The Sasol Solar Challenge is a gruelling two-week endurance race for solar powered cars over 5000 km of some of the most demanding terrain in South Africa. Held every two years under the auspices of Motorsport South Africa and the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), this is an eco-efficiency race that allows teams from around the world to demonstrate the performance of solar powered vehicles. It is ranked as one of the best events of its kind in the world and is aimed at educating people in the areas of science, innovation, teamwork and business principles.
Eight local and four international teams participated in this year’s event. SA entry, Illanga II (inspired by the Zulu word for sun), was designed by students from the University of Johannesburg and sponsored by Siemens, Eskom and MTN. Team Tokai, the current world champions from Japan, were the ultimate winners.
Illanga II on display at the recent Siemens TIA User Forum.
Siemens representative on the UJ crew, Sylvester Dwayi, says that the event was a great success, but not without its challenges. During the first leg of 475 km from Pretoria to Vryberg, the Illanga car, like many of the other teams, had technical problems due to overheating. Rain into East London was a problem for all the teams, as the cars need sunlight to charge their batteries. “This challenge is a perfect platform to showcase South Africa’s local talent, innovation, engineering and design excellence,” says José Machado, head of corporate communications at Siemens Africa.
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