Today the Sasol Solar Challenge kicked off from the CSIR in Pretoria as teams embarked on a 5 400 km journey around South Africa. The race comprises 13 teams and goes on for 11 days, putting solar powered vehicles to the ultimate test.
Teams participating in the race are, University of the Witwatersrand, University of Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, North West University, German School Johannesburg, University of KwaZulu Natal and the Tshwane University of Technology all from South Africa.
On the international front, teams include Tokai University and Kenjiro Shinozuka from Japan and Delhi University from India.
The teams will leave Pretoria and make their way through the North West and Northern Cape provinces before reaching Cape Town at the end of this week where an Open Day will be held at Canal Walk Shopping Centre on Saturday, 22 September. This will allow the public to get a closer look at the cars and teams.
From Cape Town, the teams will make their way up the picturesque N2 going through Oudshoorn, Port Elizabeth and East London before joining the N6 to Bloemfontein.
Upon leaving Bloemfontein, the cars will make their way past Harrismith before stopping over at Midlands Mall in Pietermaritzburg. The cars will then embark on the final leg of the race that will see them stopping over in Secunda before reaching their final destination in Pretoria on Friday, 28 September.
‚”We are excited to see the race finally underway. This is the realisation of many months of hard planning and we trust that the teams will find the route challenging as well as fun,‚” said Winstone Jordaan, Sasol Solar Challenge race organiser.
‚”This day is finally upon us and we’re excited to see the race unfold. This is a fine example of how we can see the benefits of harnessing the power of the sun and demonstrate the flexibility of solar power. We wish the teams the best of luck,‚” said Maurice Radebe, Group Executive, Sasol.
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