Two-Thirds Done! Strategic Advantages and Shifting Skies on Day 3 of the World Solar Challenge 2025

How quickly time flies… Our third day of racing is already over, and just like that, we have covered two-thirds of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge 2025. Today was defined by passing special milestones, executing tactical decisions, and battling the changing elements as we crossed back into familiar territory.

[embed]

The day began at our fifth control stop in Alice Springs. As we predicted, the front three teams were already back on the road, leaving us with the place all to ourselves. Interestingly, our later arrival time provided a significant strategic advantage. This control stop is located behind a building, which meant that while Brunel, Innoptus, and Twente were stuck in the shade earlier in the morning, the sun had moved enough by our arrival to allow us to turn our entire solar array towards the light and recharge our battery efficiently.

We continued out of Alice Springs to the only major turn-off on the entire Stuart Highway. After successfully navigating it with the entire convoy, we reached our second control stop of the day in Erldunda. This marked the beginning of the longest section of the entire challenge, covering a massive 487 kilometers. Since this would have meant a driving time of around 6 hours for a single driver, we decided to prioritize safety over a straight run. We made a quick, calculated stop at the side of the road after 3 hours. In just two minutes, we changed the crew of the Lead, Chase, and the Solar Car. Even though this cost us a fraction of time, we didn’t want to take the risk of driver fatigue on the monotonous Stuart Highway.

We also crossed the border between the Northern Territory and South Australia today. This means we are now back on familiar territory; this is where our drivers spent several weeks testing in the outback to get used to the harsher southern conditions. We got a taste of those conditions immediately. While the forecast strong winds held off during the day, gusts increased significantly towards the evening. More critically, heavy clouds covered the sky, casting long shadows on the road and forcing us to reduce our speed to avoid draining the battery too much.

Here’s a look at our Day 3 by the numbers:

• Distance Covered: 651 km
• Driving Time: Approx. 8 hours, 15 minutes
• Average Speed: 79 km/h
• Milestone: Broke the 2000-kilometer mark

Despite the cloudy finish, we successfully broke the 2000-kilometer mark today, completing two-thirds of the total distance. We are holding our position, and now that the race is coming to an end, the days are becoming even more exciting — and every ray of sunshine counts.

We’ll keep you posted! Best regards from the camp, and see you tomorrow for Day 4.