Participants in the World Solar Challenge solar car race, which began November 18 in Australia, have crossed the finish line and U of T engineers have placed 14th out of 43 racers from schools around the world.

This was the first foray into the World Solar Challenge for U of T’s Blue Sky Solar Racing team. No stranger to the international solar circuit, Blue Sky placed 20th in 1999’s Sunrayce competition, earning “Top Rookie” honours. Blue Sky’s new vehicle, named Faust, is considerably more advanced and competitive than any of their previous cars. But, as in any race, strategy determined who came out on top.

The race made for a tough if extremely spine-tingling first time experience for Andrew Frow, Jennifer McGuire, Patrick Pritchard, Vivek Sekhar, Rajnesh Singh and Mark Freeman—all team rookies—who aided veteran members Tomek Bartzak, David Nam, Jason Sears and Jessica van Vliet in the gruelling challenge.

Blue Sky’s down-under expedition started off well enough, with Faust passing a slew of road tests with flying colours.

But in the actual race, Faust clocked in at 90.2 km/h, earning them 14th place. University of Michigan’s team raced into the top spot at 112 km/h, followed by Japan’s Kanazawa Institute of Technology.

“Unfortunately,” said Blue Sky driver David Nam, “Faust travels slightly slower than the average race car, clocking in at an average speed of 80 km/h, with a top speed of 140 km/h, even though the top of the car…is coated in $600,000 worth of solar cells that feed into some of the world’s most advanced lithium polymer batteries.

“Fuel, of course,” quipped Nam, “is absolutely free!”

The team was hoping to finish the race in five days, but a raging storm on the fifth day dashed those hopes. During the layover, though, the team was privileged to glimpse the awesome Australian wilderness—amazing terrain, camping stops at historical sites, and lots of insects.

Blue Sky’s main concern was financing and the race showed the team how tough it was to raise funds for an engineering project like Faust. Solar car racing is changing: it’s becoming more expensive and the technology necessary for success is zooming forward faster than ever before.

Teams will need more and more sponsors if they want to remain competitive and continue escalating the limits of solar power technology.

The World Solar Challenge began in 1986 to motivate research and development into harnessing solar energy for transport needs.

The notoriously tough racecourse, harsh on the cars and the teams, shows the capability and adaptability of solar power.