A Dutch team has taken out the World Solar Challenge, with their solar powered car crossing the finish line more 100 kilometres ahead of closest rival from Japan.
There were jubilant scenes as the Dutch team, Nuon and its car Nuna7, travelled to the centre of the South Australian capital, Adelaide for the trophy presentation after completing the 3000 kilometre road journey from Darwin in the Northern Territory.
ABC News reports it marked the fifth win in the event for the team, which has now competed seven times.
Coach Wobbo Ockles said it was a wonderful feeling.
“The biggest pleasure you can get in your life,” he said.
Both Nuon and its main rival, veteran Japanese team Tokai, had to battle cloudy skies and rain nearing the finish.
ABC News reports while Tokai was stuck on the side of the road with a flat battery, Nuon had more power because it had been harnessing energy in extra solar collector panels the team used while the car was stationary.
The strategy was within the race guidelines.
Still, team Nuon said the conditions were much worse than expected.
“We were really afraid things could go wrong in the end,” one member told ABC News.
Nuna7 managed an average speed of 90.71 kilometres an hour and it took just over 33 hours to complete the 3000 kilometre trip from Darwin.
Eventually, Tokai crept into Adelaide early this afternoon at a speed of just 30km/hr.
Tokai’s Hosam Bukhary said they were still glad to have been runners up.
“We had so much pressure. Our battery was about to end and we stopped, we had to charge,” he said.
“We were afraid we were going to come third or fourth but fortunately we could come second, of course we would like to come first but Nuon was really strong.”
The remaining almost 40 cars, including Australian teams Arrow and Swift, will not arrive until later today thanks to the cloud cover that has slowed them down.
The competition was inaugurated in 1987 in the wake of solar pioneers Hans Tholstrup and Larry Perkins 1982 journey in a home-built solar car Quiet Achiever across Australia from west to east.
