World challenge race from Darwin to Adelaide city marries cars with the latest in solar technology

The Dutch team celebrates another Darwin-Adelaide World Solar Challenge win in 2017 in Victoria Square.
 

Adelaide grabs international attention every two years for a car race chasing the sun. The World Solar Challenge for solar-powered cars covers 3,022 km from Darwin to Adelaide. 

The race attracts teams from around the world, most from universities and corporations. In 2015, 43 teams from 23 countries competed to come up with the most innovative solar-powered design.

Apart from two events, the Dutch have won every World Solar Challenge since 2001.

Rule changes for the next World Solar Challenge will make the car race the toughest yet.

In 2017, a new trial stage for cruiser-class solar cars was introduced with a significant cut in the allowable area for solar panels on all race vehicles.

Efficient balancing of power resources and power consumption is the key to success during the race. At any moment , the optimal driving speed depends on the weather forecast and the remaining capacity of the batteries.

The idea for the event originates from Danish-born adventurer Hans Tholstrup who was the first to circumnavigate the Australian continent in a 4.9m open boat. Later, he became involved in competitions with fuel saving cars and trucks.

In the 1980s, he designed the world's first solar car, The Quiet Achiever, and traversed the 4,052 km between Sydney and Perth in 20 days. That was the precursor of the World Solar Challenge. After the fourth race, he sold the rights to the state of South Australia and Chris Selwood took over leadership of the race.