had the feeling that it'd only be a matter of time before they petered out. Not much had to be done to get the bus moving though. Once the trailer was unhooked it was just a matter of pushing the bus out of the parking lot, and it started working again. Strange really, but at least we don't have to push it for the rest of the race!

More problems arose after solaring for about an hour and a half. The solar cars motor cut out, and at the time we thought it may have been due to the failsafe in the motor that makes it cut out in a certain temperature. Overheating seems to be a persistent problem for us. Our usual solution of pulling over to give it a rest and a spray of demineralised water seemed to do the trick, and we registered 142 solar kilometres for our final day of Solar Racing.

The rest of the day is just trailering to get to Port Augusta before nightfall. We make it with about an hour to spare, and decide to go on to Port Pirie for the night, but not before Mr. Sheppard almost forgets to pay for the fuel for the bus. Tomorrow, we drive into Adelaide, and over the finish line.

Love,
- The Team

31st of October – Student Blog

After our final stopover in Port Pirie last night, it was only a 200 km drive to Adelaide, and the finish line. The last week of camping has made the team adept at packing up the tents and the trailers each sunrise, and Mr. Sheppard complimented us on this as we left. Just a couple of hours later we're in a parade ground in front of an RSL club in Adelaide where all the teams that have finished the race are lined up, ready to solar the final 500 metres to the finish line. One place ahead of us is the University of Malaya with what has become known at the "Mecanno Car." One place behind us is the Swiss Heliox team, and behind them, Cambridge University.

They appear to be rolling up to Victoria Square in 15 minute intervals. A solar electric powered bus shuttles us to the finish line and we get there just in the nick of time to snap some pictures. The car got put on display in a tent on one side of Victoria Square, and we went to see how all the other teams finished the race, and talk to the public and some parents that have come out to greet us. Only a few paces from us was the thoroughly wrecked Umicore car. It's lucky that their driver survived a crash like that.

Later in the evening, we were off to the closing ceremony. Officially, we're there for the awards, but everyone knows that it's really about swapping shirts with the other teams. In the awards ceremony, there appears to be a competition between the Bochum University and Nuon teams to see who can cheer the loudest, and both are beaten out by Istanbul Technical University. We pick up our trophies and then try to score all the cool shirts we can. David even managed to negotiate a pair of driver's overalls out of Tokai!

And so, the race is now over. We made it across the country and we're all alive, with a grand total of 950 solar kilometres! Yay! Tonight and tomorrow night, we're staying at the Blue Galah Backpackers. Tomorrow morning, all we need to do is give the support vehicles and the bus a clean out, and put the solar car into it's trailer, then we can all have a nice lazy Sunday.

Love,
- The Team

Blog 30th+

2009-11-02T16:39:00.000+10:30

October 30th

Six and a half metres under ground, we wake at 5am to Rick Astley singing "Never Gonna Give You Up". A student stumbles out of bed and fumbles in his bag, and Rick Astley stops again.

At a slightly more civilised hour we get up. We charge.

I solder the telemetry receiver antenna back together, which involves near endless walks between the follow car to find gear, the lead car to find other gear, and the TV room where I've plugged my soldering iron into power.

We set off. It's a complicated shuffle this morning: we put a towing rope on the solar car and tow it the couple of hundred metres uphill to the (now closed) control point which was our nominal stopping point. Then John jumps out of the follow car's driver seat, we detach the tow rope, Leonie leaps in, a couple of students leap in to passenger vehicles, we set up to roll out, and then we get word over the radio that the support bus back at camp has a flat battery.

But it's too late: we're already rolling out of Coober Pedy and onto the highway.

We solar on. The car misbehaves and loses power: we're not sure if it's because the motor has overheated or because the motor controller has become confused. It doesn't help that telemetry is very hit-and-miss today: it seems my repair of the antenna is imperfect. We continue.

The school bus catches up: with the help of a large number of students pushing, they've managed to roll-start it. We pause for lunch and charge, and continue. The school bus goes on ahead.

A little further on, we run out of time: we must put the solar car in the trailer and go forward in order to reach Adelaide in time tomorrow. We've solared 143 km for the day, bringing us to a total of 950 km for the event.

We meet the bus (and the parents of two of the students) at the Port Augusta control point. We don't bother to serve our full 30 minutes: since the Challenge rules forbid us from doing any more solaring, there's no point. We continue to Port Pirie, and check into a caravan park. The caravan park is free for school groups, which is nice, but it features the port Pirie Jumping Prickle, which is not so nice. These prickles somehow leap off the ground onto your sock, and then burrow in until they can stab you.

October 31st

In the morning we get up early to trailer in. Several other teams are trailering on the same part of the highway, all attempting to hit the same deadline as us.

We arrive at Torrens parade ground, and get in line: there's a queue of solar cars waiting to do the 2 km run up the the official finish line at Victoria Square. After an hour or so it's our turn. We put the solar car on King William Road, and then the bus that will carry us to the finish line arrives. We're required to leave our own support vehicles behind. The bus supplied by the Challenge travels in front of the solar car, and has no rear window, so we can't see what's happening.

At the line, the bus pulls in so we can get out, while the solar car waits just short of the line. Then we walk across the line with it.

Challenge officials check that our battery seals are still in place, and we walk the car to its spot in a marquee tent, in the shade. We wander around for a bit looking at other cars, including the wreck of Umicore.

Lunch is a find-it-yourself affair, and then we go to the closing ceremony. The Istanbul team are very very happy to have won the "best newcomer" award.

Usually the closing ceremony features a bit where all the team managers go up on stage and receive a participation award. This time that time is filled by a large number of Eco-Challenge awards: best small diesel, best large diesel, best small petrol, best large petrol, etc, etc; and there's simply an announcement at the end that team managers can come and pick their awards up from a corner of the room.

There's a chin-wag and shirt-trade: I get an official observer shirt.

There's an after-party at The Woolshed, but our under-age students are not invited. So we go for Subway. It's Halloween, and there are a variety of undead, monsters, angels and demons wandering past.

Then to bed.

November 1st

Three of our drivers are old enough to drink, and they come in from the after-party at about 1am. Then the Germans in the next room stagger in at 3am. Then at 5am it's Rick Astley again.

Most of the team goes down to clean support vehicles and sort equipment for shipping back. The bus begins its trip back to Perth, with the solar car trailer behind; driven by the same teacher who drove it up to Darwin.

Students play pool at the pool table on the balcony of the backpackers'. Pool is much better for money when the players are no good at it: they can play much longer for their $2. The table's habit of occasionally neglecting to return the cue ball when it is pocketed merely adds to the fun.

Dinner is at the Chinese restaurant we usually go to when we visit Adelaide.

Tomorrow we'll fly back to Perth.

-- Doug Burbidge http://dougburbidge.com/

Student Blog @8 29 Oct

2009-10-30T10:04:00.000+10:30

28^th of October – Blog from the Bus

Our return to a sheltered sleep overnight was followed by relatively calm sort of day, compared with the three that preceded it. In the south wing of our bunkhouse was a primary school group from Jervis Bay. As we charged the array in the morning they came to take a look, and we answered questions from both their students and teachers.

After pointing our array at the morning sun, Hammerhead and its support crew left Alice Springs at 11 am whilst the rest of the team went for a look around town. By 11.30 the whole team was on its way toward the Northern Territory/South Australian border. At a roadhouse in Stuart's Well we were lucky enough to be given a performance by Dinky the Singing Dingo, a dingo that howls to the tune of music. Ellie was our (un)willing pianist and the pair gave us a lovely double act.

The unfortunate shortening of the event from eight days to five and a half means that slower teams like us have had to trailer our cars long distances to get to the control points in time. The steep inclines and headwinds we encountered over the first couple of days haven't helped much either.

However, now that we have passed Alice Springs, the route is largely downhill, the weather is clear and sunny, perfect for solaring our way to Adelaide and the officials in charge of the event have allowed us to miss more than one control point. We hope to get as many solar kilometres in as possible on this short leg of the trip. The support crew rearranged themselves after lunch and we continued down the Stuart Highway. We'll be camping at Kulgera tonight, and are looking forward to some of Mr. Sheppard's (very) well done steaks.

Love,

- The Team

P.S. Hammerhead was driven under solar power for the whole of today (barring the last half hour to 5 pm, trailered in order to make the checkpoint) travelling a distance of 187 kilometres. A new record for one day of driving! This brings us up to 596 solar kilometres for this race so far.

29^th October – Blorg

For a lot of people, last night was the best sleep we've had in tents so far (the first night there were tonnes of cane toads and bats, the second night it was very windy and everybody forgot to peg their tents down, and the third night we stayed in dorms in Alice Springs). The nights and mornings are beginning to get a little bit colder, so there were a lot of people who wanted their jumpers but couldn't be bothered getting them because they were at the bottom of their bags – not that the team is lazy or anything.

The honour of dawn patrol was also particularly chilly. Because the batteries were very low from yesterday (again), we had to spend from the end of racing to sunset last night and from dawn to 9am this morning pointing the arrays to the sun. The conditions were pretty good the rest of today though; warm with almost totally clear skies, and we were able to start the day off with Hammerhead on the road. Unfortunately, just as we were pushing Doug and the solar car back onto the Stuart Highway, it decided not to start. The problem turned out to be the brake light switch, of all things.

Normally, when the brake pedal is pushed, the brake lights go on, and our hub motor cuts out. The switch that controls the brake lights was stuck in the "on" position, in turn causing the motor controller to think we were pressing the brakes and proceeding to cut the motor, even though be weren't touching the brakes at all. Mr. Morgan cursed a stripped plastic thread that was causing the problem and we were back on the road in less than five minutes.

Less than 20 kilometres in, team bus came across the Northern Territory/South Australian border. We were met with a giant sign saying "Welcome to South Australia" on one side, and "Welcome to the Northern Territory" on the other. We waved at the solar car as it drove past, before posing for team photos on both sides, before and hitting the road again. We overtook the solar car and continued on to Marla, which had a nice café and lawn for us to sit on. We will be staying in Coober Pedy tonight, which we all have been looking forward to. We've got reservations in an underground backpackers place (Hope no one's claustrophobic) and we'll be having dinner at "the best pizza place in Australia".

Love,

- The Team

P.S. Yesterday we beat our personal best for one day of solaring. Today we did it again. 213 kilometres in eight hours! Total distance under solar power stands at 809 kilometres.