Eight days of battle comes to an end: Brunel Solar Team wins bronze in Sasol Solar Challenge

Cape Town, September 20, 2024 – The Brunel Solar Team has not succeeded in defending its world title in the Sasol Solar Challenge, an extreme competition for solar-powered cars. After eight intense days of varying weather conditions, mountain passes, an early motor defect, and roadworks, the team of students from TU Delft had to settle for third place.

After eight days, it came down to which team would finish with the most kilometers driven. The final day of the competition was known as the toughest, as the teams faced the highest mountain pass. Solar car Nuna 12s started third in the standings, and to have a chance at the world title, they needed to make a significant comeback against their competitors. However, due to roadworks, the stage was prematurely ended by the organizers. "The route turned out to be unsafe, so we couldn't continue our comeback against the Belgians and the team from Twente," said driver Daan Schramade, who drove Nuna across the finish line. "Honestly, first place was no longer within reach, but we would have loved to fight for second place."

In 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2022, the Dutch TU students won the Sasol Solar Challenge. This year, their goal was to claim a fifth world title. One of their competitors, the Belgian Innoptus Solar Team, managed to cover the most distance with 4279,9 kilometers and took home the gold. The Brunel Solar Team drove a total of 4131,7 kilometers in the South African solar race. Cato Kral, team leader of the Brunel Solar Team, responded resiliently to their third-place finish: "We participate to win, so it's very disappointing that we didn't succeed. We've worked hard for a year on our innovative motor and solar panel. The knowledge we gained will be passed on to the next team so they can build on it."

As early as day two of the eight-day solar race, the team was forced to replace their self-developed motor, which was designed to provide extra efficiency, due to a defect. They continued the challenge with an older motor, battling gusty winds, fog, poor road conditions, and significant altitude differences. "Of course, we had hoped for more," said Kral. "Nevertheless, we're very proud of our team performance. We aimed to be here with a resilient, inspiring team and to face challenges. We achieved all three."