The 1999 World Solar Challenge was one of a biennial series of solar-powered car races, covering about 3,000 km (1,900 mi) through the Australian Outback, from Darwin, Northern Territory to Adelaide, South Australia.
There were 40 entrants in the event, 28 of which completed the course. The overall winner was Aurora 101, built by the Aurora Solar Car Team of Australia at an average speed of 72.96 km/h. It is the only edition of the race to be won outright by an Australian team.
Route The World Solar Challenge runs across approximately 3,000 km from Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory, to Adelaide, the capital of South Australia.
Control points are established along the route for driver changes and public viewing opportunities. In 1999, these included Katherine, Dunmarra, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs, Cadney Park Homestead, Glendambo, Port Augusta and Angle Vale.
Results The Aurora Solar Car Team from Melbourne, Australia won the event outright. RankTeamCarCountryClassTime (hr:mn)Speed (km/h)1AuroraAurora 101Australia41:0672:962Queens UniversityRadianceCanada41:3372.123University of QueenslandSunSharkAustralia41:5071.864Northern Territory UniversityDesert RoseAustraliaSilver Zinc42:1471.005Kanazawa Institute of TechnologyKIT Golden EagleJapanSilver Zinc44:3367.316Tamagawa Solar ChallengersTamagawa Super GenbowJapanSilver Zinc45:2666.007Lake Tuggeranong CollegeSpirit of CanberraAustralia45:3165.868Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyManta GTXUSACutout45:3465.819University of MichiganMaize BlazeJapan47:3463.0410Osaka Sangyo UniversityOSU Model SAustralia48:2162.02 Separate classes were convened based on the solar cell material used by teams.
Silver Zinc class ClassOverallTeamCarCountryTime (hr:mn)Speed (km/h)14Northern Territory UniversityDesert RoseAustralia42:1471.0025Kanazawa Institute of TechnologyKIT Golden EagleJapan44:3367.3136Tamagawa Solar ChallengersTamagawa Super GenbowJapan45:2666.00
Silicon class ClassOverallTeamCarCountryTime (hr:mn)Speed (km/h)114SA Solar Car ConsortiumNEDAustralia55:1354.31220Southbank UniversityMad Dog IIIUK59:1150.67321Central Queensland UniversityCapricorn Solar FlairAustralia60:2749.61
Cutout class ClassOverallTeamCarCountryTime (hr:mn)Speed (km/h)18MITNEDAustralia45:3465.81220Aoyama Gakuin UniversityAGU AglaiaJapan58:2151.39321University Missouri RollaUSA63:2747.26
Private class ClassOverallTeamCarCountryTime (hr:mn)Speed (km/h)111Solar MotionsCascade CruiserUSA48:2162.02215Jona SunJona SunJapan55:4553.79317JunkyardJunkyardJapan56:5453.79
Cycle challenge The Electricity Trust of South Australia sponsored a solar-powered cycle challenge over approximately 1,500 km from Alice Springs to Adelaide.
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