It’s just over a month until World Solar Challenge 2013 kicks off – and Australian teams have a strong showing this year.
To be held from October 6-13, this year’s competition will be the 12th running of the event since 1987. 45 teams from 26 countries will pit their solar powered vehicles against harsh Aussie conditions in a 3000 kilometre contest, crossing the continent from Darwin to Adelaide.
The Australian teams are:
Aurora Revolution – Aurora Vehicle Association, a non-profit group based in Melbourne.
Team Arrow – A Queensland collective of tech professionals, engineers, technicians, designers, mechanics and students.
Solace Solar Car – University of Western Sydney.
Sunswift – University of New South Wales Solar Racing Team.
Solar Spirit – TAFE SA
Late last month, Bridgestone announced it had stepped up to the plate to become the title sponsor of the World Solar Challenge 2013.
“Bridgestone has a global commitment to continually working toward a sustainable society and the Bridgestone World Solar Car Challenge 2013 is a natural extension of this as it encourages and promotes investment and innovation in solar technology,” said Andrew Moffatt, Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand Managing Director.
The competition will consist of three classes; the ‘Adventure Class’ for cars that have participated in previous events, a ‘Cruiser Class’ for vehicles designed for practicality and the ‘Challenger Class’, which is focused on the fastest overall time.
Cars are allowed a nominal 5 kilowatt-hours of stored energy, with the rest needing to be sourced from the sun or recovered from the kinetic energy of the vehicle.
The World Solar Challenge was originally inspired by Hans Tholstrup; who in 1982 drove his home-built solar car Quiet Achiever from the west coast of Australia to the eastern seaboard. Mr. Tholstrup completed the 4,052 km journey between Sydney and Perth in 20 days.
