World Solar Challenge: Car race officially ends in Adelaide

The World Solar Challenge officially ends with a ceremony on Sunday in Adelaide, Australia. "The perfect conclusion," said organizers of the solar car race, "bringing everyone together to celebrate their achievements and reflect on the epic journey from Darwin to Adelaide."

From Darwin in northern Australia, the solar cars made their way to the southern city of Adelaide last Sunday. Three Dutch student teams from Twente, Delft, and Groningen participated. Solar Team Twente finished second on Thursday, 20 minutes behind the winning team from Leuven, Belgium. The team was in the lead from start to finish.

The students from Delft, the Brunel Solar Team, finished in third place. The student team from Groningen had to cover the last 60 kilometers on Friday. They eventually finished sixth.

The World Solar Challenge is considered the world championship in solar racing and is held every two years in Australia. For more than 30 years, the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge has invited inventors from around the world to Australia to test technological innovations and compete in races with vehicles powered only by solar energy, according to the organizers of the event.

The last Dutch victory dates back to 2017 when Delft crossed the finish line first. In 2019, Delft was heading for the overall victory when things went wrong in the last stage. With the finish line in sight, the car caught fire. Only the license plate and a few solar cells remained. With the license plate in hand, the team later symbolically crossed the finish line. Previously, Enschede had fallen into a leading position. The car was blown off the road by a gust of wind and landed upside down in the red sand of the Australian desert. The driver was unharmed. The victory four years ago went to a team from Leuven (Belgium). The previous edition, in 2021, was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.