Nine solar car teams which will be competing in the 2022 Sasol Solar Challenge have successfully completed the scrutineering process, which took place at Red Star Raceway from 4 until 7 September.
The scrutineering process was conducted in partnership with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and with the help of 12 volunteers from across the world. Solar cars were lined up at the scrutineering area in the early hours of Sunday, taking turns to each station. Three solar cars managed to successfully complete the first phase of scrutineering in day one, however, on Tuesday all teams had gone through the testing stations and were given the green light to proceed to the second phase of the process and subsequently the start-line on 9 September.
“Scrutineering is the most important part of the Sasol Solar Challenge, and the process is conducted in order to ensure that all competitive solar cars meet the requirements and all sporting regulations of the event to assure safety of the drivers as well as the spectators along the route,” said Robert Walker, Owner and Director of the Sasol Solar Challenge. “It’s great that all teams were successful and passed all the tests. We now look forward to travelling with them on the road during the eight-day long challenge.”
The teams will be travelling in five provinces across South Africa from 9 until 16 September – demonstrating the power of the sun and showcasing their engineering skills in 18 towns. The scrutineering process is divided into two categories; static scrutineering, which includes testing of mechanical, electrical and energy storage systems, these include testing of signage, body and sizing, driver operations, lights and vision, battery and safety. The other category is dynamic scrutineering, which tests the speed and stability of the solar cars.
“The CSIR team was involved in scrutineering the safety of the solar cars including electrical and battery safety tests. Our team included experts in battery, robotics and solar energy and their expertise was essential during the testing process. The teams we encountered during this process were talented and had various backgrounds locally and internationally. Overall, the scrutineering process was fun and exciting because we had the opportunity to apply our knowledge and provided technical advice on safety requirements on different Solar Cars,” said Tshiamo Segakweng, Researcher at CSIR.
Louis Smuts, Chief Scrutineer said: “The process was a great experience and a learning curve for everyone who was part of the scrutineering team. It was impressive to see what these teams can do by themselves, especially the new teams who will be competing for the first time in solar challenge. The cutting-edge technologies that they have developed shows how dedicated and passionate they are in their solar car projects. It’s great that they have all managed to do scrutineering and pass all the tests in each station.”
The 2022 Sasol Solar Challenge will incorporate special stages, which includes half and full blind stages, where information relating to the route will be withheld until the night before teams take on the road, forcing them to strategise last minute.
The 2022 route from Johannesburg to Cape Town will include five provinces and 18 towns. Communities in these provinces will be witnessing solar-powered cars moving through their streets on the eight-day long challenge for the first time in almost four years. The challenge has an almost brand-new route with new towns, roads and communities. This has been done to increase the impact which the event has on the communities which it passes through. New towns include Brakpan, Trompsburg, Willowmore, Kirkwood, Jeffreys Bay, Riversdale and Caledon.
Spectators are welcome at all stops, and more information on the route and the teams can be found at:
https://www.solarchallenge.org.za/ or on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SASolarChallenge/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sasolarchallenge/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Solar_Challenge
Sasol Solar Challenge App
For IOS system download here:
For Android system download here: