In friendly competition with others attempting the same goals, the teams depart Darwin aiming to be the first to arrive in Adelaide, some 3000km to the south.
It’s all about energy management! Based on the original notion that a 1000W car would complete the journey in 50 hours, solar cars are allowed a nominal 5kW hours of stored energy, which is 10% of that theoretical figure. All other energy must come from the sun or be recovered from the kinetic energy of the vehicle.
These are arguably the most efficient electric vehicles.
Having made the journey to Darwin by successfully navigating quarantine, customs, scrutineering, safety inspections and undertaken event briefings, participants are ready to start their epic journey.
Once the teams have left Darwin they must travel as far as they can until 5pm in the afternoon where they make camp in the desert where-ever they happen to be. All teams must be fully self-sufficient and for all concerned it is a great adventure – many say the adventure of a lifetime.
The Challenger class is conducted in a single stage from Darwin to Adelaide.
The Cruiser Class is conducted as a regularity trial.
The Adventure Class is a non-competitive class which provides opportunity for cars built for previous events.
During the journey there are 7 mandatory check points where observers are changed and team managers may update themselves with the latest information on the weather and their own position in the field. Here teams may perform the most basic of maintenance only – checking and maintenance of tyre pressure and cleaning of debris from the vehicle.
There are also undisclosed check points which may be imposed by the event officials to ensure regulatory compliance.
How many times has your team participated in the event?
3
What is the design philosophy behind your solar car?
We would like to make it as the prototype for family car. Therefore, we design it to be a 3-seated car. Moreover, we would like our car to be hybrid where the user can take out the solar panels to make it an electric vehicle or keep the solar panels in place to make it 100% a solar vehicle.
What is unique about your solar car?
The uniqueness of this car is small, but efficient, which is suitable for busy cities like Bangkok, Thailand where we come from.
Why does your team value participating in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge?
Siam Technology Motor Sport is the first team and only team from Thailand participating in this event. We would like Thai people to see and believe that solar cars are possible and we want them to give importance to these technologies.
What is the one thing your team is looking forward to when you visit Australia?
New friends from other countries, as well as new experiences every time we visit.
cr:https://www.worldsolarchallenge.org/about_wsc/overview