World Solar Challenge

Bridgestone World Solar Challenge

World Solar Challenge
Venue	Stuart Highway
Location	Australia
Corporate sponsor	Bridgestone
First race	1987
Distance	3,022 km (1,878 mi)
Duration	4-7 days
Most wins (team)	Nuon (Challenger) Eindhoven (Cruiser)

3,000km route of World Solar Challenge.

Nuna 3 of seven time victors, Dutch Nuna team

The winner of 2009 Global Green Challenge, "Tokai Challenger", Japan Tokai University Solar Car Team

The World Solar Challenge (WSC), since 2013 named Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, ^[1] is an international event for solar powered cars driving 3000 kilometres through the Australian outback.

With the exception of a four-year gap between the 2019 and 2023 events, owing to the cancellation of the 2021 event, ^[2] the World Solar Challenge is typically held every two years. The course is over 3,022 kilometres (1,878 miles) through the Australian Outback, from Darwin, Northern Territory, to Adelaide, South Australia. The event was created to foster the development of solar-powered vehicles. ^[3]

The WSC attracts teams from around the world, most of which are fielded by universities or corporations, although some are fielded by high schools. It has a 32-year history spanning fifteen events, with the inaugural event taking place in 1987. Initially held once every three years, the event became biennial from the turn of the century.

Since 2001 the WSC was won seven times out of ten efforts by the Nuna team and cars of the Delft University of Technology from the Netherlands. The Tokai Challenger, built by the Tokai University of Japan, was able to win 2009 and 2011. In the most recent edition (2019), the Belgian Agoria Solar Team from KU Leuven University won.

Starting in 2007, the WSC has multiple classes. After the German team of Bochum University of Applied Sciences competed with a four-wheeled, multi-seat car, the BoCruiser (in 2009), in 2013 a radically new "Cruiser Class" was introduced, stimulating the technological development of practically usable, and ideally road-legal, multi-seater solar vehicles. Since its inception, Solar Team Eindhoven's four- and five-seat Stella solar cars from Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands) won the Cruiser Class in all four events so far.

Remarkable technological progress has been achieved since the General Motors led, highly experimental, single-seat Sunraycer prototype first won the WSC with an average speed of 66.9 km/h (41.6 mph). Once competing cars became steadily more capable to match or exceed legal maximum speeds on the Australian highway, the challenge rules were consistently made more demanding and challenging — for instance after Honda's Dream car first won with an average speed exceeding 55 mph (88.5 km/h) in 1996. In 2005 the Dutch Nuna team were the first to beat an average speed of 100 km/h (62 mph).

The 2017 Cruiser class winner, the five-seat Stella Vie vehicle, was able to carry an average of 3.4 occupants at an average speed of 69 km/h (43 mph). Like its two predecessors, the vehicle was successfully road registered by the Dutch team, further emphasizing the great progress in real-world compliance and practicality that has been achieved. ^{[4] [5]}

The WSC held its 30th anniversary event on 8–15 October 2017.

Objective

The objective of the challenge is to promote the innovation of solar-powered cars. It is a design competition at its core, and every team/car that successfully crosses the finish line is considered successful. Teams from universities and enterprises participate. In 2015, 43 teams from 23 countries competed in the challenge. ^[6]

Challenge strategy

Efficient balancing of power resources and power consumption is the key to success during the challenge. At any moment in time, the optimal driving speed depends on the weather forecast and the remaining capacity of the batteries. The team members in the escort cars will continuously remotely retrieve data from the solar car about its condition and use these data as input for prior developed computer programs to work out the best driving strategy.

It is equally important to charge the batteries as much as possible in periods of daylight when the car is not driving. To capture as much solar energy as possible, the solar panels are generally directed such that these are perpendicular to the incident sun rays. Sometimes the whole solar array is tilted for this purpose.

Important rules

• The timed portion of the challenge stops at the outskirts of Adelaide, 2998 km from Darwin. However, for the timings recorded at that point to count, competitors must reach the official finish line in the centre of the city under solar power alone.
• As the challenge utilises public roads, the cars have to adhere to the normal traffic regulations.
• A minimum of 2 and maximum 4 drivers have to be registered. If the weight of a driver (including clothes) is less than 80 kg (180 lb), ballast will be added to make up the difference.
• Driving time is between 8:00 and 17:00 (from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.). In order to select a suitable place for the overnight stop (alongside the highway) it is possible to extend the driving period for a maximum of 10 minutes, which extra driving time will be compensated by a starting time delay the next day.
• At various points along the route there are checkpoints where every car has to pause for 30 minutes. Only limited maintenance tasks (no repairs) are allowed during these compulsory stops.
• The capacity of the batteries is limited to a mass for each chemistry (such as Lithium Ion) equivalent to approximately 5 kWh maximum. At the start of the route, the batteries may be fully charged. Batteries may not be replaced during the competition, except in the situation of a breakdown. However, in that case, a penalty time will apply.
• Except for the maximum outer dimensions, there are no further restrictions on the design and construction of the car.
• The deceleration of the dual braking system must be at least 3.8 m/s² (149.6 in/s²).

Rule evolution

• By 2005, several teams were handicapped by the South Australian speed limit of 110 km/h (68 mph), as well as the difficulties of support crews keeping up with 130 km/h (81 mph) solar vehicles. It was generally agreed that the challenge of building a solar vehicle capable of crossing Australia at vehicular speeds had been met and exceeded. A new challenge was set: to build a new generation of solar car, which, with little modification, could be the basis for a practical proposition for sustainable transport.
• Entrants to the 2007 event chose between racing in the Adventure and Challenge classes. Challenge class cars were restricted to 6 square meters of Si solar collectors (a 25% reduction), and later to 3 square meters for GaAs, driver access and egress were required to be unaided, seating position upright, steering controlled with a steering wheel, and many new safety requirements were added. Competitors also had to adhere to the new 130 km/h (81 mph) speed limit across the Northern Territory portion of the Stuart Highway. The 2007 event again featured a range of supplementary classes, including the Greenfleet class, which features a range of non-solar energy-efficient vehicles exhibiting their fuel efficiency.
• For the 2009 challenge class several new rules were adopted, including the use of profiled tyres. Battery weight limits depend on secondary cell chemistries so that competitors have similar energy storage capabilities. Battery mass is now 20 kg for Li-ion and Li-polymer battery (was reduced from 25 and 21 kg in the past).
• In 2013, a new Cruiser Class was introduced. The route took place in four stages. Final placings were based on a combination of time taken (56.6%), number of passengers carried (5.7%), battery energy from the grid between stages (18.9%), and a subjective assessment of practicality (18.9%)
• In the 2015 Cruiser Class regulations, the scoring formula emphasized practicality less than before. Elapsed time will account for 70% of the score, passengers 5%, grid energy use 15%, and practicality 10%.
• In 2017, solar array areas were reduced, and the Cruiser Class was changed to a Regularity Trial, with scoring based on energy efficiency and practicality.

History

The idea for the competition originates from Danish-born adventurer Hans Tholstrup. ^{[7] [8]} He was the first to circumnavigate the Australian continent in a 16-foot (4.9 m) open boat. At a later stage in his life he became involved in various competitions with fuel-saving cars and trucks. Already in the 1980s, he became aware of the necessity to explore sustainable energy as a replacement for the limited available fossil fuel. Sponsored by BP, he designed the world's first solar car, called The Quiet Achiever, and traversed the 4,052 km (2,518 mi) between Sydney, New South Wales and Perth, Western Australia in 20 days. That was the precursor of the WSC.

After the 4th event, he sold the rights to the state of South Australia and leadership of the event was assumed by Chris Selwood.

The event was held every three years until 1999 when it was switched to every two years.

1987

The first edition of the World Solar Challenge was run in 1987 when the winning entry, GM's Sunraycer won with an average speed of 67 km/h (42 mph). ^[9] Ford Australia's "Sunchaser" came in second. The "Solar Resource", which came in 7th overall, was first in the Private Entry category. ^[10]

Results
Position	Car No.	Team	Country	Car Name	Race Timer (HRS:MIN)	Avg. Speed (km/h)	Avg. Speed (mi/h)
1	88	General Motors	United States	Sunraycer	44:90	66.90	41.57
2	7	Australian Ford (Aurora)	Australia	Sunchaser	67:53	44.48	27.64
3	17	Ingenieurschule, Biel	Switzerland	Spirit of Biel	69:97	42.94	26.68
4	1	Australian Geographic	Australia	Marsupial	81:43	36.89	22.92
5	15	Charles Darwin University	Australia	Desert Rose	95:45	31.47	19.55
6	12	Chisholm Institute of Technology	Australia	Desert Cat	98:20	30.59	19.01
7	11	Solar Resource Syndicate	Australia
8	19	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	United States	Solectria 4
9	14	Alarus	Australia	Alarus
10	3	Chariot of the Sun	Denmark	Chariot of the Sun
11	5	Hoxan Corporation	Japan	Pheobus II
12	8	Morphett Vale High School	Australia	Photon Flyer
13	4	Semiconductor Energy Lab	Japan	Southern Cross

1990

The 1990 WSC was won by the "Spirit of Biel", built by Biel School of Engineering and Architecture in Switzerland followed by Honda in second place. ^[11] Video coverage here.

Results
Position	Team	Country	Race Timer (HRS)	Avg. speed (km/h)	Avg. speed (mi/h)
1	Ingenieurschule, Biel	Switzerland	46.13	65	41
2	Honda R&D	Japan	55.00	55	34
3	University of Michigan	United States	57.25	53	33
4	Hoxan	Japan	57.35	53	33
5	Western Washington University	United States	58.20	54	32
6	Australian Energy Research Laboratory	Australia	59.90	50	31
7	University of Maryland	United States	60.71	50	31
8	Crowder College	United States	62.96	48	30
9	Barossa	Australia	63.29	48	30
10	Cal State LA	United States	67.76	44	28
11	Cal Poly Pomona	United States	68.03	44	28
12	Northern Territory University	Australia	69.61	43	27
13	Monash University / Melbourne University	Australia	69.81	43	27
14	Kyocera	Japan	71.38	42	26
15	Star Micronics Pty Ltd.	Australia	80.06	38	23
16	Simon Co Ltd	Japan	90.94	33	21
17	Dimitri Lajovic	Australia	94.71	32	20
18	Konawaena High School	United States	96.21	31	20
19	Dripstone High School	Australia	96.57	31	19
20	Annesley College	Australia	96.83	31	19
21	Hirotaka Oyabu	Japan	96.83	30	19
22	Waseda University	Japan	96.83	30	19
23	Stewart Lister	New Zealand	96.83	29	18
24	Queens University	Canada	96.83	26	16
25	Aisin Seiki Co/AISOL	Japan	96.83	25	16
26	Yamawaki	Japan	96.83	22	14
27	Solar Research Association		96.83	21	13
28	Semiconductor Energy Lab	Japan	96.83	21	13
29	Helio Det	Germany	96.83	20	13
30	Michiro Eguchi	Japan	96.83	19	12
31	Sonderborg Teknikum	Denmark
32	Morphett Value High School	Australia	retired	16	10
33	Phil Farrand	UK	retired	12	8
34	Nobuaki Hosokawa	Japan	retired	3	2
35	Mark Jensen		retired	13	8

1993

The 1993 WSC was won by the Honda Dream, and Biel School of Engineering and Architecture took second. ^[12] Video coverage here.

Results
Position	Team	Country	Race Timer (HRS:MIN)	Avg. speed (km/h)	Avg. speed (mi/h)
1	Honda R&D	Japan	35:28	84.96	52.79
2	Eng. Col. Biel	Switzerland	38:30	78.27	48.64
3	Kyocera	Japan	42:35	70.76	43.97
4	Waseda University	Japan	42:50	70.35	43.71
5	Aurora	Australia	43:00	70.08	43.55
6	Toyota	Japan	46:34	64.71	40.21
7	Northern Territory University	Australia	46:50	64.34	39,98
8	Cal Poly Pomona	United States	47:21	63.64	39.54
9	George Washington University	United States	47:46	63.08	39.20
10	Zero 2 Darwin	Australia	48:38	61.96	38.50
11	University of Michigan	United States	49.07	61.35	38.12
12	Nissan Motor Company	Japan	50:21	59.85	37.19
13	Cal State LA	United States	50:37	59.53	36.99
14	Stanford University	United States	51:38	58.36	36.26
15	Philips Solar Kiwi	New Zealand	60:36	49.72	30.90
16	Mabuchi Motor	Japan	60:57	49.44	30.72
17	Sofix	Japan	64:56	46.41	28.84
18	Tokai University	Japan	74:22	40.52	25.18
19	Monash University / Melbourne University	Australia	74:50	40.27	25.02
20	Laughing Sun	Japan	75:48	39.75	24.70
21	Mino Family	Japan	76:21	39.47	24.53
22	University of Oklahoma	United States	79:37	37.85	23.52
23	Sonderborg Tekikum	Denmark	79:43	37.80	23.49
24	Ashiya University	Japan	79:48	37.76	23.46
25	Dripstone High School	Australia	81:17	37.76	23.03
26	Panda-san	Japan	84:15	35.77	22.23
27	Solar Flair	UK	84:57	35.47	22.04
28	KIA Motors	South Korea	85:27	35.26	21.91
29	Team Alarus	Australia	86:42	34.76	21.50
30	Annesley College	Australia	87:35	34.48	21.38
31	Hokuriku Electric	Japan	89:47	33.56	20.85
32	Hokkaido Auto	Japan	87:30	32.08	19.93
33	Team Doraemon	Japan	79:50	34.77	21.61
34	Solar Japan	Japan	80:10	31.73	19.72
35	Mitcham Girls High School	Australia	80:10	27.39	17.02
36	Morphett Vale High School	Australia	67:13	31.33	19.47
37	University of Puerto Rico	United States	62:36	30.08	18.69
38	Team New England	United States	53:02	28.13	17.48
39	Le Soleil	Japan	56:34	26.38	16.39
40	University of Western Ontario	Canada	63:51	23.37	14.52
41	Team TR50	UK	71:20	20.92	13.00
42	San Diego State University, Suntrakker	United States	52:10	20.55	12.77
43	Northern Territory Institute of T.A.F.E.	Australia	37.34	26.22	16.29
44	Meadowbank T.A.F.E.	Australia	26:17	24.05	14.94
45	Villanova University	United States	20:50	15.07	9.36
46	JCJS Solar Car	Japan	21:55	14.33	8.90
47	Banana Enterprise	Brazil	16:40	15.12	9.40
48	Hama Yumeka	Japan	15:25	15.03	9.34
49	Team Heliox	Switzerland	08:23	24.69	15.34
50	Team Moscow	Russia	03:35	9.77	6.07
Pink background indicated teams that retired before completing the Darwin to Adelaide route

1996

In the 1996 WSC, the Honda Dream and Biel School of Engineering and Architecture once again placed first and second overall, respectively. ^[13]

Results
Place	Car no.	Team name	Country	Time and day of finish	Time (hr:mm)	Average speed (km/h)	Total distance
1	1	Honda R&D	Japan	Finished @ 17:26 / 30th	33:32	89.76	3010
2	2	United High Schools of Biel	Switzerland	Finished @ 10:10 / 31st	35:00	86.00	3010
3	3	Aisin Seiki Co Ltd	Japan	Finished @ 12:26 / 31st	37:18	80.70	3010
4	33	Mitsubishi	Japan	Finished @ 11:17 / 1st	45:07	66.72	3010
5	52	University of Queensland	Australia	Finished @ 12:34 / 1st	46:24	64.87	3010
6	23	Waseda University	Japan	Finished @ 12:48 / 1st	46:38	64.55	3010
7	15	Northern Territory University	Australia	Finished @ 14:12 / 1st	48:02	62.66	3010
8	24	O.S.U.	Japan	Finished @ 16:02 / 1st	49:52	60.36	3010
9	99	University of New South Wales	Australia	Finished @ 13:42 / 2nd	56:32	53.24	3010
10	60	Tokyo Salesian Polytechnic	Japan	Finished @ 09:36 / 3rd	61.26	49.00	3010
11	100	Queens University	Canada	Finished @ 09:39 / 3rd	61.29	48.96	3010
12	96	University of Western Ontario	Canada	Finished @ 12:09 / 3rd	63.59	47.04	3010
13	10	Tokai HS	Japan	Finished @ 13:45 / 3rd	65.35	45.90	3010
14	20	Mino Family	Japan	Finished @ 15:07 / 3rd	66.57	44.96	3010
15	17	Tokai University	Japan	Finished @ 15:20 / 3rd	67.10	44.81	3010
16	5	Lake Tuggeranong College	Australia	Finished @ 15:25 / 3rd	67.15	44.76	3010
17	88	Crested Ibis	Japan	Finished @ 16:01 / 3rd	67.51	44.36	3010
18	53	SunBa	Brazil	Finished @ 16:01 / 3rd	68.43	43.80	3010
19	777	Team Kataro	Japan	Finished @ 17:46 / 3rd	70.12	42.88	3010
20	8	Helios	France	Finished @ 09:59 / 4th	70.49	42.50	3010
21	400	France for W.S.C.	France	Finished @ 10:41 / 4th	71.31	42.90	3010
22	6	Hokkaido Automo. Eng. College	Japan	Finished @ 11:32 / 4th	72.22	41.59	3010
23	2001	Kirenjaku	Japan	Finished @ 12:27 / 4th	73.17	41.07	3010
24	45	Nippon Electronics College	Japan	Finished @ 12:44 / 4th	73.34	40.91	3010
25	16	UC Berkeley / Stanford University	United States	Finished @ 13:27 / 4th	74.17	40.52	3010
26	32	Soenderborg Teknikum	Denmark	Finished @ 13:31 / 4th	74.21	40.48	3010
27	66	Northern Sun	Canada	Finished @ 13:35 / 4th	74.25	40.45	3010
28	999	Jona Sun	Japan	Finished @ 15:09 / 4th	75.59	39.61	3010
29	49	Yokohama National University	Japan	Finished @ 10:14 / 5th	80:04	37.59	3010
30	69	Pumpkinseed	Japan	Finished @ 12:54 / 5th	82:44	36.38	3010
31	18	Annesley College	Australia	Finished @ 14:01 / 5th	83:51	35.90	3010
32	9	South Bank University	UK	Finished @ 14:14 / 5th	84:04	35.80	3010
	11	Los Altos High School (Hacienda Heights, California)	United States	North of Adelaide
	19	Akita	Japan	North of Adelaide
	29	Mexico Team	Mexico	withdrawn			1927.2
	21	Detlef Schmitz	Germany	withdrawn			1690

1999

The 1999 WSC was finally won by a "home" team, the Australian Aurora team's Aurora 101 took the prize while Queen's University was the runner-up in the most closely contested WSC so far. The SunRayce class of American teams was won by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ^[14]

Results
Place	Car no.	Team	Car name	Class	Country	Date in	Time in	Distance (km)	Total Time (HH:MM)	Avg Speed (km/h)
1	101	Aurora	Aurora	Silicon/Exotic	Australia	Oct 21	16:36	2998.7	41:06	72.96
2	100	Queens University	Radiance	Silicon/Exotic	Canada	Oct 21	17:03	2998.7	41:33	72.12
3	52	University of Queensland	Sunshark	Silicon/Exotic	Australia	Oct 22	08:20	2998.7	41:50	71.86
4	15	Northern Territory University	Desert Rose	Silicon/Exotic	Australia	Oct 22	08:44	2998.7	42:14	71.00
5	3	Kanazawa Institute of Technology	KIT Golden Eagle	Silicon/Exotic	Japan	Oct 22	11:03	2998.7	44:33	67.31
6	8	Tamagawa Solar Challengers	Tamagawa Super Genbow	Silicon/Exotic	Japan	Oct 22	11:56	2998.7	45:26	66.00
7	10	Lake Tuggeranong College	Spirit of Canberra	Silicon/Exotic	Australia	Oct 22	12:01	2998.7	45:31	65.86
8	6	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Manta GTX	Cut-out Class	United States	Oct 22	12:04	2998.7	45:34	65.81
9	2	University of Michigan	Maize Blaze	Silicon/Exotic	United States	Oct 22	14:04	2998.7	47:34	63.04
10	24	Osaka Sangyo University	OSU Model S	Silicon/Exotic	Japan	Oct 22	14:51	2998.7	48:21	62.02
11	4	Solar Motions	Cascade Cruiser	Private	United States	Oct 22	14:51	2998.7	48:21	62.02
12	59	Helios	Helios 2	Silicon/Exotic	France	Oct 22	17:32	2998.7	51:24	58.34
13	1	Tokai Shoyo High School	Shoyo Falcon	Secondary School	Japan	Oct 23	9:50	2998.7	52:20	57.30
14	26	SA Solar Car Consortium	Ned	Silicon	Australia	Oct 23	12:43	2998.7	55:13	54.31
15	999	Jona Sun	Jona Sun	Private	Japan	Oct 23	13:15	2998.7	55:45	53.79
16	65	Tokyo Salesian Polytechnic	Ikuei Neo II	Silicon	Japan	Oct 23	14:21	2998.8	56:51	52.75
17	16	Junkyard	Junkyard	Private	Japan	Oct 23	14:24	2998.7	56:54	52.70
18	50	University of New South Wales	Sunswift II	Silicon/Exotic	Australia	Oct 23	14:44	2998.7	57:14	52.39
19	5	Aoyama Gakuin	AGU Aglaia	Cut-out Class	Japan	Oct 23	15:51	2998.7	58:21	51.39
20	41	Southbank University of ESC	Mad Dog	Silicon/Exotic	UK	Oct 23	16:41	2998.7	59:11	50.67
21	23	Central Queensland University	Capricorn Solar Flair	Silicon	Australia	Oct 24	8:57	2998.7	60:27	49.61
22	142	University of Missouri-Rolla	Solar Miner II	Cut-out Class	United States	Oct 24	11:55	2998.7	63:27	47.26
23	35	University of Minnesota	Aurora II	Cut-out Class	United States	Oct 24	12:01	2998.7	63:31	47.21
24	63	Futura	Futura 2	Private	Italy	Oct 24	13:42	2998.7	65:12	45.99
25	124	University of Waterloo	Midnight Sun V	Cut-out Class	Canada	Oct 25	14:45	2998.7	75:15	39.85
26	2001	Kirenjaku	Kirenjaku IV	Private	Japan	Oct 26	12:00	2998.7	81:30	36.79
27	634	Kashiwa kai-Musashi Tech	Musashi	Cut-out Class	Japan	Oct 26	13:38	2998.7	83:08	36.07
28	22	Shiga SPD Polytech College	Polytech Spirit	Silicon/Exotic	Japan	Oct 26	14:09	2998.7	83:39	35.85
29	13	Kormilda College	Towards Tomorrow	Secondary School	Australia	Oct 26		2998.7	withdrawn due to time penalties
30	18	Annesley College	EOS	Secondary School	Australia	Oct 24		1842.0	withdrawn
31	27	Detlef Schmitz	Helio Det 4	Private	Germany	Oct 23		1591.0	withdrawn
32	34	Club Solar Car Denmark	Solar Car Denmark 3	Secondary School	Denmark	Oct 23		1489.0	withdrawn
33	28	Sunspeed Singapore Polytech	Sunspeed 1	Silicon	Singapore	Oct 21		987.0	withdrawn
34	12	Dripstone High School	Aquila	Secondary School	Australia	Oct 20		830.0	withdrawn
35	42	Southern Cross College		Secondary School	Australia	Oct 20		830.0	withdrawn
36	58	Newburgh Sol Machine	NFA	Secondary School	United States	Oct 19		522.0	withdrawn
37	1999	Winston High School	Acclivus	Secondary School	United States	Oct 19		475.0	withdrawn
38	33	Tsuroka National College of Technology	Green Leaf IV	Silicon	Japan	19/10		421.0	withdrawn
39	9	Solar Stealth	Solar Stealth	Secondary School	United States	Oct 19		387.0	withdrawn
40	51	Mannum High School		Secondary School	Australia	Oct 17		70.0	withdrawn

2001

Main article: World Solar Challenge 2001

The 2001 WSC was won by Nuna of the Delft University of Technology from the Netherlands, participating for the first time. Aurora took second place. ^{[15] [16] [17]}

Results
Rank	Car No	Team	Car Name	Class	Country	Date In	Time In	Distance (km)	Total Time (HH:MM)	Avg Speed (km/h)
1	3	Nuna	Nuna	Development	Netherlands	Nov 21	17:09	2997.8	32:39	91.81
2	101	Aurora Vehicle Association	Aurora	Development	Australia	Nov 22	08:43	2997.8	33:13	90.26
3	2	University of Michigan	M-Pulse	Development	United States	Nov 22	09:49	2997.8	34:19	87.37
4	142	University of Missouri-Rolla	SolarMiner III	Development	United States	Nov 22	13:14	2997.8	37:44	79.45
5	100	Queens University	Mirage	Production	Canada	Nov 22	13:43	2997.8	38:13	78.45
6	77	University of Tamagawa (Team A)	White Dolphin	Production	Japan	Nov 22	14:53	2997.8	39:23	76.12
7	10	Lake Tuggeranong College	Spirit of Canberra	Production	Australia	Nov 22	16:07	2997.8	40:37	73.81
8	15	Northern Territory University	Desert Rose	Development	Australia	Nov 22	16:22	2997.8	40:52	73.36
9	33	Kanazawa Institute of Technology	KIT Golden Eagle	Development	Japan	Nov 22	17:03	2997.8	41:33	72.14
10***	4	Solar Motion	SoMo	Development	United States	Nov 23	09:07	2997.8	42:37	70.35
11	52	University of New South Wales	Sunswift II	Development	Australia	Nov 23	10:01	2997.8	43:31	68.89
12	88	University of Tamagawa(Team B)	Dolphin	Production	Japan	Nov 23	10:32	2997.8	44:02	68.08
13	11	Tokai University	Tokai Spirit 2001	Production	Japan	Nov 23	10:51	2997.8	44:21	67.59
14	12	University of Toronto Blue Sky	Faust	Development	Canada	Nov 23	10:56	2997.8	44:26	67.47
15	24	University of Waterloo	Midnight Sun VI	Development	Canada	Nov 23	10:57	2997.8	44:27	67.45
16	41	South Bank University	Mad Dog 3	Production	UK	Nov 23	13:28	2997.8	46:58	63.83
17	55	Ashiya University	Sky-Ace Tiga	Production	Japan	Nov 23	14:49	2997.8	48:19	62.05
18	5	AGU Solar Car Project	AGU Aglaia	Stock	Japan	Nov 23	14:52	2997.8	48:22	61.98
19	67	Tokyo Salesian Polytechnic	Ikuei Neo II	Production	Japan	Nov 23	14:58	2997.8	48:28	61.86
20	59	Helios	Helios 2-001	Development	France	Nov 24	09:18	2997.8	51:48	61.26
21	26	South Australia Solar Car Consortium	Ned	Stock	Australia	Nov 24	10:13	2997.8	52:23	57.23
22	17	Solehada	Solelhada	Stock	France	Nov 24	10:43	2997.8	53:13	56.33
23	51	Mannum Highschool	Christine	Production	Australia	Nov 26	16:17	2997.8	89:17	34.94
24	2001	Team of Kirenjaku	Kirenjaku Mini	Production	Japan	Nov 27	13:27	2531.6
25	6	Sungroper Solar Car Association	Sungroper	Stock	Australia	Nov 26	17:03	2301.5
26	13	Kormilda College	Towards Tomorrow	Stock	Australia	Nov 26	11:34	2257.3
27	4740	Team Ornithorhychus	Ornithorhychus	Stock	Australia	Nov 26	12:35	2063.8
28	50	Burdekin Highschool	Spirit of Burdekin	Stock	Australia	Nov 26	12:48	2008.6
29	62	South Australia Solar Car Consortium	Kelly	Production	Australia	Nov 23	15:31	1819.7
30	7	Vehicle Solaire Neo-Caledonien	Defi Solaire	Production	New Caledonia	Nov 25	12:35	1531.0
	75	Hutt Valley High School	Hutt Valley	Stock	New Zealand	Withdrawn
	21	HelioDet	Heliodet 5	Stock	Germany	Withdrawn
	42	Southern Cross College	Southern Exposure	Stock	Australia	Withdrawn
		Greenfleet	Honda Insight	Demonstration	Australia			2997.8
	2500	Biel	Spirit of Biel	Demonstration	Switzerland			2997.9
	53	Honda Australia	Insight	Demonstration	Australia			2997.9
	18	Annesley College	EOS Spirit of Unley	Demonstration	Australia			2997.9
***Solar Motion was originally recorded arriving in 4th place at 12:07 on Nov 22, but was later penalized

2003

Main article: World Solar Challenge 2003

In the 2003 WSC Nuna 2, the successor to the winner of 2001 won again, with an average speed of 97 km/h (60 mph), while Aurora took second place again. ^[18]

Results
Rank	Car No.	Team	Car Name	Country	Date In	Time In	Distance (km)	Time (hr:mn)	Avg Speed (km/h)
1	3	Nuon	Nuna II	Netherlands	Oct 22	15:24	2997.8	30:54	97.02
2	101	Aurora	Aurora	Australia	Oct 22	17:07	2997.8	32:37	91.90
3	9	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Tesseract	United States	Oct 23	08:22	2997.8	32:52	91.20
4	100	Queens University	Gemini	Canada	Oct 23	13:46	2997.8	38:16	78.33
5	41	Bochum	Hans Go	Germany	Oct 23	16:26	2997.8	40:56	73.24
6	32	Principia College	Ra V	United States	Oct 23	16:50	2997.8	41:20	72.53
7	95	Southern Taiwan University	Apollo IV	Taiwan	Oct 24	10:30	2997.8	44:00	68.13
8	62	SA Consortium	Kelly	Australia	Oct 24	11:45	2997.8	45:15	66.25
9	5	Aoyama Gakuin University	AGU Aglaia	Japan	Oct 24	15:56	2997.8	49:26	60.65
10	99	Aurora/RMIT	Southern Aurora	Australia	Oct 25	10:06	2997.8	52:36	56.99
11	13	Kormilda College	Towards Tomorrow	Australia	Oct 25	15:03	2997.8	57:33	52.09
12	4	Universiti Teknologi Malaysia	Suria Kar 2	Malaysia	Oct 26	09:39	2997.8	61:09	49.02
13	66	National Taiwan University	Formosun II	Taiwan	Oct 26	09:51	2997.8	61:21	48.86
14	21	HelioDet	Heliodet 6	Germany	Oct 28	13:39	2997.8	82:49	36.20
	77	Hachinohe Institute of Technology	Hi Tech	Japan	Oct 28		2302.9
	8	Houston Solar Race Team	Sundancer	United States	Oct 27		2188.1
	59	Helios III	Roadrunner	France	Oct 27		2208.2
	6	Leeming Senior High	Sungroper	Australia	Oct 27		1565.6
	51	Mannum High School	Christine	Australia	Oct 27		1001.0
	42	Southern Cross Catholic College	Southern Exposure	Australia	Oct 28		1000.6
	2003	Winston Solar Car Team	Astropower	United States	Oct 26		720.2
	145	Universidad del Turabo	The Paradise	Puerto Rico	Oct 26		373.8

2005

Main article: World Solar Challenge 2005

In the 2005 WSC the top finishers were the same for the third consecutive event as Nuon's Nuna 3 won with a record average speed of 102.75 km/h (63.85 mph), and Aurora was the runner-up. ^[15]

Results
Rank	Car No.	Team	Car Name	Class	Country	Arrival Time	km	Speed (km/h)
1	3	Nuon	Nuna 3	Open	Netherlands	13:41 Wed 28th	2998.3	102.75
2	101	Aurora	Aurora	Open	Australia	17:05 Wed 28th	2998.3	92.03
3	2	University of Michigan	Momentum	Open	United States	08:48 Thurs 29th	2998.3	90.03
4	81	Ashiya University	Sky Ace TIGA	Open	Japan	09:15 Thurs 29th	2998.3
5	66	National Taiwan University	Formosun 3	Open	Taiwan	11:31 Thurs 29th	2998.3
6	6	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Tesseract	Open	United States	15:30 Thurs 29th	2998.3
7	95	Apollo	Apollo 5	Open	Taiwan	15:45 Thurs 29th	2998.3
8	41	Bochum	Hans Go	Open	Germany	16:35 Thurs 29th	2998.3
9	8	University of Twente	Solutra	Open	Netherlands	10:36 Fri 30th	2998.3
10	65	University of Calgary	Soleon	Production	Canada	13:45 Fri 30th	2998.3
11	7	Umicore Solar Car	Umicore	Open	Belgium	14:34 Fri 30th	2998.3
12	62	TAFE SA	Kelly	Production	Australia	15:43 Fri 30th	2998.3
13	5	Aoyama Gakuin University	Aglaia	Production	Japan	9:56 Sat 1st	2998.3
14	13	Kormilda College	Towards Tomorrow	Stock	Australia	13:24 Sat 1st	2998.3
15	168	Southern Taiwan University	Phoenix	Open	Taiwan	14:35 Sat 1st	2998.3
16	80	Sunspeed	Jules Verne	Open	France	10:52 Sun 2nd	2726
17	96	University of Western Ontario	Sunstang	Open	Canada	15:23 Sun 2nd	1573
18	20	Leeming Senior High	Sungroper	Production	Australia	19:06 Sat 1st	591
***	49	UNSW Sydney	Sunswift III	Open	Australia	17:10 Thurs 29th	2998.3
	99	Southern Aurora	Southern Aurora	Open	Australia	officially withdrawn Alice Springs 16:13 - 27th Sept
	21	Heliodet	Heliodet	Production	Germany	officially withdrawn Dunmarra 15:45 - 26th Sept
***Sunswift were unable to qualify, but were given permission to run with the event

2007

Main article: World Solar Challenge 2007

The 2007 WSC saw the Dutch Nuon Solar team score their fourth successive victory with Nuna 4 in the Challenge Class, averaging 90.07 km/h (55.97 mph) under the new, more restrictive rules, while the Belgian Punch Powertrain Solar Team's Umicar Infinity placed second. ^[19]

The Adventure Class was added this year, run under the old rules, and won by Japanese Ashiya team's Tiga.

Challenge results
Rank	Team	Country	Distance (km)	Time (hr:mn)	Speed (km/h)
1	Nuon	Netherlands	2999	33:00	90.87
2	Umicore	Belgium	2999	34:36	88.05
3	Aurora	Australia	2999	35:17	85.00
4	Bochum Solar World 1	Germany	2999	41:09	72.87
5	Southern Taiwan University	Taiwan	2999	44:08	67.95
6	University of Twente	Netherlands	2999	44:46	66.83
7	University of Michigan	United States	2999	44:55	66.76
8	University of Calgary	Canada	2999	51:43	57.98
9	University of Waterloo	Canada	2999	54:49	54.70
10	Helios	France	2999	59:24	50.80
11	Solar Fox	UK	2719
12	Sinag	Philippines	2691
13	Sun Speed	France	2002
14	University of Chile	Chile	1862
15	Queens University	Canada	1345
16	Leeming HS	Australia	1050
17	Gwawr	UK	740
18	Heliox	Switzerland	735
19	University of Malaya	Malaysia	250

The Japanese Ashiya team's Tiga won the Adventure Class, run under the old rules, with an average speed of 93.53 km/h (58.12 mph).

Adventure results
Rank	Team	Country	Distance (km)	Time (hr:mn)	Speed (km/h)
1	Ashiya University	Japan	2999	32:03	93.57
2	Apollo	Taiwan	2999	35:43	83.96
3	Southern Aurora	Australia	2999	40:44	73.63
4	sUNSWift UNSW Sydney	Australia	2999	44:11	67.88
5	University of Toronto	Canada	2999	46:19	64.74
6	Christine Aurora	Australia	2999	46:33	64.42
7	TAFE SA	Australia	2999	50:52	58.95
8	Salesian Polytechnic University	Japan	2999	58:19	51.42
9	Towards Tomorrow	Australia	2896
10	University Tech Malaysia	Malaysia	2719
11	HelioDet	Germany	2517
12	Solar Fern	New Zealand	2233
13	Stanford University	United States	1864
14	University of Western Ontario	Canada	1680
15	Hachinohe Institute of Technology	Japan	1675
16	Polytechnique Montreal	Canada	1772
17	Willetton	Australia	729
18	Houston HS	United States	143

2009

In 2009, the BO-Cruiser prototype from Bochum (Germany) stood out by a more practical, real world design, sporting 4 wheels and multiple seats

Main article: World Solar Challenge 2009

The 2009 WSC was won by the "Tokai Challenger", built by the Tokai University Solar Car Team in Japan with an average speed of 100.54 km/h (62.47 mph). The longtime reigning champion Nuon Solar Team's Nuna 5 finished in second place. ^[20]

Challenger results
Rank	Team	Country	Distance (km)	Time (hr:mn)	Speed (km/h)
1	Tokai University	Japan	3021	29:49	100.54
2	Nuon	Netherlands	3021	32:38	91.88
3	University of Michigan	United States	3021	33:08	90.49
4	University of New South Wales	Australia	3021	39:18	76.28
5	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	United States	3021	40:41	73.70
6	Aurora	Australia	3021	42:20	70.82
7	Principia College	United States	3021	43:23	69.11
8	University of Twente	Netherlands	3021	44:53	66.80
9	Bochum Solar World 1	Germany	2896
10	Stanford University	United States	2719
11	Nanyang Technological University	Singapore	1953
12	Bochum Bo Cruiser	Germany	1850
13	Belenos	France	1645
14	University of Cambridge	UK	1616
15	Sakarya University	Turkey	1437
16	Istanbul Technical University	Turkey	1380
17	Heliox	Switzerland	1042
18	Leeming HS	Australia	950
19	Willetton HS	Australia	906
20	Umicore	Belgium	380
21	Polytechnique Montreal	Canada	287
22	Uniten Solar Ranger Team	Malaysia	250
23	McMaster University	Canada	146
24	ETS	Canada	96

The Sunswift IV built by students at the University of New South Wales, Australia was the winner of the Silicon-based Solar Cell Class, while Japan's Osaka Sangyo University's OSU Model S won the Adventure class.

Adventure results
Rank	Team	Country	Distance (km)	Time (hr:mn)	Speed (km/h)
1	OSU	Japan	3021	34:45	86.27
2	Southern Aurora	Australia	3021	44:17	67.71
3	Goko HS	Japan	2719		61.77
4	Helios	France	2719		58.31
5	SolarShop Kelly	Australia	2217
6	Towards Tomorrow	Australia	1156
7	CPDM	Malaysia	514

2011

Main article: World Solar Challenge 2011

In the 2011 WSC Tokai University took their second title with an updated "Tokai Challenger" averaging 91.54 km/h (56.88 mph), and finishing just an hour before Nuna 6 of the Delft University of Technology. ^[21] The challenge was marred by delays caused by wildfires.

Results
Rank	Team	Country	Distance (km)	Time (hr:mn)	Speed (km/h)
1	Tokai University	Japan	2998	32:45	91.54
2	Nuon	Netherlands	2998	33:50	88.60
3	University of Michigan	United States	2998	35:33	84.33
4	Ashiya University	Japan	2998	44:57	66.70
5	University of Twente	Netherlands	2998	44:04	66.53
6	University of New South Wales	Australia	2998	48:38	61.65
7	Aurora	Australia	2998	48:45	61.50
8	Istanbul University	Turkey	2765
9	Apollo	Taiwan	2650
10	Umicore	Belgium	2636
11	Stanford University	United States	2547
12	Nanyang Technological University	Singapore	2454
13	Team Okinawa	Japan	2408
14	Sakarya University	Turkey	2263
15	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	United States	2222
16	Solar Energy Racers	Switzerland	2221
17	Qazvin Islamic Azad University	Iran	1891
18	University of Calgary	Canada	1840
19	Team Solar Philippines	Philippines	1815
20	UC Berkeley	United States	1811
21	Onda Solare	Italy	1751
22	Universidad de Chile	Chile	1709
23	Anadolu	Turkey	1675
24	University of Toronto	Canada	1661
25	University of Cambridge	UK	1487
26	Bochum	Germany	1454
27	ETS	Canada	1415
28	Principia College	United States	1303
29	Seraaj	Saudi Arabia	1269
30	University of Waterloo	Canada	1116
31	University of Tehran	Iran	1027
32	Solar Spirit Australia	Australia	801
33	Durham University	UK	552
34	Solaris	India	301
35	UMP	Malaysia	229
36	Uniten Solar Ranger Team	Malaysia	223
37	Green Maniac	South Korea	73

2013

Main article: World Solar Challenge 2013

The 2013 WSC featured the introduction of the Cruiser Class, which comprised more 'practical' solar cars with 2–4 occupants. The inaugural winner was Solar Team Eindhoven's Stella from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands with an average speed of 74.52 km/h (46.30 mph), while second place was taken by the PowerCore SunCruiser vehicle from team Hochschule Bochum in Germany, who inspired the creation of the Cruiser Class^{[ citation needed ]} by racing more practical solar cars in previous WSC events. The Australian team, the University of New South Wales solar racing team Sunswift was the fastest competitor to complete the route, but was awarded third place overall after points were awarded for 'practicality' and for carrying passengers. ^[22]

Cruiser Results
Rank	Team	Country	Distance (km)	Time (hr:mn)	Person kilometers	External energy (kWh)	Practicality (%)	Final score (%)
1	TU Eindhoven	Netherlands	3022	40:14	9093	64.0	88.3	97.5
2	HS Bochum	Germany	3022	41:38	6484	63.5	87.0	93.9
3	Sunswift	Australia	3022	38:35	3022	64.0	70.7	92.3
4	University of Minnesota	United States	3022	51:41	5454	64.0	69.3	79.2
5	Goko HS	Japan	2288				70.7
6	Apollo	Taiwan	1558				50.3
7	TAFE SA Solar Spirit	Australia	1469				71.7
8	University of Calgary	Canada	719				78.0

The 2013 German PowerCore SunCruiser entry for the new for 2013 Cruiser Class

In the Challenger Class, the Dutch team from Delft University of Technology took back the title with Nuna 7 and an average speed of 90.71 km/h (56.36 mph), while defending champions Tokai University finished second after an exciting close competition, which saw a 10–30 minute distance, though they drained the battery in final stint due to bad weather and finished some 3 hours later; an opposite situation of the previous challenge in 2011. ^[23]

Challenger results
Rank	Team	Country	Distance (km)	Time (hr:mn)	Speed (km/h)
1	Nuon	Netherlands	3022	33:03	90.71
2	Tokai University	Japan	3022	36:22	82.43
3	University of Twente	Netherlands	3022	37:38	79.67
4	Stanford University	United States	3022	39:31	75.86
5	Solar Energy Racers	Switzerland	3022	40:13	74.54
6	Punch Powertrain (KU Leuven)	Belgium	3022	40:28	74.08
7	Team Arrow	Australia	3022	43:38	68.71
8	University of Toronto	Canada	3022	45:38	65.71
9	University of Michigan	United States	3022	45:55	65.29
10	Onda Solare	Italy	3022	48:25	61.92
11	University of Western Sydney	Australia	2891
12	Kanazawa Institute of Technology	Japan	2564
13	EAFIT-EPM	Colombia	2505
14	Kogakuin University	Japan	2450
15	KUST	South Korea	2013
16	SunSPEC	Singapore	1676
17	Istanbul Technical University	Turkey	1613
18	ETS	Canada	1530
19	Sun Shuttle	China	1398
20	Jonkoping University	Sweden	1301
21	ITS	Indonesia	748
22	UMP	Malaysia	616

The Adventure Class was won by Aurora's Aurora Evolution. ^[24]

Adventure results
Rank	Team	Country	Distance (km)	Time (hr:mn)	Speed (km/h)
1	Aurora	Australia	3022	38:39	77.57
2	Antakari	Chile	3022	49:31	60.54
3	Sikat Solar	Philippines	2487
4	IVE	Hong Kong	2105
5	KAIT	Japan	1533
6	Solaris	Turkey	1481
7	Mississippi Choctaw HS	United States	164

2015

In 2015 Solar team Eindhoven won the Cruiser Class again with their Stella Lux "family car".

The 2015 WSC was held on 15–25 October with the same classes as the 2013 challenge.

World Solar Challenge 2015-Parade at Victoria Square in Adelaide, Australia

In the Cruiser Class, the winner was once again Solar Team Eindhoven's Stella Lux from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands with an average speed of 76.73 km/h (47.68 mph), while the second place team was Kogakuin University from Japan who was the first to cross the finish line, but did not receive as many points for passenger-kilometers and practicality. Bochum took 3rd place this year with the latest in their series of cruiser cars. ^[25]

Cruiser Results
Rank	Team	Country	Distance (km)	Time (hr:mn)	Person kilometers	External energy (kWh)	Practicality (%)	Final score (%)
1	TU Eindhoven	Netherlands	3022	39:23	6044	29.68	84.5	97.27
2	Kogakuin University	Japan	3022	37:52	3022	29.71	51.75	93.61
3	HS Bochum	Germany	3022	48:30	4528	29.68	80.5	82.91
4	sUNSWift UNSW Sydney	Australia	3022	54:03	3022	29.68	54.0	72.91
5	University of Minnesota	United States	3022	58:27	4009	29.68	38.5	68.21
6	Ardingly College	UK			0	12.5	61.75	42.93
7	Lodz University of Technology	Poland			2113	29.83	63.5	24.19
8	Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education	Hong Kong			896	29.83	51.5	21.41
9	Singapore Polytechnic	Singapore			768	29.97	50	21.41
10	Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology	Indonesia			1036	29.43	42.5	21.00
11	University of Tehran	Iran			1161	29.97	35.75	20.05

In the Challenger Class, the team from Delft University of Technology retained the title with Nuna 8 and an average speed of 91.75 km/h (57.01 mph), while their Dutch counterparts, the University of Twente, who led most of the challenge, finished just 8 minutes behind them in second place, making 2015 the closest finish in WSC history. Tokai University passed the University of Michigan on the last day of the event to take home the bronze. ^[26]

Challenger results
Rank	Team	Country	Distance (km)	Time (hr:mn)	Speed (km/h)
1	Nuon	Netherlands	3022	37:56	91.75
2	University of Twente	Netherlands	3022	38:04	91.63
3	Tokai University	Japan	3022	38:50	89.41
4	University of Michigan	United States	3022	38:54	89.29
5	Punch Powertrain (KU Leuven)	Belgium	3022	39:19	88.10
6	Stanford University	United States	3022	41:24	83.14
7	GAMF Hungary	Hungary	3022	43:04	79.70
8	Team Arrow	Australia	3022	45:22	76.71
9	EAFIT-EPM	Colombia	3022	46:19	73:29
10	University of Western Sydney	Australia	3022	46:51	72.21
11	North-West University	South Africa	3022	47:22	71.70
12	University of Toronto	Canada	3022	47:40	70.91
13	University of KwaZulu-Natal	South Africa	3022	47:53	70.40
14	GOKO High School	Japan	3022	50:22	66.74
15	Jonkoping University	Sweden	3022	50:36	66.39
16	Nagoya Institute of Technology	Japan	3022	50:42	66.25
17	Principia College	United States	3022	54:51	60.62
18	Kanazawa Institute of Technology	Japan	3022	56:24	58.91
19	Anadolu University	Turkey	3022	57:48	58.00
20	Kookmin University	Korea	3022	60:00	54.78
21	University of Adelaide	Australia	2292
22	Cambridge University	UK	2047
23	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	United States	1835
24	Beijing Institute of Technology	China	1823
25	Dokuz Eylül University	Turkey	1575
26	MARA University of Technology	Malaysia	97
27	Durham University	UK	0

The Adventure Class was won by the Houston High School solar car team from Houston, Mississippi, United States. ^[27]

Adventure results
Rank	Team	Country	Distance (km)
1	Houston HS	United States	2441
2	TAFE SA	Australia	1289
3	Liberty Christian School	United States	1288

2017

The 2017 WSC was held on 8–15 October, featuring the same classes as 2015. The Dutch NUON team won again in the Challenger class, which concluded on 2017-10-12, and in the Cruiser Class, the winner was once again Solar Team Eindhoven, from the Netherlands as well. ^[28]

Challenger results
Rank	Team	Car name	Country	Distance (km)	Average speed ((km/h))
1	Nuon Solar Team	Nuna9	Netherlands	3021 km	81.2 km/h
2	University of Michigan Solar Car Team	Novum	United States	3021 km	77.1 km/h
3	Punch Powertrain Solar Team	Punch Two	Belgium	3021 km	76.2 km/h
4	Tokai University	Tokai Challenger	Japan	3021 km	75.9 km/h
5	Solar Team Twente	RED Shift	Netherlands	3021 km	75.6 km/h
6	Western Sydney Solar Team	Unlimited 2.0	Australia	3021 km	65.5 km/h
7	Kogakuin University Solar Team	Wing	Japan	3021 km	63.8 km/h
8	46. JUsolarteam	Solveig	Sweden	3021 km	59.7 km/h
9	16. Stanford Solar Car Project	Sundae	United States	3021 km	59.5 km/h
10	4. Antakari Solar Team	INTIKALLPA IV	Chile	3021 km	59.1 km/h
11	77. Blue Sky Solar Racing	Polaris	Canada	3021 km	58.6 km/h
12	25. NITech Solar Racing	Horizon 17	Japan	3021 km	58.0 km/h

Cruiser results
Rank	Team	Car name	Country	Charges	P-km	External energy	Efficiency (P-km/kWh)	Efficiency score
1	Solar Team Eindhoven	Stella Vie	Netherlands	6	10197	45.7 kWh	223.2	80
2	HS Bochum SolarCar-Team	Thyssenkrupp Blue.Cruiser	Germany	6	7865	88.2 kWh	89.2	32
3	Clenergy Team Arrow	Arrow STF	Australia	6	5263	91.5 kWh	57.5	20.6
4	IVE Solar Car Team	SOPHIE VI	Hong Kong	6	3021	45.4 kWh	66.5	0
5	University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project	Eos II	United States	6	3644	40.5 kWh	90	0

Adventure results
Team	Car name	Country	Arrival time
Mississippi Choctaw High School Solar Car Team	Tushka Hashi III	United States	10/13/2018 13:56
NWU Solar	Naledi	South Africa	10/13/2018 15:40
Principia Solar Car	Ra X	United States	10/14/2018 08:39
Adelaide University Solar Racing Team	Lumen II	Australia	10/14/2018 09:35
MDH Solar Team	MDH Solar Car	Sweden	10/14/2018 09:40
GOKO HIGH SCHOOL	MUSOUSHIN	Japan	10/14/2018 09:43
KUST (Kookmin University Solar car Team)	Taegeuk	South Korea	10/14/2018 10:24
Illini Solar Car	Argo	United States	10/14/2018 10:47
Team Sonnenwagen Aachen	HUAWEI Sonnenwagen	Germany	10/14/2018 10:50
MTAA Super Sol Invictus	MTAA Super Charge	Australia	10/14/2018 11:05
PrISUm	Penumbra	United States	10/13/2018 13:25
SunSPEC	SunSPEC5	Singapore	10/13/2018 12:49
UiTM Eco Photon	TUAH	Malaysia	10/14/2018 11:20
UNSW Solar Racing Team Sunswift	Violet	Australia	10/13/2018 09:51
Flinders Automotive Solar Team	Investigator Mk III	Australia	10/13/2018 14:53
University of Tehran Solar Car Team	Persian Gazelle IV	Iran	10/16/2018 17:00
Durham University Electric Motorsport	DUSC	United Kingdom	10/14/2018 12:52
STC-2 Nikola	Nikola	Thailand	10/13/2018 11:40
ITU Solar Car Team	B.O.W. ISTANBUL	Turkey	10/14/2018 12:16
RVCE Solar Car Team	ARKA	India	10/16/2018 17:00
Lodz Solar Team	Eagle Two	Poland	10/13/2018 15:05
TAFE SA	SAV	Australia	10/13/2018 10:51
National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences (KUAS) & St. John's University Solar Car Team	Apollo VIII	Taiwan	10/14/2018 08:46

2019

The 2019 WSC was held from 13–20 October. 53 teams from 24 countries entered the competition, ^{[29] [30]} featuring the same three classes, Challenger (30 teams), Cruiser (23 teams) and Adventure. ^[31] In the Challenger class, Agoria Solar Team (formerly Punch Powertrain) won for the first time. Tokai University Solar Car Team finished in second place. ^[32]

In the Cruiser class, Solar Team Eindhoven won their fourth consecutive title. ^[33] Despite multiple incidents on the road, Team Sonnenwagen Aachen managed to beat other teams and finished in 6th position.

Several teams had mishaps. Vattenfall was leading when their car Nuna X caught fire. The driver was uninjured, but the vehicle was destroyed. It was the first no-finish for that team in 20 years. ^[30] Others were badly affected by strong winds.

Dutch team Twente was leading the journey at 100 km/h (62 mph), when their car was forced off the road by winds and rolled over. The driver was taken to hospital. Within 30 minutes team Sonnenwagen Aachen was also blown off the road north of Coober Pedy, the driver was not hurt. An 80 km/h (50 mph) speed limit was then imposed by event officials, lifted when conditions improved. The day before, wind damage to solar panels put the team from Western Sydney University out of the challenge. The driver of Agoria from Belgium escaped injury when their vehicle was "uprooted" at 100 km/h (62 mph) by severe winds, but still went on to win the Challenger class. ^{[30] [34]}

Challenger results
Rank	Team	Car name	Country	Distance (km)	Average speed ((km/h))
1	Agoria Solar Team	Bluepoint	Belgium	3019 km	86.6 km/h
2	Tokai University Solar Car Team	Tokai Challenger	Japan	3019 km	86.1 km/h
3	University of Michigan Solar Car Team	Electrum	USA	3019 km	79.6 km/h
4	Top Dutch Solar Racing	Green Lightning	Netherlands	3019 km	78.4 km/h
5	Kogakuin University Solar Team	Kute Eagle	Japan	3019 km	72.1 km/h
6	Team Sonnenwagen Aachen e.V.	Covestro Sonnenwagen	Germany	3019 km	71.8 km/h
7	Antakari Solar Team	INTIKALLPA V	Chile	3019 km	66.9 km/h
8	Nagoya Institute of Technology Solar Racing	Horizon Ace	Japan	3019 km	66.5 km/h
9	Eclipse	Eclipse X	Canada	3019 km	65.1 km/h
10	JU Solar Team	Axelent	Sweden	3019 km	64.6 km/h
11	Blue Sky Solar Racing	Viridian	Canada	3019 km	63.2 km/h

Cruiser results
Rank	Team	Country	Stages completed	Score
1	Solar Team Eindhoven	Netherlands	3	111.7
2	sUNSWift UNSW Sydney	Australia	3	56.1
3	IVE Engineering Solar Car Team	Hong Kong	3	44.2
4	SolarCar-Team Hochschule Bochum	Germany	1	48.4
5	Sun Shuttle	China	1	17.4
6	University of Minnesota	USA	1	14.6

Adventure results

2021

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia the WSC closed entries three months earlier than normal, on 18 December 2020. They were then to "… review all current government measures relating to social distancing, density and contact tracing, international travel restrictions and isolation requirements." ^[35] On 12 February 2021, the South Australian Government confirmed the cancellation of the 2021 staging of the event. While the COVID-19 pandemic was not explicitly cited as the reason, the "complexities of international border closures" affecting Australia at the time appear to be the primary reason for the event's cancellation. The same statement also noted the next event would take place in October 2023 - at least 962 days from the date of announcement, and resulting in a four-year gap between events. ^[2] Registered teams should receive a full refund of all fees. ^[35]

2023

The 2023 World Solar Challenge was held from October 22-29. At the beginning of the race, 31 teams were participating, with 23 in the Challenger division and 8 in the Cruiser division. ^[36] The Challenger division was won by defending champions Innoptus (formerly Agoria) with an average speed of 88.2km/h, and the Cruiser division was won by UNSW Sunswift with a score of 91.1. ^{[37] [38]} Uniquely, no Cruisers were able to finish the race this year.

Many of the leading teams faced trouble during the competition. Michigan experienced electrical issues during qualifying, and had to start last. German team Sonnenwagen was blown off the road just outside of Port Agusta. Despite their car coming out relatively unscathed, they had to withdraw due to new regulations. ^[39] On day 4, Tokai had to stop for several hours for repairs after running over a cattle grid. Kogakuin had consistent problems with their MPPT charge controller, and reported in an Instagram post that their panels were generating less than half the power than they should have been. ^[40]

See also

• Renewable energy portal
• Energy portal

• Solar car racing
• List of prototype solar-powered cars
• List of solar car teams
• Shell Eco-marathon
• The Quiet Achiever, the world's first solar-powered racecar

Other solar vehicle challenges

• American Solar Challenge, a biennial United States event held since 1990 that has previously included Canada
• Formula Sun Grand Prix, an annual U.S. event held on race tracks.
• The Solar Car Challenge, an annual event for High School students from the U.S. and (to a lesser extent) other parts of the world, first held in 1995
• South African Solar Challenge, a biennial South African event that was first held in 2008
• Victorian Model Solar Vehicle Challenge, an annual event in Australia for schoolchildren
• European Solar Challenge, a biennial 24-hour race in Belgium
• Atacama Solar Race, a biennial event held in Chile

Movie

• Race the Sun , a movie loosely based on a participating team

References

1. "Mission: Serving Society with Superior Quality". 2017 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. Bridgestone. 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
2. "2021 CHALLENGE UPDATE". worldsolarchallenge.org. South Australian Tourist Commission. 12 February 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2021. The 16th edition of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge will not go ahead from 22-30 October this year.
3. "History". worldsolarchallenge.org. South Australian Tourism Commission. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
4. "Stella Vie is officially road legal!". Solar Team Eindhoven. Solar Team Eindhoven. 23 August 2017. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
5. "KENTEKEN CHECK PP-301-S (Dutch public registration info for license-plate PP-301-S)" (in Dutch). Autoweek.nl. 6 August 2017. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
6. "2015 Team List". World Solar Challenge. 5 June 2015. Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
7. "An epic journey revisited". The People & Environment Blog. National Museum of Australia. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
8. Barry, Courtney (22 October 2003). "RACING; Here They Come, as Fast as the Sun Will Carry Them". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
9. 1987 World Solar Teams IFP Lab Site, Retrieved 13 February 2021.
10. Wakefield, Ernest H. (1 October 1998). History of the Electric Automobile (Softbound). SAE International. ISBN   978-0-7680-0125-9 . Retrieved 13 February 2021.
11. 1990 World Solar Challenge Teams IFP Lab Site, Retrieved 13 February 2021.
12. 1993 World Solar Challenge Entry List IFP lab site, Retrieved 13 February 2021.
13. 1996 World Solar Challenge Team IFP Lab Site, Retrieved 13 February 2021.
14. 1999 World Solar Challenge Teams IFP Lab Site, Retrieved 13 February 2021.
15. "Honour Roll - 1987 to 2013". World Solar Challenge. 4 June 2014. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
16. "Final Results for the 2001 Solar Odyssey". World Solar Challenge. 27 November 2001. Archived from the original on 13 June 2002. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
17. "Teams List 2001". World Solar Challenge. Archived from the original on 6 June 2002. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
18. "Zero to Darwin Project - 2003WSC - Final result". www.zdp.co.jp (in Japanese). 28 October 2003. Archived from the original on 30 October 2005. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
19. WSC 2007 results
20. WSC 2009 results
21. WSC 2011 results
22. "WSC 2013 Cruiser class results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
23. WSC 2013 Challenger class results
24. "WSC 2013 Adventure class results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
25. WSC 2015 Cruiser class results
26. WSC 2015 Challenger class results
27. "WSC 2015 Adventure class results" (PDF). World Solar Challenge. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
28. "2017 World Solar Challenge Results". World Solar Challenge. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
29. "CHARGING THE FUTURE – NEXT-GEN DREAMS TO REALITY | World Solar Challenge 2019". www.worldsolarchallenge.org. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
30. Slessor, Camron; Campbell, Claire (17 October 2019). "Leading car at World Solar Challenge bursts into flames forcing team Vattenfall out of challenge". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
31. "Chasing the sun: the World Solar Challenge 2019". The Guardian. 19 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
32. "Agoria claims first title". worldsolarchallenge.org. South Australian Tourism Commission. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
33. "It's cruise control all the way for Solar Team Eindhoven". worldsolarchallenge.org. South Australian Tourism Commission. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
34. Campbell, Claire; Opie, Rebecca (16 October 2019). "Two cars blown off road during World Solar Challenge near Coober Pedy". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
35. "COVID-19 and the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge". worldsolarchallenge.org. South Australian Tourism Commission. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
36. "Charging towards the future…31 teams off to chase the sun… | World Solar Challenge 2023". worldsolarchallenge.org. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
37. "World Solar Challenge 2023". worldsolarchallenge.org. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
38. "World Solar Challenge 2023". worldsolarchallenge.org. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
39. "Day 5: We are out of the race!". Team Sonnenwagen Aachen. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
40. "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 20 December 2023.

External links

• Official website
• Images from Alice Springs, Australia – 2007
• An overview of all the competing teams in the 2013 WSC.