Blown away: WSC Day 4
Gale force winds dash hopes of team Michigan, as Aussies lead Cruiser and Adventure classes of the 2013 Bridgestone World Solar ChallengeExtreme winds made the going tough for competitors during day four of the gruelling 2013 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, a 3000km race from Darwin to Adelaide.
As drivers wrestled with keeping their cars on the straight and narrow in the unforgiving endurance race, gale force crosswinds gusting up to 90km/h got the better of the University of Michigan team, forcing its solar car off the road near Coober Pedy, causing damage. The team was sitting pretty in fifth place overall, but has now dropped to ninth and may not finish the race.
However the battle royale between the Japanese defending champions Tokai and the Dutch challengers Nuon is almost over, with the Dutch likely to seal victory early on day four with just a few hundred kilometres left.
Having travelled more than 2700km in three days using nothing but the sun's UV radiation, Nuon Solar Team from the Netherlands was already celebrating at the end of the day camped near Port Pirie in South Australia, leading Team Tokai of Japan by roughly 20 minutes as the fastest competitor in the event.
Unless the Tokai University crew manage to pull some sort of solar after-burner out of the bag, it's likely they'll have to settle for second place; a bitter pill to swallow for the team that beat Nuon in 2009 and 2011 in the biennial event.
Dutch team Twente's RED Engine solar car is in third place in the premier 'Challenger' class some 240km back, but is being hunted down by the best-placed US team, Stanford University, less than 10km behind in fourth place.
Belgium team Punch Powertrain is fifth, Swiss team Solar Energy Racers is in sixth while the best-placed Aussie in the premier class, Team Arrow, sits in seventh after shocking the field early in the event by qualifying fastest.
Australia teams in the support classes are doing their country proud, with UNSW Sunswift Team and Aurora Vehicle Association placed first in the 'Cruiser' and 'Adventure' classes respectively.
Sunswift's 'eVe' car is smashing the opposition in terms of raw speed, leading by several hours. But the class is judged on design, practicality and 'person kilometres' travelled, which means the four-seat Stella vehicle from Solar Team Eindhoven currently in third place is most likely to win the class.
Stay tuned to motoring.com.au for the fifth and final day of the arduous 2013 Bridgestone Solar World Challenge as the front runners cross the finish line in Adelaide. Will it be Nuon Solar Team this time? We think so.
World Solar Challenge 2013
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