World Solar Challenge is under way!
I haven't had much time to put a lot of detail here, but photos are being uploaded to Facebook, with a few comments.
The race started at 8:30 this morning, with 37 cars qualified and ready to go, almost.
Twente started in pole position, after really pushing in on the track, riding 2 wheels around the hairpin!
One front wheel, and one back wheel in the air (to reduce rolling resistance :0)
The WSC website is much better this year, with live car loations! Check out
So many good cars this year. Tokai, Aurora, Michigan, Nuna, Umicore, SkyAce 5, Sunswift.
Here's my pick, but it will be very close:
1. Michigan
2. Nuna
3. Tokai
4. Aurora
5. Umicore
All these cars are around 150kg.
I rate Michigan #1 since they have done so much testing, and have a very clean and refined car. The actually built two cars, the second being a refinement of the first, and raced the two cars against each other. They are fairly friendly this year too. Their race car has gocherman lamination.
Nuna look good, gocherman lamination, cells cut small for high voltage and best fit. They have done a lot of work around the wheels with tight wheel covers, front and rear fairing which moves with the wheel inside the bigger spats and are only a few mm above the ground. They have stretchy material between the fixed outer spates and the inner wheel covers. Very clean. Still, I think Michigan have more experience with poor weather and strategy, which may prove decisive.
Tokai are a professional team, but I'm not so sure about their array, which has top side metalisation, but the cells are meant to be good. Tokai have rear wheel steering for tight corners, and for crabbing.
I would rate Aurora higher, but the seem to lack the passion to win this year, without David. Still if they get their mojo back they could do better. It's still a very clean and light car, and they have 24 years solar car experience, and very good and well refined strategy. Aurora won 1999 with the bad weather that year.
Umicore are the only competitive car with GaAs, 3m2, 35%, (confirmed by Hanns Gocherman himself!) That's not enough in itself, but they have concerntrators, very nice ones too. They will work well with direct sunlight but with bad weather forecasts, I don't think it will be enough.
Unfortunately Sunswift don't have the good tyres, and all the teams I've spoken to who have tested the tyres say it makes a huge difference, as much as 200 watts! I don't think their brush skirts on the rear will do them any favours either - I hope they take these off at some point.
I don't know much about SkyAce 5, the successor to Tiga. More of a track car, but still very competitive. Not as clean as the others - custom Mitsuba motor.
Stanford will be one to watch. So many innovations, the skirt, crabbing, 3 wheel steering, i-phone lamination, even to top is hinged about 1/3 from the front. Still, they are a bit heavy, and dont have the best tyres, but they should be up there.
MIT are much more budget this year, but they should be a solid mid field car.
Twente were fast on the track. They are very aurora looking, but probably not as well refined or experienced. Should still do well.
Bochum had trouble on the starting grid, but got their motor controller under control and got away at the end of the field.
The Koreans has tyre trouble on the grid, and tried to replace the tyre, but could not get the bead to seat with a hand pump. They eventually went off to a service station to pump up the tyre. They have not spare wheels, and their compressor was packed away. But they should get away eventually. Good luck!
The Indian team's solar car was all ready to race, but their support cars did not turn up! Problems at the hire car place I gather. They should get that sorted, then they will be on their way.
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