Tokyo, 28 October, /AJMEDIA/
Tokai University’s solar car team crossed the finish line in Australia’s southern city of Adelaide on Friday in fifth place in the 3,000-kilometer World Solar Challenge endurance race.
Thirty-one teams from across the globe set out from the northern city of Darwin on Sunday, crossing the continent in the world’s top-class solar car race, with Belgium’s Innoptus and three other teams arriving in Adelaide on Thursday.
Innoptus, the reigning champion formerly known as Agoria, won the crown for a second time with its unique rotating and retractable fin design, which enhanced aerodynamics and helped to stabilize the car in tough, windy conditions.
The Tokai University team’s car was just over 1 km short of the finish line when competition time ended Thursday, crossing the line early Friday instead.
“We spent four years developing the solar car,” said team leader Ichiro Uto, a second-year graduate student. “I was confident that we had created a car that could win, but I realized once again how tough and harsh this race is.”
The team, which won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2011 and came second in the last race in 2019, said they used recycled materials this year with sustainability in mind, creating an ultra-light body with carbon fiber-reinforced plastic.
The World Solar Challenge is a biennial event, but the cancellation of the 2021 race due to the COVID-19 pandemic meant this year’s race was the first edition in four years.
A team from Tokyo-based Kogakuin University crossed the finish line later Friday. Another Japanese team, from Goko High School in Hiroshima Prefecture, is expected to reach Adelaide in the coming days.
A team from Wakayama University was among several who had to withdraw from the competition mid-race, as the cars faced harsh desert conditions that were at times windy and smoky.