The Race

WORLD SOLAR CHALLENGE

In 1982 Hans Tholstrup and Larry Perkins drove the world’s first solar powered car, the BP Quiet Achiever, from Perth to Sydney. The car completed the 4052 km journey in 20 days, averaging 23 km/h. Hans then created the World Solar Challenge (WSC) to draw attention to the field of sustainable transport. The rules were designed to be as nonrestrictive as possible in order to foster innovation in the designs. The cars had to drive 3000 km from Darwin to Adelaide powered only by the sun.

Quiet Achiever

The world's first solar powered car, the BP Quiet Achiever.

The first WSC was held in 1987 and attracted 23 entrants from 7 countries. It was won by the General Motors entrant, Sunraycer, with an average speed of 66.9 km/h. The race now runs biennially and is the premier solar racing event in the world. In 2009, the name of the event was changed to the Global Breen Challenge (GGC) to emphasize the environmental aspects of the competition.

Source: 2009 Global Green Challenge booklet

Basic Rules
  • The race is held on public roads and thus the cars must adhere to Australian road laws.
  • A maximum of 4 drivers are allowed to drive during the race.
  • The weight of a driver (including clothes) must be at least 80 kg, otherwise ballast is added to make up the difference.
  • Daily race time is between 0800 and 1700 hours. In order to select a suitable place for the overnight stop (alongside the highway) it is possible to extend the driving period for a maximum of 10 minutes. Extra driving time is compensated for by a starting time delay the next day.
  • At various points along the route, there are checkpoints where every car has to pause for either 10 or 30 minutes.
  • No tools are allowed to be used at checkpoints.
  • The capacity of the batteries is limited to a mass for each particular chemistry (e.g., lithium ion) equivalent  to approximately a 5 kWh maximum.
  • Batteries may not be replaced during the competition.
  • Time penalties apply for rule violations.