Benz World Blog » Northern Territory

Solar Swedes

Jason Benz — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 12:42:18 +0000

In what is becoming a common sight on the Stuart Highway in Australia, teams in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge tilt their solar panels towards the sun to get the last few drops of energy into the batteries ahead of tomorrow’s day of racing. This is Jonkoping University Solar Team with their solar car Axelent. They are the only Swedish team left in the race from the four that started. They are hoping to improve on the 8th place they achieved in the last race. Behind them is the Japanese team Nitech Solar Racing with their car Horizon Ace who also just passed the halfway point south of Alice Springs at the end of the 3rd day of racing.

Tomorrow I will pass the turnoff to Uluru (ayers rock). Along with the Sydney Opera House it cannot be used for commercial stock photography. However, it is currently a newsworthy event which qualifies it as editorial photography. The reason is, in 11 days the rock will be closed to climbers permanently. As the deadline approaches the number of climbers has increased dramatically. This has resulted in even more visitors relieving themselves on what is a sacred site to the traditional owners (the Anangu people). It would be difficult to fit in a 525km detour in the middle of a race, so visiting Ularu will have to wait until it is not crawling with bogans.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Editorial Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Champion Cruisers

Jason Benz — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 06:51:13 +0000

This is Stella Era from Solar Team Eindhoven who are the reigning champions in the Cruiser Class of solar cars in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. Unlike the Challenger Class, which is all about speed. The Cruiser Class provides a platform where ideas can be tested for their practicality and commercialisation. This car, for example, not only seats 4 people, the battery has a 1800km range, and it can sense if it is parked in the shade and automatically move itself into the sun to charge. Despite its size, this is no slow coach, It currently leads the Cruisers and many of the Challengers too.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Editorial Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Race Begins

Jason Benz — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 11:09:14 +0000

Today saw the start of the 2019 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. After a discussion with the Benz World Blog readership, and given my van is older than most of the contestants, I decided to get a head start. I left Darwin 30min before the start and 15mins down the road. It was just enough to spread out the field and support cars. 1 hour and 80km from the start I was overtaken by my first solar car, BluePoint from Belgium closely followed by RED E from the Netherlands. This is exactly as they appeared in the prophetic Track Testing post. Next was Top Dutch Solar who started in pole position. Then this car from Kogakuin University Solar Team with their car KUTE Eagle. Their car, whose shape is based on the beak of a bird also has a unique air-oil suspension. Unlike most teams who have prioritised aerodynamics over power, this Japanese team have built a tilting panel which can maximise the power from the sun. Unfortunately, their motor blow out just after the first control stop in Katherine giving them 1hr of roadside repairs. In what must be one of the races outstanding performances they rejoined the top quarter of the field at the second control stop in Daly Waters with 2 minutes to spare.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Editorial Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Line Up

Jason Benz — Sat, 12 Oct 2019 07:56:45 +0000

These are the competitors for the 2019 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. I spent the day watching teams complete their hot lap to secure their place on the start line tomorrow. Debutante team Top Dutch Solar Racing (on far left) got pole position with their car Green Lighting in a time of 1:51:99 (92.3km/h)

I had been trying to get a photo of the Cambridge University solar car all week. The hot lap would be my best chance so far. Unfortunately, they ran out of time and could not record a lap. Hopefully, the race will go better for them as they are yet to finish a Solar Challenge.

I was surprised not to see more UK university teams as the challenge is perfectly suited to any engineering department. Especially as the development of this technology is essential if humans wish to continue living on this planet. My own experience studying engineering in UK did find some of the lectures had a Brunellian approach to all design. This is fine if you are making bridges from cast iron but of no use when it comes to lightweight efficient designs. Fortunately, the rest of the world has stepped up to the challenge with teams from Thailand, Chile, Poland and Morocco. Japan even has a high school team.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Editorial Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Track Testing

Jason Benz — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 08:46:05 +0000

This is BluePoint from Belgium at the Hidden Valley test track for the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. The Agoria Solar Team, designed and produced their own solar panel for the event and hired professional Nascar driver, Bert Longin to take the wheel.

Behind their car is RED E from the Netherlands who have the smallest car at the event. The Solar Team Twente have decided to use a shingled GaAs solar panel.

The event attracts designs with all the variety of the Wacky Races. However, at the top end of the hyper-efficient Challenger Class the shape of the solar cars show a degree at convergence as an asymmetric catamaran style with a single powered wheel under the driver proves to be consistently hard design to beat.

The Dynamic Scrutineering starts on the 12th October before the race starts on the 13th.

UPDATE: BluePoint went on to win the race in 2019

Double Dutch

Jason Benz — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 09:30:53 +0000

This is the most successful team in the history of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. Reigning champions in the Challenger class, The Vattenfall Solar Team from Delft University get ready to enter the Darwin Convention Centre where scrutineers check each car for size, weight and safety. A cheer filled the hall at the weigh-in when the team discovered they had the lightest car in the race so far at 131.6kg

They were followed by another Dutch team from Eindhoven who are the current Cruiser class champions with their solar car Stella Era.

Tomorrow I will move to the Hidden Valley Race Track where I hope to photograph these remarkable vehicles stretch their legs on the tarmac.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Editorial Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Open Day

Jason Benz — Sun, 06 Oct 2019 04:21:53 +0000

This is the Western Sydney University team and their car at the open day of the 2019 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge which is a 3000km solar-powered car race from Darwin in the Northern Territory to Adelaide in South Australia. It starts in 1 week and I will be posting updates along the race as I attempt to keep up with the competitors. I will be driving my 1987 van which is the same age as the race itself. Unlike my van performance which has declined over the years, the solar cars have shown extraordinary improvements in every race. So much that the organisers have reduced the maximum size of solar panels to avoid all the cars travelling at the maximum road speed for the whole race, with only the power of the sun. Although I have no choice but to use dino juice to keep up, I will be shooting, processing and uploading all images using 100% solar power, making them fossil-free photos. I am also interested in the possibility of converting my van to solar electric when the current engine has finished its lifespan.

Over the next few days, I will cover the static and dynamic scrutineering before the start of the race on 13th October.

UPDATE: At weigh-in this car took the record of the lightest car at 116.8kg

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Editorial Stock Photography and is available for download here.