On the third day of the Sasol Solar Challenge in South Africa, Solar Team Twente secured provisional shared second place. After a neck-and-neck race during the control and loop stops, the team arrived in Kuruman a little after 5 pm.
Solar Team Twente started the race from second position, behind Brunel Solar Team, with both teams equal in the standings at 930.9 kilometres. Innoptus Solar Team followed in third place with 922.4 kilometres. Shortly after the start, Solar Team Twente caught up with Brunel’s team and arrived at the checkpoint several minutes earlier than the other two teams.
Minute penalty time
The Twente student team pulled well ahead of the other teams; they came in at the checkpoint several minutes earlier than the competition. Despite a one-minute penalty, the students were able to leave earlier than the competition. The team had incurred that minute of penalty time yesterday by coming in slightly late. Teams are given until 5 pm to arrive at the day's finish point. Every minute later will have to be served at a later time the following day.
The loops that followed went smoothly and had a smooth road surface. The race convoy still lost some speed due to slow-moving traffic. As a result, Innoptus Solar Team managed to close in briefly behind them. At the loop stop, the Belgians were faster out of the car and thus caught up with the Twente student team. The next loops were completed just behind the Belgian solar car. Brunel Solar Team followed about two minutes behind.
Finish in Kuruman
The final stretch again went fairly smoothly. The road was quiet, allowing for a good pace to the finish in Kuruman. On the way, the student team from Twente caught up with a number of solar cars in the standings. Innoptus Solar Team chose to drive a last half-loop to increase their lead in kilometres over the Dutch teams. However, they arrived 16 minutes later than the 5 pm final stop, meaning they will have to stop for 22 minutes during the day tomorrow. The team from Twente will therefore once again start second tomorrow.