Japanese Solar Car Lead Race

photo: ecofriend.org

With the leading vehicles just passing the halfway point in 1,864 miles of the country's harshest terrain from Darwin in the north to southern Adelaide The 10th Global Green Challenge, the Tokai University (Japan) Challenger leads the pack followed closely by the University of Michigan (U.S.) Infinium and former world champion, the Delft Technical University(Netherlands) Nuna V. Tokai Challenger ended the first day 44 miles ahead of its closest rival. The surface of the Tokai Challenger is covered in 2,176 solar cells, which convert sunbeams to energy at the high efficiency rate of about 30 percent. This boosted the car to speeds of about 66 miles per hour yesterday. The World Solar Challenge is a biennial event in which teams, mostly university or corporation sponsored, enter the most efficient solar-powered vehicles in the world and race from coast to coast across the Australian outback. The race has been held since 1987 and has grown to such an extent that it has evolved into an arm of the broader Global Green Challenge, which runs concurrently and includes various classes of hybrid, electric, solar, low emission, and alternative energy vehicles. The solar car race event for this year will be held from October 24 to 31, 2009. The cars race for nine hours a day, then camp each night by the side of the road.