World Solar Challenge: Dutch solar cars start race through Australia

Students from Delft, Enschede, and Groningen will participate in the World Solar Challenge, a prestigious race for solar-powered cars in Australia, starting this weekend. Bringing the "world champion title" back to the Netherlands is the goal of the three student teams.

The World Solar Challenge starts in the city of Darwin in the far north of Australia. A technical inspection will take place there on Saturday. All participating cars will be tested for speed, stability, and braking power. Only approved vehicles are allowed to enter the race. The fastest car is allowed to leave Darwin first on Sunday morning (Saturday evening Dutch time).

However, the run-up was difficult as the car from Twente was damaged during a test run. In addition, another test day was lost due to a large forest fire.

From Darwin, the cars head south on Sunday, through the vast, barely inhabited, and dust-dry interior of Australia. The finish line is in the southern city of Adelaide. The winner is expected to arrive there in about a week.

The last Dutch victory, from Delft, was in 2017. 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.