Major forest fire hinders solar race participants on first day

Participants of the World Solar Challenge, the world championship in solar energy racing, had to deal with a large forest fire along the course on the first official day of racing. However, the race did not have to be interrupted on Sunday.

"It was very intense to witness it up close," said Ben Onland, driver of the Delft car. He speaks of an impressive experience: "We often see smoke on the road, but now it was quite a lot. We could see the smoke from several kilometers away. As a result, my visibility was getting worse. In the distance, I suddenly saw real flames as well."

Reigning world champion Belgium was in the lead after the first stage of 632 kilometers, followed by the car of the student team from Delft. In third place, the car from the University of Twente arrived in the stage town of Dunmarra.

The 3,000-kilometer World Solar Challenge runs from Darwin in northern Australia to Adelaide in the south. Student teams from around the world compete with homemade solar cars to promote the development of solar energy technology and sustainable mobility.

The competition takes place every two years in Australia. This year, 30 teams are taking part, including three student teams from Delft, Enschede, and Groningen. Bringing the "world champion title" back to the Netherlands is the goal of the Dutch student teams.

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