Solar Team Twente started the first day of the Sasol Solar Challenge in South Africa today with their solar car RED XI. In the provisional standings, the Twente student team is in shared second place with a provisional distance travelled of 452.3 kilometres.
The day started smoothly, allowing the students to drive briskly. After about thirty minutes, the students from Twente managed to overtake the race convoy of the Belgian team, Innoptus Solar Team. At the first running stop, Solar Team Twente had built up a lead over Innoptus Solar Team. Under the watchful eye of many schoolchildren in the stands, the students prepared for the loop. By involving as many schoolchildren as possible during the challenge, the organisation hopes to inspire children in South Africa to pursue STEM subjects.
Difficult to overtake
The loop started through a fairly busy village. The stretch after that was a busy road, making overtaking difficult. Here, Innoptus Solar Team managed to catch up again behind Solar Team Twente’s race convoy. At the next stop, the team decided to enter the control stop for the day. During the control stop, many schoolchildren were informed about the car and the adventure.
During the first day of the Sasol Solar Challenge, the top three teams—Brunel Solar Team (Delft), Innoptus Solar Team, and Solar Team Twente—stayed close together. In the last five kilometres, Solar Team Twente managed to overtake Brunel Solar Team. As a result, the Twente student team came in first today with the same number of kilometres as Brunel Solar Team.
Extra loop
Innoptus Solar Team decided to drive an extra loop and is currently in first place with a 36.9-kilometre lead. However, the Belgian team came in too late, which meant they had to stop for a certain amount of time at a time of their own choosing.
Tomorrow, after the end of the second day of the challenge, the ‘marathon stage’ will take place. This means the team is virtually not allowed to touch the car. Only three team members are allowed to tinker with the car until 10 pm, whereas normally several people are allowed to work on the car without limit. They are also only allowed to bring tools they can carry themselves. ‘A big challenge, but we face this special stage with confidence,’ says race leader Laura Voogd.