THE 2022 #SasolSolarChallenge route will see more than a dozen professional and amateur solar car teams from around the world, travelling from Johannesburg to Cape Town, passing through five provinces, 14 towns and visiting more than 20 communities between September 9 and 16.
On route from Johannesburg to Cape Town, travelling through the Eastern Cape, the solar cars will stop over at Graaff Reinet again.
Now in its stride to its 14th year, teams take on the challenge to develop, build and drive solar-powered cars, with the goal of covering the most distance without using a drop of fuel.
The Sasol Solar Challenge is renowned for being uniquely challenging due to the varying weather conditions and a total altitude drop of nearly 2 000 m, putting the often newly launched technology inside solar cars to the ultimate test.
The eight-day event traditionally spans more than 2 500 km, with local and international teams putting newly developed technology to the test as they pass through South African towns. Competitive solar cars must be lightweight, aerodynamic, efficient, and safe – making them ideal test beds for a variety of engineering sectors.
This tough competition proves challenging for even the best international solar teams. Each day, solar cars and their support vehicles traverse a route of 250 – 300 km. There are three major stops on each stage: the start line – the Control Stop – and the finish line. Each day-long stage of the eight-day Challenge ends at 17:00, when all teams must have their solar cars parked in the “parc fermé” paddock.
Spectators look on with dread as top teams strategize and stretch their time, arriving just seconds before cut-off, having squeezed every kilometre possible out of the day. Late arrivals are penalised, which could change the start line the next day.
– ISSUED: SASOL SOLAR CHALLENGE
