During the second day of Sasol Solar Challenge in South Africa, the programme included preparing for the marathon stage in addition to regular driving. Solar Team Twente started from the second position and managed to achieve the shared first place after 930.3 kilometres.
The Sasol Solar Challenge in South Africa has several special stages. One of those stages is the marathon stage. After the second day of racing, the team is only allowed to touch the car under strict conditions. Only three team members are allowed to tinker with the vehicle until 22:00, where normally several people are allowed to work on the car without limits. This required extra good preparation, and the team had to think carefully about which team members and materials might be needed to make the stops run as smoothly as possible.
About 35 minutes after the start, the Twente student team closed in behind the Innoptus Solar Team race convoy. Soon after, they also caught up with the Belgian team. The route through the village of Randfontein had a lot of traffic that slowed the team down. After Randfontein followed a segment with trucks and many potholes in the road, where Innoptus Solar Team stayed tightly behind the Twente racing convoy.
Third at first loop stop
The long distance to the next stop necessitated a driver change at a parking lot. The Belgians did this faster and then drove ahead of the Twente team. Just before the loop stop, Brunel Solar Team also overtook Solar Team Twente, which meant the Twente students arrived third at the loop stop. There, the Twente students immediately opted for a 30-minute control stop. After the stop, Twente left just behind Brunel Solar Team, while Innoptus Solar Team had to wait about half an hour longer due to yesterday's late entry.
Warning light
The first loop provided some suspense. In the front Escort car of the race convoy, a warning light suddenly came on. Fortunately, the team was able to continue until the loop stop, where the students swiftly changed Escort cars. Just before the change, Solar Team Twente did overtake the Delft Brunel Solar Team, who had a short service stop.
Difference in strategy
During the third run, Solar Team Twente's race convoy drove past Innoptus Solar Team, who were performing a long service stop. This was the moment when the team took the provisional lead in total kilometres driven. At the last stop, the team opted to stay a little longer to drive the most optimal strategy in the final segment. This allowed Brunel Solar Team to leave a little earlier. Just before the end of the race day, the team was overtaken by the Leuven students. As a result, the team from Twente drove into the Pac Ferme in Zeerust in third place.