Solar Team Twente had good momentum again during the second racing day. Just after the third checkpoint at Tennant Creek, the Tukkers (inhabitants of Twente) already overtook the Brunel Solar Team from Delft. Large forest fires then made it difficult to catch up with the Belgians.
Quick start
After stopping five kilometres in front of Team Sonnenwagen Aachen yesterday, the team knew it had to keep up the pace. The German spies were already lurking around the Twente camp early in the morning and did not want to be written off just yet. When the team left exactly at eight o'clock, the pace was high. And that quickly resulted in a lead over competitors from Germany.
Overtaking Delft
The goal for day two was to catch up with the competitors from Leuven and Delft and in the case of the compatriots we succeeded! After two hours of driving at a high pace, RED X came closer to Nuna 12, the solar car from Delft. In fact, the flashing lights of the Delft racing convoy became increasingly visible in the hilly landscape of the Australian outback. Even though the TU Delft students were still two minutes ahead at Tennant Creek during the third control stop, the Tukkers overtook them shortly afterwards.
Forest fires
With Delft behind them, the gap between the Dutch teams had increased to eight minutes at the next control stop Barrow Creek. While the solar cars were still loading in the sun, the skies turned grey. The cause became increasingly clear after twenty minutes of driving: Once again the team was confronted with a large forest fire in the afternoon.
It resulted in a total blackout of the sky over a distance of more than sixty miles. This presented an unfavourable situation for the race. “At one point the shadows on the road were no longer visible. At that moment you know that the solar income will be zero," says Mark Boulogne, race strategist of Solar Team Twente.
Safety before everything
“That obviously has an impact on the race strategy. But how much impact is difficult to predict in advance. In addition, it is not responsible to drive at full speed when the flames come so close to the road. Safety comes first for us!”
After the skies gradually cleared, the team continued the race for first place rapidly. At five o'clock in the afternoon, the students arrived at the second night stop just before Alice Springs.
Hunting the Belgians
Tomorrow the team will continue the hunt for the Belgian team. The Innoptus Solar Team from Leuven was firmly in the lead today and proved to be a tough opponent. Unlike Delft, the Belgians did not let up and were seventy kilometres ahead of the Tukkers. That is why Solar Team Twente faces a major challenge tomorrow.
Deja Vu
The toughness of the Belgians is not the only challenge ahead. The stint between Glendambo and Cooper Pedy is also scheduled for tomorrow. It can be quite 'spooky' there. The team also expects strong gusts of wind there tomorrow. “Unfortunately, experience from 2019 shows that not all solar cars can deal with this, so tomorrow RED X will have to prove itself in these tough conditions”, according to Daan van Haren, marketing and communications manager at Solar Team Twente.