BRIDGESTONE Journey, Our PassionBRIDGESTONE Journey, Our PassionBRIDGESTONE WORLD SOLAR CHALLENGE

BRIDGESTONE WORLD SOLAR CHALLENGEBRIDGESTONE

Event OverviewThe World's Greatest 3,000km
Solar Car Race

 The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge is an international solar car event.
Using solar energy as their main power source, participating teams must traverse approximately 3,000km across the Australian continent from Darwin in the north to Adelaide in the south.
The event is divided into three classes: the Challenger Class that determines which team creates the world’s fastest solar car, the Cruiser Class that is focused on efficiency and practicality, and the non-competitive Adventure Class for teams to simply enjoy the event. More than 40 teams from around the world will spend five to six days traveling through the vast continent of Australia.

 Teams are allowed to operate their solar cars from 8:00 to 17:00, and must set up camps in expansive deserts during the night. This survival element is one of the key features of the exciting event.
Because the development of solar cars requires expertise in diverse scientific fields such as aerodynamics, electrical engineering and electronic engineering, the event attracts global attention as an opportunity for the development of engineers, working beyond traditional academic boundaries.
Furthermore, participants are required to take care of fundraising, team management, and many more aspects on top of vehicle development.
The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge is an excellent educational experience.

2017 Event Schedule

*Subject to change

October   2 Static scrutineering commences
October   7 Dynamic scrutineering commences, Team briefing, Media briefing
October   8 Ceremonial Start
October 11 Ceremonial Finish Line opens
October 13 Cruiser Class Finish
October 14 Cruiser class public judging
October 15 Award Ceremony
Regulations

History30 Years of Advanced Automotive
Technology Development

 The World Solar Challenge began in 1982 when Danish adventurer Hans Tholstrup and Australian race car driver Larry Perkins made their way across Australia in their solar car, “Quiet Achiever”.
Their journey proved how effective solar energy could be in powering vehicles.
Following their journey, the South Australian Tourism Commission became the pioneer sponsor for the first World Solar Challenge held in 1987. Since then, this race promotes the development of automotive technology and alternative energy source for vehicles.

 The World Solar Challenge became a biennial event in 1999, with regulations updated every 18 months according to the latest technological developments. In the previous event of 2015, the Cruiser Class was introduced to promote the development of practical solar cars.
This year, the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Bridgestone has been the title sponsor of this event since 2013.

Honour RollPast Champion Cars

  • 2015
    CHALLENGER CLASS

    1. 1st Netherlands Nuon Solar Car Team “Nuna 8”
    2. 2nd Netherlands Solar Team Twente “Red One”
    3. 3rd Japan Tokai University “Tokai Challenger” Bridgestone Support Team
    • Nuon Solar Car Team “Nuna 8”
      Nuon Solar Car Team “Nuna 8”
    • Solar Team Twente “Red One”
      Solar Team Twente “Red One”
    • Tokai University “Tokai Challenger”
      Tokai University “Tokai Challenger”bridgestoneBridgestone Support Team

  • 2015
    CRUISER CLASS

    1. 1st Netherlands Eindhoven “STE2”
    2. 2nd Netherlands Kogakuin University “Owl” Bridgestone Support Team
    3. 3rd Germany HS Bochum “Sunriser”
    • Eindhoven “STE2”
      Eindhoven “STE2”
    • 工学院大学 “Owl”
      Kogakuin University “Owl”bridgestoneBridgestone Support Team
    • HS Bochum “Sunriser”
      HS Bochum “Sunriser”

Before 2013*CHALLENGER CLASS Only

  •  
    1. 1st
    2. 2nd
    3. 3rd
  • 2013
    Nuon Solar Car Team “Nuna 7” Tokai University “Tokai Challenger” Solar Team Twente “The Red Engine”
  • 2011
    Tokai University “Tokai Challenger” Nuon Solar Car Team “Nuna 6” Univ. of Michigan “Quantum”
  • 2009
    Tokai University “Tokai Challenger” Nuon Solar Car Team “Nuna 5” Univ. of Michigan “Infinium”
  • 2007
    Nuon Solar Car Team “Nuna 4” Umicore “Umicar Infinity” Aurora “Aurora 101”
  • 2005
    Nuon Solar Car Team “Nuna 3” Aurora “Aurora 101” Univ. of Michigan “Momentum”
  • 2003
    Nuon Solar Car Team “Nuna 2” Aurora “Aurora 101” MIT “Tesseract”
  • 2001
    Nuna “Alpha Centauri” Aurora “Aurora 101” Univ. of Michigan “M-Pulse”
  • 1999
    Aurora “Aurora 101” Queens Univ. “Radiance” Univ. of Queensland “Sunshark”
  • 1996
    Honda “Dream Ⅱ” United High School of Biel AISIN SEIKI Co.,Ltd “Aisol III”
  • 1993
    Honda “Dream” Biel College of Engineering  
  • 1990
    Biel College of Engineering Honda “Dream” Univ. of Michigan
  • 1987
    General Motors “Sunraycer” Ford Australia “Sunchaser” Biel College of Engineering