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16 January 2007: Sunswift shatters record by 3 days
Yesterday the UNSW Solar Racing Team rolled into Sydney after five and a half days on the road from Perth to Sydney. The team was welcomed at Circular Quay by a crowd of supporters and media. Representatives from the University of New South Wales and Gary Johnston of Jaycar Electronics congratulated the team on their tremendous achievement.

After leaving Perth’s Scarborough Beach last Wednesday at 8:20am Jaycar Sunswift III arrived in the Sydney CBD at 1:20pm yesterday. Despite cloudy weather for the first two days of the record attempt the team was still able to push through and shatter the previous record by 3 days.

Media coverage of the record has been significant. All major Australian television networks were present at the finish and today the team has featured on breakfast television and radio as well as several major newspapers. Coverage has even extended beyond Australia’s borders with news services all around the world running with the story.

The team hopes their record will inspire the general public about what is possible if you start with a clean slate and the goal to make a vehicle as efficient as possible. Our vehicle, Jaycar Sunswift III, demonstrates that the future of transportation lies in innovative thought, advanced materials and renewable solar energy.

The team arrives at Circular Quay	Jaycar Sunswift III in Sydney traffic

14 January 2007: Monash to Gundagai (day 5)
Today we put another 800km’s behind us, with the only real drama being a near flat tyre on one of our support cars. Apart from this, the traffic also started to get heavier now that we are passing through slightly more built up areas. Going across the Nullarbor we did have some fairly large loads overtaking us (see below), but over all, the general traffic in towns has caused a lot more stress in our support vehicles.

So far on the trip we haven’t had to complete any major repairs to the solar car on the side of the road. This is largely thanks to the checking that goes on after we have pulled into our campsite for the night. Whilst this means a fairly long day for most of us (12 hours of driving then more work at night), it has certainly been worth it. One such nightly activity is the replacing of all the solar car’s tyres to minimise the likelihood of getting a flat.

The nightly tyre change	Oversize vehicle overtaking the fleet

14 January 2007: Details for Sydney finish – Monday
When the UNSW Solar Racing Team arrives in Sydney tomorrow they will have shattered the current transcontinental record by almost three days. The team and their car Jaycar Sunswift III are expecting to arrive in the Sydney CBD at 3pm tomorrow.

Time: 3pm
Location: Circular Quay, outside the Museum of Contemporary Art
Media enquiries: Please contact Ryan on 0412737363 or 0429364210

13 January 2007: Day 4 - on track to break record
Today we covered a little less than 800km's between Wirrulla and Renmark (near the SA/VIC border). Our drive took us through diverse terrain: from the arid outback, to the coast near Port Augusta, over the hills north of the Clare Valley and down past the Murray River at Morgan. The weather was good again, and thanks to some fixes made to the solar array last night, the car was performing relatively well.

So far we've talked mostly about our solar car, but to run if safely and efficiently on the road we actually require a fair amount of 'technology' in the support cars. As can be seen in the picture below we have the expected CB radios, GPS, a rotating beacon and so on connected in the lead vehicle. Thanks to support from the NRMA via use of their van, we also have spare batteries, a built-in air compressor for easy tyre changes and two fuel tanks for extended range. Additionally, inverters have been fitted in each vehicle to charge our phones and power a laptop or two (which apart from data analysis also provides entertainment/distraction in the form of music). We even tried to install a rear vision camera and display system in our tow vehicle for increased visibility (okay, so this one is still a work-in-progress).

Just before we arrived at our 'campsite' (on some land out the back of Monash), we got our first flat tyre on the solar car for the trip… not a bad result for almost 3,000km of driving (sometimes with fairly strong crosswinds).

For an estimated time of arrival in Sydney and details of our finish location, please check back here tomorrow night or Monday morning.

The fleet rolling through the hills north of the Clare Valley	View from the passenger seat of the lead vehicle

12 January 2007: Ceduna (day 3)
It is now our third day on the road and we have just passed Ceduna in South Australia. The team has made great progress considering we had significant cloud cover for our first two days of travelling.

Today, we woke up to a star-filled sky eager to get an early start. There was some disappointment when we were unable to fix problems with two trackers this morning (meaning we have been driving with only two-thirds of the solar array functioning properly today). Despite this, our car is running with most of its aerodynamic fairings fitted and is consequently using very little energy.

Solar cars traditionally incorporate spats (wheel coverings) and fillets (an aerodynamic join between the spats and bottom shell). These fittings allow the already highly streamlined vehicles to travel close to the speed limit whilst using a fraction of the energy required by conventional vehicles. While these and other devices have been known to reduce the energy consumption of vehicles for some time, it is only recently that we have seen an attempt by manufacturers to incorporate them into vehicle design. Additionally, the aesthetics of highly streamlined vehicles are yet to be widely accepted by the general public.

By the end of the day, we will be roughly half way to Sydney. At this stage we are already around one week ahead of the original record set by the Quiet Achiever in 1983. Given progress so far, the team is also confident that we will break the present (unofficial) record of 8.5 days.

Sunset on the Nullarbor

11 January 2007: Start of day 2
Last night the team camped on the side of the road near Higginsville, after travelling 695km's on our first day. We had planned to pull over at Widgiemooltha, but the owner of the local caravan park (which had no space) noted there were rampant snakes in the area, and advised us to drive ahead 35km's to an area which was apparently 'safer'. Today we were packed and on the road again by 7:30am, although some tracker problems forced an early pit stop. The fleet is currently refuelling in Norseman (at 9am local time) before commencing the long haul across the Nullarbor. The clouds are still with us, but are gradually becoming lighter and more dispersed.

Note: the release of this update was delayed by limited mobile phone coverage

Getting ready to leave this morning	Simon in the driver's seat

10 January 2007: Coolgardie and beyond
After leaving in the rain this morning, the sun started to poke through gaps in the clouds as we headed west, producing the highest output we have ever seen from our array. Along with the weather extremes have been highly varied driving conditions, from the dual carriageway freeway's of Perth to driving through the gravel on the side of the road at work sites.

This update is being made from Coolgardie at 6:00pm local time (West Australia daylight saving). So far today we have covered over 550km and will be driving further for an hour or two before sunset. The team is pleased to note that with this distance covered, our fleet is back into ‘waving’ territory (ie. where vehicles are few enough that most drivers acknowledge each other as they pass by)...

Stopped at Southern Cross

10 January 2007: A rainy but successful start
The team is now travelling through the hills outside of Perth after leaving from Scarborough Beach just before 8:30am. Perth’s Lord Mayor Peter Nattrass bid farewell to the team along with crews from channel 9, channel 10, the Sunday Times newspaper and local newspaper the Sterling Times. After some trouble early on (requiring quick repairs in a Bunnnings car park) we have continued to push through patches of rain under dull conditions. Speed is slow, but at this stage we hope to push through the cloud cover later this afternoon.

The UWA Motorsport team continued their generous support and cooked up a BBQ for us for dinner last night. Afterwards we packed up in the rain (as we had done in Sydney just over a week ago).

Update made at 11:00am local time.

Media at start	Jaycar Sunswift III at Bunnnings car park

09 January 2007: One day to go
Yesterday the team set up at the University of Western Australia's Motorsport workshop. Work continued on battery characterisation, wiring in the four new solar panels and making logistical preparations for the event. Additionally, after taking apart the wheel motor because of a suspected 'noisy bearing', a much larger problem was discovered. It turns out a small screw had come loose and was rolling around inside the motor causing trouble. Thankfully, however, the problem was not critical and the motor was cleaned up and put back together.

All this work in Perth has been made a great deal easier by having access to a full workshop, so a big thanks to the Motorsport team for having us!

As for the weather, today is cloudy, and there is a chance of rain tomorrow. However, at this stage we are all set to start the event tomorrow morning as planned (the weather system is rather weak, so even if there is rain it is not expected far inland). So if all goes to plan, the Lord Mayor of Perth, Dr Peter Nattrass, will be seeing us off from the Esplanade, Scarborough Beach, tomorrow morning at 8am.

Testing the array at UWA	The last of the shopping...

07 January 2007: Perth!
Our first notable support vehicle incident for the trip was encountered this morning. Three and half thousand kilometres after leaving Sydney it is not so surprising that the vehicle towing the solar car trailer had developed a sizable crack in its fan belt. Fortunately, we have Arthur travelling with us (a retired NRMA patrol serviceman and long term supporter of our team). On the other hand, we unwittingly sent the NRMA van (holding all our tools) off to Perth before a new fan belt had been purchased.

By this stage (after some tools were borrowed from the caravan park we stayed at last night), the NRMA van was well on its way to Perth. It had also lost its second fuel cap for the trip (one of the many 'less notable' support vehicle incidents). Although no excuse for the misplacing of fuel caps, the dual fuel system can lead to a more complicated than normal situation at the petrol station (see picture).

Despite all this, we made it to Perth on time. The team is now set-up at a campsite in Fremantle where we will be staying for the next three nights before departing for Sydney on Wednesday morning (weather permitting of course!). Work is continuing on the solar car including battery characterisation and analysis of performance data obtained during our testing run on the Nullarbor.

06 January 2007: The long (straight) road
After making it to Eucla on Thursday, we spent most of yesterday readying the car for a testing run in the afternoon. Due to unforeseen complications we had to pop back over to South Australia to conduct the testing run legally. The car drove well under the windy (but rather scenic) conditions of the Nullarbor.

The quarantine inspector was somewhat surprised to see us again, less than a day after passing through for the first time. Andrew noted that between what we had thrown out and what we had eaten the night before, there was actually no more food to inspect. However, we were not game to ask for any of the food left by other travellers, opting instead for burgers at the Eucla roadhouse.

Today the rain was back again, but the day did not pass by without its fair share of novelty. For example, we drove along what is the longest stretch of straight road in Australia (just under 150 kilometres on a virtually treeless plain). Currently we are camped at Coolgardie and are set to arrive in Perth by tomorrow afternoon.

Road sign on the Nullarbor	Working under the array in Eucla

04 January 2007: Pushing ahead...
All plans for an early finish have come to an abrupt end after clouds and impending rain filled the sky over Ceduna. Instead, we’ll be doing another long day of driving, ending up in the West Australian town of Eucla. Whilst you can still get sunburnt under cloudy weather, solar cell performance under these conditions is typically reduced by 80% or more compared to clear skies. As the solar car has a battery pack on board, we can continue through some amount of cloudy weather, but our average speed is usually reduced significantly.

To have some ‘eyes and ears’ on the ground a few hundred kilometres ahead of us on the way back, we’ve been chatting (see photo) to various service stations along the way. This, along with more conventional weather data, will allow us to plan ahead sufficiently on the way back to Sydney to ensure the fastest possible transcontinental crossing of Australia.

03 January 2007: Three states in one day
Today was our first day of ‘real’ driving, covering 1,000km from Narrandera to Port Pirie. In our quest for the shortest, most appropriate route, we almost ended up on a back road along the Murray involving a ferry crossing (a fairly bad idea considering we are trying to trace the solar cars planned steps in reverse). We were also unable to take onboard the tips from a local on the CB radio which would have cut out some distance, but probably required the yet-to-be-designed off road solar car tyres. In fact, the tyres we use on Jaycar Sunswift III were made by Michelin and have a very low rolling resistance (‘solar car radials’). The team was lucky enough to obtain a good supply of these a few years back. Unfortunately Michelin doesn’t seem to (publish the) manufacture of these anymore, further reducing the already rather limited supply of highly efficient tyres on the market.

Even after winding back our (electronic) clocks half an hour, our arrival at the campsite coincided with sunset. We are hoping in the coming days to be arriving a little earlier to allow us to prepare the car for its first serious testing run.

02 January 2007: Leaving the rain behind?
The drought seemed to be breaking in Sydney as we left this morning, so we were relieved to see some blue sky as we approached our destination for the first night (Narrandera). With the solar car still in the trailer, speculation about the weather doesn’t matter too much just yet, but this is a solar car record after all (and from memory the swags aren’t so water proof). The other benefit of clearer skies is that we can work on the solar car a little in the evening. The most significant adjustment currently being made to the car is the replacement and wiring in of four damaged solar panels.

In true solar car fashion, we are awaiting the arrival of the control car, who left Sydney later than the rest of the fleet to tie up a few loose ends (such as obtaining a sim card for the satellite phone...)

Trailer packed and ready

01 January 2007: Transcon 07 goes 'carbon neutral'
It was noted in a previous update that operating a solar car isn't really that environmentally friendly (given the number of support vehicles and so on). With this in mind it was decided that the team would offset the greenhouse gas emissions created by the support vehicles for the trip. This has been achieved by making a contribution to Green Fleet who will plant 25 native trees to absorb the emissions of our fleet for this journey.

Simply purchasing offsets doesn't solve the 'real' issue of over energy consumption (that innovations such as our solar car seek to address). In the meantime, however, combined with sensible changes in energy use, they are certainly a step in the right direction. Apart from absorbing greenhouse gas emissions, planting trees can also help to address other issues such as salinity, water quality and loss of essential habitat for native species.

As for other progress with the team, testing and refining finally gave way to mostly sorting, cleaning and packing today. The team is set to leave Sydney tomorrow. That doesn't mean these updates will cease until we get to Perth... With some luck and a large amount of technology we hope to keep you well informed of our progress over the coming days.

Anton attempting to create some order in the NRMA van	Jarryd painstakingly 'balancing' the battery pack

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30 December 2006: The 'to do' list beckons
Things seem to be getting busier by the minute as the date of departure draws near. Some finishing touches are being made to various mechanical parts and the electrical system is being put back in order. There's also a never ending pile of logistical preparations to be made for the 8,000km, 11 person, four vehicle trip. The final list of ‘things to do’ that we came up with last night, is not surprisingly, rather large.

Andrew contemplates the long list	... but it can't be that bad with waffles and ice cream for breakfast

29 December 2006: What happened last time...
As we embark on this transcontinental journey it is worth remembering a similar trip made by the team back in 1999. Although some time ago now, the record they attempted still stands to this day (unfortunately their attempt was hampered by drought-breaking rains).

Eight years later we've finally dug their web diary up from the archives and added it to this website. The team now has over ten years of experience and with additions such as this our website is slowly becoming more comprehensive. If you're interested in taking a look at some more of this 'old stuff,' go to the Events Archive or News Archive.

NRMA Sunswift II on the road in 1999

27 December 2006: Support vehicles ready to roll
Solar vehicles such as Jaycar Sunswift III aren't actually very environmentally friendly. This may seem rather odd, but it is a result of the solar car requiring a fleet of support vehicles for it to be driven on the road. For the upcoming transcontinental record attempt we'll have three support cars: an NRMA van as the 'lead' car, a 'control' vehicle sponsored by CAGE security and the team's ute will tow the solar car trailer.

The lead and control cars essentially drive in 'fleet formation' with the solar car between them. This is mainly a safety consideration as required by the solar car's conditional registration.

Hiring cars to act as support vehicles on the race is typically a major expense for the team, but thanks to the generosity of NRMA Motoring and Services and CAGE security this is thankfully not the case this time around.

NRMA sponsored support vehicle	Jaycar stickers measured up for the trailer

24 December 2006: Team gears up for "transcon"
Perth to Sydney, using no petrol, in less than 8.5 days - this is the challenge for the UNSW Solar Racing Team if they wish to break the existing transcontinental solar car record. A trip that takes the average Australian passenger vehicle about 450 litres of petrol will soon be traversed by the team's solar vehicle, Jaycar Sunswift III, using nothing but solar radiation for fuel.

The team is set to depart Sydney early in the New Year, leaving Perth about a week later for the actual record attempt. This journey would not be possible without the support of Jaycar Electronics, which is why the team was rather pleased to announce the company as naming rights sponsor recently. Since then, team members have been working hard to ready the car for the record attempt.

From now until we arrive back in Sydney, we'll be posting regularly here on the team's website, giving an insight into some of this work. If you have a question not covered by our discover page, send us an email, and we'll do our best to answer it here in the trip diary.