Sasol Solar Challenge set for September 13 start

Now in its sixteenth year, the Sasol Solar Challenge is set to start on September 13 in Secunda, in Mpumalanga, and wrap up at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on September 20.

The biennial race, which will include international teams from universities in Belgium and The Netherlands, for example, is viewed as one of the four major solar car challenges in the world.

There will also be various local teams competing at the event, with the number of entrants this year standing at 14.

The solar challenge is a distance race, with teams pushing their cars, powered only by the sun, to the limit in terms of how far they can go.

The eight days of racing will have short and longer loops available at the end point to offer teams the opportunity to rack up additional racing kilometres.

The event will traverse six provinces, with the minimum distance to complete the race around 2 500 km, but with winning teams typically accumulating around 4 500 km on their vehicles through the loop system.

Teams take between 16 to 18 months to build a solar car, says event director Rob Walker.

“The race is ultimately about the search for optimum efficiency.”

Walker says highly efficient solar cars are not slow, and are able to travel at around 80 km/h to 90 km/h.

This year the route will not shoot down through the heart of South Africa to the Eastern Cape and then on to Cape Town.

The 2024 race will instead go via the North West and Northern Cape down to Cape Town, which means teams will have to face the Kalahari Desert and Namakwaland.

As per usual, the race will include an extensive schools programme to introduce learners to the topics of science, technology, engineering and maths.

This year’s race sponsors include BMW, Toyota, Bidvest International Logistics, Ctrack and Bridgestone.