Day seven of the Sasol Solar Challenge started in Jeffery’s Bay this morning, a town that is powered by wind energy. At 07:00, residents were already at the start-line venue watching the teams at they were getting ready – charging their cars, while others were pushing them to the starting point.
“One of the key focuses of the Sasol Solar Challenge is to promote the use of renewable energy in South Africa and globally. We are thrilled to start day seven of the event in a town which values aligns with those of the event, said Robert Walker, Owner and Director of the Sasol Solar Challenge. “As conversations on renewable energy continues to gain momentum, we do believe that we will start to see many towns adopting the renewable energy concept.”
Town officials including the traffic department, were also at the start line, ensuring that the event was running smoothly. One town official waved the flag at the start-line as the teams were departing the venue.
Sean Williams, Superintendent at the Traffic Department: Kouga Municipality said: “I have seen these cars on the television and they caught my attention. It was great to see them live today, and I’m honoured for the opportunity to wave them off the start-line.”
He added that: “I had a chat with some of the teams, and it was great to hear about the technology that they are using in building the solar cars. It would have been great to have lots of young people here to come and learn from these teams and perhaps get an inspiration to pursue careers in the fields of science and technology.”
The solar cars have travelled roughly 1,800 kilometres from Johannesburg, and are currently in Knysna and will finish off day seven of eight in Riversdale. The event marshalls have been keeping the teams safe throughout the seven days as they travel on public roads, sharing a space with other vehicles including trucks.
Stanley Paton, Head Marshall from Think Bike said: “Escorting the teams from Johannesburg has been a good experience. All the daily start and finish lines are well organised, on the road the teams obey all instructions from the marshalls, we are like the traffic officers on the road. Our main purpose is to keep them safe, and so far, they have been doing very well and we haven’t had any incidences.”
DHL Global Forwarding, the official logistics and freight sponsor of the Sasol Solar Challenge has been of great assistance in transporting the event materials to each town and helping in building the daily start and finish lines.
The community of Riversdale can today look forward to the Sasol Solar Challenge. Solar cars will start arriving at Laerskool Volschenk from 15:00.
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: