Estonia's entry to this year's Bridgestone World Solar Challenge solar race across Australia continues to maintain a strong place even as it had lost the lead on the penultimate day.
Dozens of solar-powered cars have been speeding along Australia's seemingly endless highways, in hopes of winning the title of best performing solar car.
The race runs on public roads north to south and started last Sunday, in Darwin, at the top end of Australia, and ends, nearly 3,000 kilometers later, in Adelaide, this coming Sunday.
The Estonian team and its car, the Solaride III Enefit, which led the race for four days, fell to second place on day five, with the final decisive rally day lying ahead.
Solaride's chief engineer Joosep Ress said: "Up until the 2,000 kilometer-mark we held the lead, and from there on it has been a very close fight between first and second place. So the main competitor we are battling minute by minute is a team from Hong Kong, with whom we currently have a 12-kilometer gap, but that changes every day and the struggle is very tight."
There were still a decisive 200 kilometers left to drive as of X Estonian time.
Solaride solar car driver Ülo Pajuste said the last stretch had been "very extreme – we have not yet driven this car in such harsh conditions and would not have expected to, because it was raining and there was strong wind. Otherwise, the rest of the journey has been relatively calm, sunny, a little windy."
Naturally the Estonian team's goal is to win, though at the moment there is still a lot of uncertainty around the final race day.
"It is also not known whether the organizers will decide to change anything, considering that 130 km/h winds are forecast for tomorrow. In the evening we will check whether the car is all right after today's drive through rain and wind. Then we will fully charge the car and tomorrow morning we will start driving towards the finish," Ress said.
While there are other solar car competitions in the world, the Australian rally is special in many ways, Ress noted.
"The Australian race is special because it has been held since 1987. It is very long-standing and is called the most difficult and challenging. It is so long, conditions can change quickly, the most teams meaning the most competition, and the hardest, but also the most exciting," he said.
The Estonian team is made up of 25 students, 20 of whom are engineers. The Solaride car was created, developed, and built by them.
"The new car we are here with is 5.8 meters long, which is the maximum length allowed in competitions. It is so long because it helps us design the car with the best possible aerodynamics, which means the lowest possible energy consumption. The car has a 15-kilowatt-hour battery pack, with which and with solar power we can drive a distance of 600–700 km, depending on road conditions, weather, and everything else," Ress continued.
Solaride says its overriding goal is to foster young engineers through exciting experiences and role models.
The official race page is
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