BWSC 2023

It’s still early days, but here is a list of 41 cars (from 20 countries; 28 Challengers and 13 Cruisers) likely to attend the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in October this year. There are some familar names as well as some newcomers (aCentauri from Switzerland, Nottingham from the United Kingdom, Ascend from Australia, Solaride from Estonia, DCU from Ireland, SNU from Korea, and AgniRath from India). Check out the new design by JU!

This list is a work in progress, and team numbers are mostly guesswork.

See this page and this blog tag for my past coverage of the event, and the official race social media at        (click on the icons).

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2    University of Michigan Solar Car Team 

Challenger (new car) – I expect them to reveal their car in July.

Previously, Michigan came 9^th at WSC 13; came 4^th at WSC 15; came 2^nd at WSC 17; came 3^rd at WSC 19; won ASC 14; won ASC 16; came 2^nd at ASC 18; and won Abu Dhabi 15. Their team number (2) is a long-standing tradition.

 
Left: credit / Right: Anthony Dekker (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)

3    Brunel Solar Team (Delft) 

Challenger (new car: Nuna12) – they are building their 12^th car for the 2023 World Solar Challenge.

Previously, Delft won WSC 13; won WSC 15; won WSC 17; came 12^th at WSC 19; won SASOL 14; won SASOL 16; won SASOL 18; won SASOL 22; and came 3^rd at SCM 21. Their team number (3) is a long-standing tradition.

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)

4    Antakari Solar Team 

Challenger (new car: Intikallpa VI) – they will reveal their car in August.

Previously, Antakari participated in the WSC 13 Adventure class; came 10^th at WSC 17; and came 7^th at WSC 19.

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)

6    Top Dutch Solar Racing 

Challenger (Green Lightning) – I am not sure if they are bringing a new car or an existing one.

Previously, Top Dutch came 4^th at WSC 19; came 3^rd at iESC 20; came 5^th at iESC 22; and came 4^th at SCM 21.

 
Left: Anthony Dekker / Right: credit (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)

7    Adelaide University Solar Racing Team 

Asymmetric challenger (Lumen II) – they will be restoring and improving Lumen II for this event.

Previously, Adelaide came 21^st at WSC 15; participated at WSC 17; and came 16^th at WSC 19.

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom)

8    Innoptus Solar Team / KU Leuven 

Challenger (new car) – they have a new name and a new sponsor, and are building a new car (their 10^th).

Previously, Innoptus came 6^th at WSC 13; came 5^th at WSC 15; came 3^rd at WSC 17; won WSC 19; came 3^rd at Abu Dhabi 15; came 2^nd at SASOL 22; came 2^nd at iESC 16; came 6^th at iESC 18; came 1^st and 6^th at iESC 20; won iESC 21; came 6^th at iESC 22; won Carrera Solar Atacama 18; and came 2^nd at SCM 21. Their team number (8) is a long-standing tradition.

 
Left: Anthony Dekker / Right: credit (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)

10    Tokai University 

Monohull challenger (new car: Tokai Challenger) – I am not sure what their plans are, exactly.

Previously, Tokai came 2^nd at WSC 13; came 3^rd at WSC 15; came 4^th at WSC 17; came 2^nd at WSC 19; came 7^th at Abu Dhabi 15; came 2^nd at SASOL 16; and came 2^nd at SASOL 18.

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)

12    Cambridge University Eco Racing 

Four-seat cruiser (Helia) – they are hoping to take their cruiser back to Australia.

Previously, Cambridge came 22^nd at WSC 15; participated in the WSC 19 Cruiser class; and came 10^th at iESC 16.

 
Left: Nigel / Right: credit (click images to zoom)

14    Flinders University 

Two-seat cruiser (new car: Investigator IV) – their new car looks like a Cybertruck.

Previously, Flinders participated in the WSC 17 Cruiser class and participated in the WSC 19 Cruiser class.

picture credit (click image to zoom)

15    Western Sydney Solar Team 

Challenger (new car) – I understand that they are building a new car of some kind.

Previously, WS came 11^th at WSC 13; came 10^th at WSC 15; came 6^th at WSC 17; came 20^th at WSC 19; and won ASC 18.

 
Left: Anthony Dekker / Right: Anthony Dekker (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)

18    EcoPhoton Solar Car Team (UiTM) 

Challenger (new car) – I am not sure what their plans are, exactly.

Previously, EcoPhoton came 26^th at WSC 15; participated at WSC 17; and participated at WSC 19.

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)

20    Durham University Solar Car 

Challenger (new car) – I am not sure what their plans are, exactly.

Previously, DU Solar came 27^th at WSC 15; participated at WSC 17; and came 14^th at WSC 19.

 
Left: Anthony Dekker / Right: credit (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)

21    Solar Team Twente 

Three-wheel (tadpole) monohull challenger (new car: Red X) – the 2023 World Solar Challenge will see their 10^th car. The design was revealed on March 9. It is the second three-wheeler after RED E.

Previously, Twente came 3^rd at WSC 13; came 2^nd at WSC 15; came 5^th at WSC 17; came 17^th at WSC 19; won iESC 16; came 1^st and 2^nd at iESC 18; came 2^nd and 4^th at iESC 20; came 3^rd at iESC 21; came 3^rd and equal 8^th at iESC 22; and won SCM 21. Their team number (21) is a pun and a wish for success in the race (“Twente-One”).

 
Left: Anthony Dekker / Right: credit (click images to zoom)

22    Illini (University of Illinois) 

Monohull challenger (Brizo) – I am not sure if they are coming to Australia with Brizo, or if they will finish their new Project C before the event.

Previously, Illini participated in the WSC 17 Adventure class; came 7^th at ASC 18; came 4^th at FSGP 19; came 4^th at ASC 21; and came 6^th at ASC 22. Their team number (22) is a tradition since 1995.

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom)

23    Halmstad University Solar Team 

Three-wheel challenger (new car: Heart 4) – In 2021 they revealed a three-fairing car.

Previously, HUST participated at WSC 19 and participated at Swedish Solar Race 21.

 
Left: credit / Right: JU Solar Team (click images to zoom)

30    Team Arrow 

Cruiser – they plan to be at the event, but I am not sure which vehicle they will race.

Previously, Arrow came 7^th at WSC 13; came 8^th at WSC 15; came 3^rd in the WSC 17 Cruiser class; participated in the WSC 19 Adventure class; came 5^th at Abu Dhabi 15; and came 8^th at iESC 18. Their team number (30) is the average age of people on the original team.

picture credit (click image to zoom – OLD PIC)

34    Istanbul Technical University (ITU) 

Challenger (Ariba ZES X) – this car has replaced their older B.O.W. It toured Turkey in 2022.

Previously, ITU came 17^th at WSC 13; participated at WSC 17; came 7^th at iESC 16; came 7^th at iESC 20; came 8^th at iESC 21; and came 4^th at iESC 22. Their team number (34) is the vehicle license plate prefix for Istanbul.

 
Left: Anthony Dekker / Right: credit (click images to zoom)

35    University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project 

Four-seat cruiser (Freya) – they are America’s Cruiser class pioneers. I understand that they are returning with Freya.

Previously, Minnesota came 4^th in the WSC 13 Cruiser class; came 5^th in the WSC 15 Cruiser class; participated in the WSC 17 Cruiser class; came 5^th in the WSC 19 Cruiser class; came 2^nd at ASC 14; came equal 10^th at ASC 16; came equal 2^nd in the ASC 18 Cruiser class; came 2^nd in the ASC 21 Cruiser class; and won the ASC 22 Cruiser class. Their team number (35) is derived from the Interstate 35 highway.

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom)

40    Solar Team Eindhoven 

Four-seat cruiser (new car: Stella Terra) – their focus for 2021 was a Self-sustaining House On Wheels (Stella Vita). This year they are building an off-road vehicle. I am not sure if that is actually intended to compete in the Cruiser class.

Previously, Eindhoven won the WSC 13 Cruiser class; won the WSC 15 Cruiser class; won the WSC 17 Cruiser class; won the WSC 19 Cruiser class; came 7^th in the iESC 18 Cruiser class; came 1^st and 2^nd in the iESC 20 Cruiser class; and came 3^rd in the iESC 22 Cruiser class. Their team number (40) is the Eindhoven telephone area code.

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom)

41    Australian National University 

Three-wheel (tadpole) challenger (new car: Solar Car 3) – they have a hot new car.

Previously, ANU participated at WSC 17 and participated at WSC 19.

picture credit (click image to zoom)

45    Lodz Solar Team 

Four-seat cruiser (Eagle Two) – this car is still going strong.

Previously, Lodz participated in the WSC 15 Cruiser class; participated in the WSC 17 Cruiser class; participated in the WSC 19 Cruiser class; came 5^th at SASOL 16; won the iESC 18 Cruiser class; came 2^nd in the iESC 21 Cruiser class; and won the iESC 22 Cruiser class. Their team number (45) is a tradition since 2015.

 
Left: Anthony Dekker / Right: credit (click images to zoom)

46    JU Solar Team 

Three-wheel (tadpole) monohull challenger (new car: Axelight) – they have abandoned the catamaran approach, revealing revealed their new monohull on 22 March.

Previously, JU came 20^th at WSC 13; came 15^th at WSC 15; came 8^th at WSC 17; and came 10^th at WSC 19. Their team number (46) is the Swedish national telephone prefix.

 
Left: Anthony Dekker / Right: credit (click images to zoom)

47    Nagoya Institute of Technology Solar Racing 

Challenger (new car) – I am not sure what their plans are, exactly.

Previously, NITech came 16^th at WSC 15; came 12^th at WSC 17; and came 8^th at WSC 19.

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)

49    Siam Technical College 

Cruiser (new car: STC-4) – I am not sure what their plans are, exactly.

Previously, STC came 28^th at WSC 15; participated in the WSC 17 Cruiser class; and participated in the WSC 19 Cruiser class.

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)

51    Chalmers Solar Team 

Challenger (new car) – they are building a new vehicle to replace their elegant bullet car.

Previously, Chalmers came 21^st at WSC 19; came 5^th at iESC 21; came 7^th at iESC 22; participated at Swedish Solar Race 21; and came 6^th at SCM 21.

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)

66    Sakarya University (SAITEM) 

Three-wheel (tadpole) monohull challenger – after racing in 2009 and 2011, they plan to return to the WSC in 2023. As with other teams they have abandoned the catamaran concept for a bullet car which they hope has higher aerodynamic efficiency.

picture credit (click image to zoom)

70    Sonnenwagen Aachen 

Challenger (new car: Sonnenwagen 4) – they have begun building a new car, which they will reveal on 5 June.

Previously, Aachen participated at WSC 17; came 6^th at WSC 19; came 3^rd at iESC 18; came 5^th and 8^th at iESC 20; came 2^nd and 6^th at iESC 21; came 1^st and 2^nd at iESC 22; won ISC 22; and came 5^th at SCM 21. Their team number (70) is the number they raced with in 2017.

 
Left: Anthony Dekker / Right: credit (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)

75    Sunswift (University of New South Wales) 

Cruiser (new car: Sunswift 7) – they revealed their new car in 2021 and achieved a world record for fastest EV over 1000km on a single charge, doing so in under 12 hours.

Previously, Sunswift came 3^rd in the WSC 13 Cruiser class; came 4^th in the WSC 15 Cruiser class; participated in the WSC 17 Cruiser class; and came 2^nd in the WSC 19 Cruiser class.

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom)

77    Blue Sky Solar Racing (Toronto) 

Monohull challenger (new car: Borealis) – they revealed Borealis in 2022.

Previously, Blue Sky came 8^th at WSC 13; came 12^th at WSC 15; came 11^th at WSC 17; came 11^th at WSC 19; and came 3^rd at ASC 16.

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom)

81    Solar Team Solaris (Dokuz Eylül University) 

Challenger (S11) – they have replaced their old catamaran with a bullet car, which they will be racing again, I believe.

Previously, Solaris participated in the WSC 13 Adventure class; came 25^th at WSC 15; came 18^th at WSC 19; came 9^th at iESC 16; came 7^th at iESC 21; came equal 8^th at iESC 22; came 3^rd at ISC 22; came 2^nd at Albi Eco 18; and came 2^nd at MSRC 19.

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom)

85    aCentauri Solar Racing (ETHZ) 

Three-wheel (tadpole) monohull challenger (new team) – this is the second Swiss team, made up mostly of students from ETH Zurich. They have benefited from the advice of SER, the other Swiss team. Their team number (85) is commemorates the world’s oldest solar car race, the Tour de Sol, which first took place in Switzerland in 1985.

picture credit (click image to zoom)

88    Kogakuin Solar Team 

Challenger (new car) – I am not sure what their plans are, exactly.

Previously, Kogakuin came 14^th at WSC 13; came 2^nd in the WSC 15 Cruiser class; came 7^th at WSC 17; and came 5^th at WSC 19. Their team number (88) is multi-faceted (88 is a lucky number in Japanese kanji; 4 wheels looks like 88; and the team garage is in Hachioji city, with “hachi” meaning “eight”).

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)

98    ATN Solar Car Team 

Two-seat cruiser (Priscilla) – I am not sure what their plans are, exactly.

Previously, ATN participated in the WSC 19 Cruiser class.

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)

101    Éclipse – Véhicule solaire de l’ÉTS  

Asymmetric challenger (new car: Eclipse XI) – they raced in Australia in 2019 as number 92, finishing 2^nd among North American teams. They revealed their new car in February.

Previously, Eclipse came 18^th at WSC 13; came 9^th at WSC 19; came 10^th at ASC 14; came 8^th at ASC 16; came 4^th at FSGP 17; came 3^rd at ASC 18; and came 5^th at ASC 22.

 
Left: credit / Right: credit (click images to zoom)

230    University of Nottingham Solar Racing Team 

Cruiser (new team) – their rather radical approach is to modify a Renault Twizy to have solar panels, improved electrics, and second life Nissan Leaf batteries.

photo: UoN team (click image to zoom)

333    Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember 

Cruiser (new car) – I am not sure what their plans are, exactly.

Previously, ITS came 21^st at WSC 13 and participated in the WSC 15 Cruiser class.

photo: Anthony Dekker (click image to zoom – OLD PIC)

994    Deakin University / ACCIONA (Ascend) 

Two-seat cruiser (new team with car: Ascend) – this new Australian team has a nice-looking Cruiser.

picture credit (click image to zoom)

995    Solaride 

Two-seat cruiser (new team) – this new team from Estonia has built a good-looking Cruiser. They are based in the city of Tartu.

Previously, Solaride participated in the SCM 21 Adventure class.

picture credit (click image to zoom)

996    DCU Solar Racing (Dublin City University) 

Monohull challenger (new team) – I am not sure what their plans are, exactly.

picture credit (click image to zoom)

998    Seoul National University (SNU SOLO) 

Three-wheel (tadpole) monohull challenger (new team) – this is a new team.

picture credit (click image to zoom)

999    AgniRath (IIT Madras) 

Three-wheel (tadpole) monohull challenger (new team) – this is a new team from IIT Madras.

public domain photo

This page last updated 13:52 on 24 March 2023 AEDT.

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Australian slang

The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge will be held next October. Here is a taste of Australian slang for any Americans participating:

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Race the Sun: where are they now?

The 1996 movie Race the Sun is almost sacred in the solar car racing community. It fictionalises the true story of a Hawaiian high school team racing in the World Solar Challenge in Australia. But where is the cast now?

Teachers

• Halle Berry (Sandra Beecher): became a major star, playing Storm in X-Men, Ginger Knowles in Swordfish, and many other roles.
• Jim Belushi (Frank Machi): already well known in 1996, he has acted in multiple later films, such as The Ghost Writer.

Left: Halle Berry at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con (cropped from a photo by Gage Skidmore); Centre: Pritzker School of Medicine in Chicago, where Sara Tanaka did her initial medical training; Right: Casey Affleck in 2016 (cropped from a photo by Bex Walton)

Solar Car Race Team

• Casey Affleck (Daniel Webster): has acted in multiple films. For his role in Manchester by the Sea, he won several awards.
• Eliza Dushku (Cindy Johnson): continued on to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and various film and TV work. In later years, she became politically active.
• Anthony Ruivivar (Eduardo Braz): has acted in various films and has frequently played policemen on television.
• Sara Tanaka (Uni Kakamura): graduated in Medicine from the University of Chicago in 2008, and then specialised in cardiology. She now practices, I believe, in New York.
• Dion Basco (Marco Quito): had a few other acting roles.
• J. Moki Cho (Gilbert Tutu): became a musician, and is on Instagram and on YouTube.
• Nadja Pionilla (Oni Nagano): had a few other acting roles, and is on Twitter.
• Adriane Napualani Uganiza (Luana Kanahele): I don’t know what happened to her.

Other Characters

• Steve Zahn (Hans Kooiman): various film and TV work, including a role as an ape in War for the Planet of the Apes (2017).
• Joel Edgerton (Steve Fryman): acted in multiple films, including playing the young Owen Lars in several Star Wars films.
• Kevin Tighe (Jack Fryman): acted in film and television, as well as on stage.
• Bill Hunter (Commissioner Hawkes): after acting in numerous films, he died in 2011.
• Jeff Truman (Ed Webster): after a career of acting and writing, he died in 2014.

With the obvious exceptions, I would like to see one of these people at the start (or finish) of a major solar car race.

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Solar racing basics revisited

Last year I blogged this poster of solar racing basics. Things have changed slightly, but I think it might still be useful for new teams. Here are the 10 posts explaining it:

1. Classes
2. Aerodynamics
3. Electrics
4. Chassis
5. Mechanics
6. Race Strategy
7. Logistics
8. Sponsorship
9. Media
10. Map for the BWSC

Click to zoom / Image credits: Agoria Solar Team (wind tunnel), American Solar Challenge (chassis), Solar Team Eindhoven (Cruiser car), mostdece.blogspot.com (battery & motor), Brunel Solar Team (race strategy), public domain (lower right 3), Anthony Dekker (remaining 7).

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Solar Car META-Teams

In this post, I want to distinguish solar car teams from what I’m calling “meta-teams.” The core team is made up of the students who build and race the car, including the sponsorship, media, and logistics sub-teams. The meta-team is everybody else.

The team from Delft celebrating their 2017 WSC win in the fountain (photo: Anthony Dekker)

Alumni

The most important part of the meta-team may be the team alumni. These former members of the team have valuable experience, and often retain a strong interest in the ongoing team. Indeed, in some cases, “you can’t chase them off with a stick” (to quote one of the Dutch teams). Tapping into alumni expertise is especially important in the Dutch model, where each race cycle starts with a brand-new team of novices.

Many solar car teams would probably benefit from improved alumni relations – things like a database of alumni contact details, or regular social events with alumni.

Recruitment Panels

The Dutch model of solar car teams also includes a formal recruitment process for the new team. The recruitment panel includes alumni, but it may also contain professional HR staff brought in for the occasion.

Hands-On Sponsors

Solar car teams all rely on sponsorship, but some sponsors are more hands-on than others. In-kind sponsors offering a product or service may also provide training in using that product or service, and this can be extremely valuable.

Sponsors may also provide business help. In 2017, the team from Delft had their battery pack stranded in Singapore; the airline refused to carry it further. This could have been a catastrophe, but they reached out to their major sponsor, who was able to help them negotiate a solution involving road transport to another city, and a flight with another airline.

An artist’s view of Delft’s 2017 emergency battery flight (photo: Vattenfall Solar Team)

Faculty Advisors and University Support Staff

Faculty advisors are university staff who provide technical engineering advice. Some teams rely on them more than others, but the WSC’s requirement for a “certifying engineer” means that every team needs at least one.

Complementing the faculty advisors are university support staff who provide help with sponsorship, media, and logistics. The App State team lists university support staff and faculty advisors together on their website.

Coaches

Coaches accompany teams into the field, and assist with issues of team dynamics and morale. Dutch teams have especially benefited from having coaches.

The late Wubbo Ockels coached the team from Delft for several years (photo: Jorrit Lousberg); Erik is the coach for Top Dutch Solar Racing (photo: TDSR)

Photographers and Other Technical Specialists

Several teams will bring in a professional photographer for the race. These have included Jorrit Lousberg (Vattenfall/Delft), Hans-Peter van Velthoven (Vattenfall/Delft), Bart van Overbeeke (Eindhoven), and Jerome Wassenaar (Twente).

Other technical specialists are also sometimes brought in. In 2013, Solar Team Twente took along a weatherman from the Joint Meteorological Group of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. In 2015, the Belgian team took along a similar expert from the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (who also blogged his experiences).

Who is on your meta-team?

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Solar Racing Basics: Map

Finishing up the analysis of my Solar Racing Basics Poster (see this tag), the central portion of the poster shows the route of the World Solar Challenge (although there will be no WSC until 2023). The race traditionally starts in Darwin and finishes in Adelaide, with nine compulsory 30-minute control stops in Katherine, Daly Waters, Tennant Creek, Barrow Creek, Alice Springs, Kulgera, Coober Pedy, Glendambo, and Port Augusta (solid white dots on the map). There is also rest time between 17:00 and 8:00 each night.

To read more about the route, see this detailed post.

Click to zoom / Image credits: Agoria Solar Team (wind tunnel), American Solar Challenge (chassis), Solar Team Eindhoven (Cruiser car), mostdece.blogspot.com (battery & motor), Vattenfall Solar Team (race strategy), public domain (lower right 3), Anthony Dekker (remaining 7).

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Solar Racing Basics: Media

Click to zoom / Public domain image

Continuing the analysis of my Solar Racing Basics Poster (see this tag), documenting the construction and racing of the car is important for the sponsors, for the fans, and for the team itself. Teams that want good sponsorship need a good media subteam. Good media helps a team convince potential sponsors that they are legitimate, and can provide a quid pro quo to existing sponsors. Solar Team Twente from the Netherlands is an example of a team with good media. In particular, they have a website and six kinds of social media:  .

Often the media subteam includes a specialist photographer, such as Jorrit Lousberg (Vattenfall/Delft), Hans-Peter van Velthoven (Vattenfall/Delft), Bart van Overbeeke (Eindhoven), Jerome Wassenaar (Twente), or Joseph Xu (Michigan).

In addition, media subteams will often “place” stories in local newspapers. It’s big news in Springfield, population 24,000 (to pick an imaginary example), that a young man or woman from the town is off to race a solar car on the other side of the world. Equally, it’s big news for Dutch-language media in Australia, such as SBS, that Dutch solar car teams have arrived in the country (and ditto for Italian, Turkish, and several other languages).

Media can also act as damage limitation in a crisis. In 2017, the Persian Gazelle 4 car from the University of Tehran was heavily damaged in transit, and was unable to race, leaving the team with very little to show for all their hard work. In 2019, NunaX from Vattenfall/Delft Solar Team was totally destroyed by fire during the race, but the team could still point to the copious media of the car and say, with justified pride, “we built that”:  .

It is, of course, important that teams not make classic media errors, such as constantly changing social media “handles,” retiring social media channels without proper announcement, not keeping the website up to date, or posting embarrassing photographs that you wouldn’t want a potential sponsor to see.

To read more:

• World Solar Challenge: doing media right
• Media teams and the World Solar Challenge
• How to organize a car presentation? (from Solar Team Twente)

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Solar Racing Basics: Sponsorship

Click to zoom / Public domain image

Continuing the analysis of my Solar Racing Basics Poster (see this tag), the cost of logistics, and of building a car, mean that sponsorship is critical. There are three main kinds:

• Cash sponsorship from companies
• In-kind sponsorship (free or reduced-price products and services) from companies
• Crowdfunding (donations)

Major cash sponsors are often acknowledged in the name of the team, e.g. Vattenfall, Agoria, or Top Dutch (the latter is a marketing campaign for the three northern provinces of the Netherlands). Alternatively, major cash sponsors can be acknowledged in the name of the car, e.g. Covestro Sonnenwagen from Sonnenwagen Aachen, thyssenkrupp blue.cruiser from Bochum, or Unlimited (Western Sydney University motto) from Western Sydney Solar Team.

In-kind sponsors often appreciate positive media coverage of the product or service, or photographs of the product or service in use.

Crowdfunding can be particularly promising when a team effectively represents a nation, region, or state, e.g. Agoria (Belgium), EcoPhoton (Malaysia), STC (Thailand), Hyadi (Mexico), or Top Dutch (three northern provinces of the Netherlands).

 
Click to zoom / Image credits: Anthony Dekker (Agoria’s sponsor logos on the side of their car and Western Sydney’s Unlimited 3.0 painted in their university’s colour)

To read more, see these posts from from team Arrow:

• How to ask for sponsorship money – and get it! (Part 1 of 3)
• How to ask for sponsorship money – and get it! (Part 2 of 3)
• How to ask for sponsorship money – and get it! (Part 3 of 3)

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Solar Racing Basics: Logistics

Click to zoom / Public domain image

Even though the World SolarChallenge has been cancelled for 2021, I thought it worthwhile to continue the analysis of my Solar Racing Basics Poster (see this tag). There is an old military saying that “amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics.” The logistics of bringing a car and a team to Australia can be surprisingly difficult, and if you can’t do that, it really doesn’t matter how good the car is. Issues include:

• Complexities of international freight (especially when batteries are classed as “dangerous goods”)
• Australian customs and biosecurity regulations
• Tickets and visas for the team
• Covid-related regulations
• Renting equipment and support vehicles in Australia
• Having enough people legally permitted to drive in Australia (especially driving rental vehicles and trucks)
• Accomodation in Australia (including tents for the Outback during the race)
• Food in Australia (especially food in the Outback)
• Insurance (of various kinds)
• Other issues noted in the official Team Manager’s Guide

This comment from the Belgian team in 2017 highlights the complexity of just one issue:

“ ‘Voor mij is het de eerste keer dat ik voor zo een uitdaging sta,’ zegt logistiek manager Pieter Galle uit Leuven. ‘Het batterijpakket versturen is de grootste uitdaging voor het team. De batterijcellen die wij gebruiken zijn vaak niet toegelaten op vluchten. Om deze toch te kunnen versturen moeten er veel veiligheidsmaatregelen getroffen worden. Gelukkig heeft DHL Global Forwarding, in samenwerking met Deufol als verpakker van de goederen en batterijen alles tot in de puntjes kunnen regelen, zodat wij ons met het team volledig op het wereldkampioenschap konden concentreren.’ ”

(Translation: “ ‘It’s the first time I’ve faced a challenge like this,’ says logistics manager Pieter Galle from Leuven. ‘Transporting the battery pack was the biggest challenge for the team. The batteries we use are often forbidden on flights. To be able to send them, many safety measures need to be taken. Fortunately, DHL Global Forwarding, in cooperation with Deufol our packer, has managed all the details, making it possible for us to focus our attention on the world championship.’ ”)

To read more, see this post from Solar Team Twente and this 2016 solar car conference presentation.

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Solar Racing Basics: Race Strategy

Click to zoom / Image credit: Vattenfall/Nuon/Delft Solar Team

Continuing the analysis of my Solar Racing Basics Poster (see this tag), it’s important to remember that the “best” car doesn’t always win the race. The work of the strategy subteam in the “chase vehicle” is also critically important. During the race, this subteam constantly calculates the best speed for the conditions, taking into account weather, road conditions, and existing battery charge. This includes deciding where it is worth speeding up to avoid upcoming bad weather. Making the right decision can be critical – the chart below (click to zoom) summarises the Challenger Class of the 2017 World Solar Challenge:

Road distance in this chart is from left to right, and the vertical axis shows how fast teams are (higher is slower, and the faint dashed lines show specific speeds). Teams 15 (Western Sydney University) and 88 (Kogakuin) were keeping up with the leaders, but made what in hindsight was the wrong decision when bad weather loomed, losing 6 or 7 hours as a result. Making the right decision under these circumstances is very difficult, however, and relies on good weather prediction services (or, as some teams have done in the past, on taking a meteorologist along).

 
Click to zoom / Image credits: NASA (unsettled weather across central Australia, 2013) and Vattenfall/Nuon/Delft Solar Team (interior of their chase vehicle for the 2011 World Solar Challenge)

In the Cruiser class, race strategy also includes deciding how many passengers to carry (more points, but more weight), and how much to recharge from the grid at stage stops (more energy, but fewer points). That makes Cruiser strategy an even more difficult problem.

To read more, see this post on Challenger strategy which I wrote in 2018.

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