The Final Stretch
Day 5 started at the crack of dawn as usual, and in great spirits. That morning and the night before, we had amazing charging conditions for our solar array. The sky was clear and blue for the first time since leaving Darwin, after seeing continuous bushfire haze and clouds along the entire route. We were excited to see that our battery was charging much more than expected.
By 8:03 am, we packed everything up, said goodbye to our last Outback camping location, and got back on the road. We started the drive at faster speeds than we’d driven before—at around 100 kph. The goal was to use all our power by the time we crossed the finish line, so we remained at high speeds for the remainder of the day.
As Astrum left the Port Augusta control stop, we passed Team Sonnenwagen Aachen, the 5th place team at the time, as they arrived. Unbeknownst to us, their car, Covestro Adelie, would be blown off the road and roll over just outside of Port Augusta, moments after leaving the control stop. Luckily, no one was injured and their car was still able to drive, but the regulations state that cars that roll over are disqualified. It was heartbreaking to hear the news, especially since they were so close to the finish line.
Looking back, it’s understandable why a team got into an accident south of Port Augusta. The rolling hills are difficult for solar cars to navigate efficiently due to the rapid changes in elevation. And in the last 150 kilometers before reaching Adelaide, the combined winds from the ocean and hilly terrain made extremely unpredictable crosswinds. Then, closer to Adelaide, the increasingly busy traffic is also a challenge. Luckily for us though, we were able to overcome these obstacles without any serious issues.
At around 2 pm, four hours behind the 1st place team, Innoptus, and an hour and half after the 3rd place team, Brunel, we finally entered Adelaide. All the Race Crew members who were in the weather, scout, and service cars gathered at the endpoint, eagerly awaiting Astrum and the main caravan while on call with those from the team back home who stayed up late to watch the finish. Everyone wanted to be there for the moment the car arrived. At last, when Astrum came rolling down the street, we cheered and blasted The Victors as loud as possible. We had finished in 4th place!
We already passed the finish line, but now it was time for the ceremonial finish at Victoria Square in downtown Adelaide. The entire team piled into the bus that would take us there, all except Terry, the last driver, who would drive Astrum to her destination.
Victoria Square was bustling with BWSC fans, tech enthusiasts, and casual passersby. We got off the bus and walked Astrum down the red carpet while waving the American and University of Michigan flags, singing The Victors probably three more times, and clapping and cheering throughout it all. Then to follow the tradition for all the teams, we jumped into the Three Rivers Fountain, marking the end of the adventure. Our 5-day long journey through the Outback was finally over.
However, it’s not entirely accurate to say that our journey only lasted 5 days. Astrum’s conception began two years ago. As soon as the 2021 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge was cancelled, we knew that we needed to come back bigger and better than ever in 2023. Starting last August, over 150 team members participated in designing Astrum. Then from May all the way to the start of the race, our Race Crew worked nonstop to manufacture and test her. Hundreds of people put hundreds of thousands of hours into it, and it resulted in our best car yet. To each and every one of you who participated in the process, provided us with support, or cheered us on, THANK YOU!
We are extremely proud of our 4th place finish, especially considering it came after a 4-year hiatus from racing and a 32nd place start. However, we’re still hungry for more. Keep an eye out for what we’ll be doing next summer, and you can count on us being back in Australia with an even better team and car in 2025!
Until next time, Go Fast, Go Smooth, GO BLUE!