The solar car team from the Delft University in The Netherlands, Brunel Solar Team has again won the Sasol Solar Challenge, following a week of battle between the team and other top solar car teams in the challenge.

Brunel Solar Team, formerly known as Nuon/Vattenfall are now four times champions of the Sasol Solar Challenge - retaining the title for four consecutive challenges.

The team was in second place on day seven (yesterday) of the Sasol Solar Challenge with 590.5 km following Agoria Solar Team at first place - leading with 609.4 km.

“We would like to congratulate all the teams who participated in the 2022 Sasol Solar Challenge for crossing the finish line successfully. They have all done really well and showcased their engineering skills and talents to different communities across South Africa throughout the eight days – while also spreading an awareness on the importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education as well as sustainable transportation,” said Robert Walker, Owner and Director of the Sasol Solar Challenge.

Day eight of the 2022 Sasol Solar Challenge finished at the V&A Waterfront. Spectators including young people were at the finish line in the afternoon, cheering for the teams as they arrived at the venue.

Brunel Solar Team said the 2022 Sasol Solar Challenge was a great experience and gave them a real challenge with the newly incorporated blind stages and marathon stage.

“We are excited to have retain our title as champions of the Sasol Solar Challenge. However, this year’s event was tense as we were competing among other top solar car teams. We managed to push through and work together as a team,” said Sanne Vilters, team leader. The blind stages were a real challenge but have taught us some new dimensions of solar challenge.”

Meanwhile, Agoria Solar Team said: “As a team, we are incredibly proud of our performance. Despite all the setbacks, we managed to finish in second place in our first participation in the Sasol Solar Challenge. We certainly didn't make it easy for our fellow competitors,” said Emma Stalmans, team spokesperson.

On local teams, Tshwane University of Technology Solar Team came first place, followed by the North West University Solar Car Team on second place.

“We worked very hard on our solar car the past year, and once finished, we took on a long trip to test it. We are excited that all the hard work paid off. We increased our kilometres this year and managed to secure first place for local teams,” said TUT Solar Team managers. “We did encounter challenges during the eight days. The blind stages really set us behind, however, we managed to use them to our advantage - to charge our car, which has really pulled us through to the end of the event.”

Nozipho Mbatha, Senior Manager: Group Brand and Sponsorships at Sasol said: “We are proud of the teams and all that they have managed to accomplish, the dedication and hard work that they’ve put into building fully functioning solar cars to compete in this eight-day long Sasol Solar Challenge. We believe that through their work, and driving across the country, they have inspired young people to pursue careers in the fields of STEM.”

Results (kilometres) for the solar cars teams will be published on 17 September.