Solar Team Twente is taking part with its solar car in this year's Solar Challenge Morocco, which starts on 25 October 2021. The vehicle was actually developed for the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Solar Challenge Morocco is a race of over 2,500 kilometres through the Sahara desert. Solar Team Twente calls the race a "wonderful alternative" to the race through the Australian outback. At the same time, the team points out that the Solar Challenge Morocco brings new challenges.
Student team
Solar Team Twente has been taking part in the World Solar Challenge for years and built eight different solar cars for this purpose in the past. The team consists of students from Saxion and the University of Twente. They interrupt their studies for a year and a half to participate in the race.
The team therefore calls it a shock when it was announced earlier this year that the 2021 edition of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A year of time the students had invested in their new vehicle seemed to be lost as a result.
'Searched hard for alternative'
"That a line went through 'Australia' was a huge blow for the team," team leader Colin van Laar tells us. "The goal we had been working towards for a year seemed to fall away. We were really devastated by that for a while. At the same time, it was typical of this team that we tried to turn the knob quickly. We looked hard for an alternative and did not stop producing a world-class solar car. With that, we are well on track."
With the Solar Challenge Morocco, there is now an alternative. The race was initiated by Solar Team Twente in cooperation with rally organisation Classic Events from Vaassen. The race is 2,500 kilometres long in total and crosses the Sahara desert. Solar Team Twente states that the race will demand the utmost from both the solar cars and the participating teams.
Five stages
The race consists of five stages. The race starts and ends in the Moroccan port city of Agadir. Especially the southern part of Morocco at the foot of the Atlas Mountains and the edge of the Sahara will be visited by the race.
The Solar Challenge Morocco differs in one important respect from the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. In the latter 3,000-kilometre race, teams start each day at the point where they finished the previous day. This is not the case in Morocco; during the Solar Challenge Morocco, teams complete a daily stage running from point A to point B. This makes the concept similar to that of the Dakkar Rally, according to Solar Team Twente.
Two classes
Within the Solar Challenge Morocco, a winner will be declared in two classes: the Challenger Class and Cruiser Class. The winner of the Challenger Class is the team that manages to use energy most efficiently and finishes the race with the lowest overall time. In the Cruiser Class, production vehicles powered by solar energy compete against each other. The winner is chosen by a jury based on several factors, including performance and design.
The field of participants is not yet fully known. However, Solar Team Twente says it is certain that many top teams will appear at the start. Besides Solar Team Twente, other Dutch top teams may also take part. The vehicles with which teams can participate in the Solar Challenge Morocco must meet the same requirements as those set for the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.
RED Horizon
This year, Solar Team Twente is taking part with its ninth solar car: RED Horizon. The vehicle is currently production and not yet officially unveiled. Details about RED Horizon are therefore still missing. However, a design teaser has been released.
Further information about the Solar Challenge Morocco is available here. For updates on RED Horizon, please click here.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Image: PublicDomainPictures via Pixabay
