GEORGE NEWS - The South African Solar Challenge 2010 is an epic, two-week race in solar-powered cars through the length and breadth of South Africa. George was part of the route followed by participants and saw some science fiction scenes on Monday when several very strange vehicles drove into town.

Teams had to build their own cars, design their own engineering systems and now race those same machines through the most demanding terrain that solar cars have ever seen.
The race started on the 23rd of September and comes to and end on 2 October.
It includes a mixture of local and international teams from across the world, who compete in various classes, for prizes, prestige and experience.

Each team had to put their vehicle through grueling qualifying and technical inspections. Teams that failed to meet the requirements may not participate. During the race, each team is escorted by their support team.
The South African Solar Challenge (SASC) is a competition designed to drive and provide education in innovation and business. The event is managed by the Advanced Energy Foundation.

The primary objective is to design, manage, build and race solar powered vehicle across South Africa. The challenge sees a collaboration between scholars, students, private individuals and various industry and government partners, to work together to have a safe, technology rich event.

Photos: Anica Krüger


Filling up on ‘fuel’ - in sunny South Africa we often take this energy source for granted but the Japanese support team was gratified by the last few hours of sunlight and held the solar panel at the best possible angle.