The University of KwaZulu-Natal passed the chequered flag as the top placed South African team in the 2012 Sasol Solar Challenge, which started on the 18th and finished on the 28th of September.
The race got underway from the CSIR buildings in Pretoria on 18 September and saw 13 teams compete in an epic 11 day, 5400 km journey around South Africa for the honour of being crowned the best solar-powered vehicle in the land.
South African teams were put forward by Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, North West University, German School Johannesburg, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Tshwane University of Technology, three teams from University of Johannesburg and two teams from University of the Witwatersrand.
On the international front, teams included Tokai University and Kenjiro Shinozuka from Japan, and Delhi University from India.
From Pretoria, the cars made their way through the North West and Northern Cape provinces on their way to an Open Day at Cape Town’s Canal Walk Shopping Centre, before turning back for home via Oudtshoorn, Port Elizabeth, East London, Bloemfontein, Harrismith, Pietermaritzburg and Secunda.
Records fell as North West University covered the furthest distance in the Olympia Class with 1087,2 km on the clock, while the University of KwaZulu-Natal gave the best showing from a South African team in the converted challenge class, covering 1930,9 km. World champions, Tokai University, were the overall winners with their Japanese counterparts Shinozuka coming in a close second.
The team from the North West University and the University of Johannesburg Hybrid team were the stars in their categories as both won in their respective classes, while the team from the University of KwaZulu-Natal were second in their class behind the more experienced championship winning team from Tokai.
Given that the majority of the South African teams comprised undergraduate students, hopefully more of the local teams will be able to mount a challenge against the Japanese sides in the next race in 2014.
According to race organiser Winstone Jordaan: “The event this year was an all-round success. In the beginning, many of our local teams were a little overwhelmed by the whole occasion but we were happy that, as the challenge progressed, they came into their stride.
“Our international competitors found that this was a very challenging race and one that was very unique to what they were used to on other races. The numerous stop and go’s on the challenging roads and conditions ensured that the race remained entertaining for the full 11 days,” he said.
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