Hans
was determined to build on these developments and continue to drive on
the strength of sunshine. With man's first walk on the moon still fresh
in people's memory, the time was ripe for solar invention. He felt that
a race was the answer and thus the energy R&D event, the World Solar
Challenge, was born.
The
first World Solar Challenge was staged in 1987, with a field of 23
fantastic cars led by the GM Sunraycer which completed the trip with an
average speed of 67km/h. The cars in 1990 were a great improvement
on 1987. Many competitors returned with the strength of experience, and
new entries had another three years of R&D to create and refine
their vehicles. The 1990 winner was the Biel team from a Swiss
Engineering School. The townsfolk of Biel were responsible for donating
one dollar each towards the success of the entry. With a school winning
such a prestigious event, the World Solar Challenge became known as
"Brain Sport".
1993
saw the 1987 GM Sunraycer record broken. Honda took the honours over
Biel, and travelled 803 kilometres in one day. Yet again the entire
field was impressive, and a sign of the event growing from strength to
strength.
The
goal of finishing the World Solar Challenge in four days was realised in
1996, when Honda repeated their performance with another stunning win,
and a record average speed of 89.76 km/h. For most other competitors
however, the race was far from over, with the remainder of the field
spread out over 1700 km of the Stuart Highway. Over the ensuing six days
a further 32 of the original 46 competitors would cross the finish line
to complete their epic 3000km journey.
Following
the 1996 event, Tholstrup sold up. The eventual winner of the bids was
the State of South Australia, who announced an event in 1998, however
many reasons lead to the "deferment" of the 1998 event, which
was eventually run in 1999 under the new leadership of Chris Selwood.
The 1999 event saw 43 teams from 14 countries traverse the continent,
and the Australian "Aurora" team won the event.
A
commitment to support the International Solar Energy Society World
Congress in 2001 saw the event restaged once more, with new records set.
2001 also saw the introduction of the "Demonstration Class"
which was designed to showcase vehicles exhibiting practical technology
that has evolved from the World Solar Challenge.
An
in depth evaluation of the aims and outcomes of the event, together with
a survey of teams and stake holders showed the World Solar Challenge to
be the premier solar car event in the world, with a large majority
supporting a biennial program.
NORTH
AMERICA
