Day three of the Sasol Solar Challenge saw three of the top four solar car teams go head-to-head to cover the most kilometres as possible, doing this at the control-stop in Trompsburg. The three teams, Agoria Solar Team, Brunel Solar Team and Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Solar Team did several loops on a 79.6 km road, excluding the day distance of 193.1 km. Each loop required a five minute control-stop before completion.
“The 2022 Sasol Solar Challenge is very tight, and all the solar car teams are working hard to be crowned champions of this year’s event,” said Robert Walker, Owner and Director of the Sasol Solar Challenge. “What the teams are doing this year is a real demonstration of the power of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We hope to see more of their innovations as the event continues.”
The loop distance for day three was the longest as compared to day two and one. Day one had a loop with a distance of 49.8 km, while day two’s loop distances were 9.29 km for the shorter loop and 21.3 km for the longer loop.
TUT Solar Team managed to do two loops today. “Our plan was to do two loops today and we are glad that we achieved that,” said TUT team managers. “The road was good, and we really enjoyed the drive from Trompsburg to Gariep. However, the loop in Trompsburg was very challenging with potholes, but we managed to navigate without many issues.”
What we learned today from doing the two loops, is that we can increase our car’s steering ratio at high speeds as this makes our car less sensitive on the motorway, ensuring drivers are more relaxed at top speeds.”
Meanwhile, Agoria Solar Team said: “We did great today, we managed to do five loops despite the challenging road surfaces for our solar car. We drove through potholes and this was the most challenging thing for our drivers, but we are excited that we were able to cover as many kilometres as possible,” said Pieter April, team manager.
Brunel Solar Team also couldn’t back down, the team accepted the challenge and went on to do four loops. “We found the road to be quite challenging today. However, our lead and chase vehicles scouted the route first and prepared us accordingly – making it easier for the drivers to navigate the road,” said Lucas Frantzen, team spokesperson.
Day three of eight of the Sasol Solar Challenge started in Bloemfontein and finished in Gariep (Forever Resort). Day four will start at the same venue on 12 September. Solar cars will start departing the venue from 08:00 until 08:30.
Day three results are as follows:
Challenger Class
- Agoria Solar Team – 591.1 km
- Brunel Solar Team – 511.5 km
- TUT Solar Team – 352.3 km
- NWU Solar Car Team – 193.1 km
- Genuine JV Solar Car Team – 136.1 km* (car trailered)
- University of the Free State Solar Team – 79 km* (car trailered)
- SolarFlair – 94.4 km* (car trailered)
Cruiser Class
- UniChamps Solar Car Team – 11 km
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: