The car of Solar Team Twente has crashed while taking part in the World Solar Challenge. On the third day of the race, a defect in the rear right wheel caused the solar vehicle to leave the road at 95 kilometres an hour and flip over. Driver Mart Bruinja did all in his power to keep the car - the 21Revolution - on the road, but he was unable to do so. Fortunately, Mart himself managed to get out of the car and has escaped with barely a scratch.
The day began very well. More energy was captured on this day than any other, and the high level of radiation meant the team was able to set off at full speed towards Alice Springs. Here, the first vehicle inspections were held, and after extensive testing, the car appeared to be fine.
After Alice Springs, the team was set to cover at least another 300 kilometres before the end of the day. However, at about 13.40 local time, fate struck. Mart noticed that his rear right tyre was deflating fast, making it impossible to steer the vehicle. It started swerving left and right across the road. "When the wind got under the wing, the car flipped over and landed on the other side of the road, breaking into two. I tried to keep it on the road, but it was an impossible task," explained a disappointed Mart.
DAMAGE
The damage to the car is considerable. Both the right-hand rear and front wheel suspension are broken, as are the Fresnel lenses and the right-hand wheel cover, as a result of the impact on the road surface. The wing was damaged through landing on its front, and some of the solar cells are no longer functioning either. Immediately after the crash, the team drew up an inventory of the damage before getting on with repairing the vehicle. A clearer picture regarding the state of the car may emerge during the evening, but it is too early to say anything conclusive at the present time.
The team is very shocked. The realization that the car on which they had spent more than a year working simply flew into the air and landed in two is very hard to take. "I was in the car immediately in front, when suddenly in the rear-view mirror I saw the car starting to swerve all over the road before flying into the air. The image is seared onto my mind," says a clearly shocked Annemiek Dul.
PROFESSIONAL RESPONSE
Naturally, the accident shocked the whole team, but they have also responded very professionally. Immediately, everyone set about their task in order to get things going again - the World Solar Challenge observer even complimented the team on its approach. It is situations like this that show how well a team works together.
Inevitably, they are no longer in fourth position. The Sunswift, MIT and Principia teams have overtaken the team from Twente, which is now placed seventh after the third day. The team will be working through the night in order to repair the car as well as possible. It is thought that it will be able to resume the race tomorrow, but of course nothing will be certain until the morning.
