Preview of the World Solar Challenge
In the next few weeks we will be testing the Umicar Inspire on the Australian roads and adding the finishing touches to make sure it is completely ready for the race.
The Northern Territory (the state we are in now) authorities have made two roads available to us for testing the car: the Cox Pennisula Road (80 km) and the Channel Island Road (20 km).
Before we can actually hit the road, the solar car must first pass the pre-inspections. These entail a number of tests that focus on the safety of the driver and the environment.
Video blog: Episode 1 - The journey to Australia
As from today you can watch the Solar Team endeavours in their own video blog. Over the next few weeks we will be regularly uploading clips online, so you can follow our adventures "Down Under" closely.
Umicar Inspire arrives safely in Darwin!
After being en route for almost three weeks and having to deal with three plane journeys, the cargo with the Umicar Inspire was safely delivered to our Bed & Breakfast. Naturally the team members were very eager to open the crate and check the solar car for any damages sustained during transit. We were completely reassured when the Umicar Inspire appeared to have been delivered in perfect state, as was the rest of our cargo. Nevertheless both Dutch teams had run into problems; water had trickled into the crate with the Nuna 5 and the team from Twente had noticed that some of the parts were damaged due to vibrations.
Test cattle grid under construction
Cattle grids are a well-known phenomenon in Australia. The aim is to prevent cattle crossing the public road via the access road from their pasture. They serve their purpose very well, but are also an obstacle not to be taken lightly by a solar car.
To put it simply, a cattle grid consists of a number of bars, placed one after another, straight across the road. The deterring factor for cattle is that they are afraid of becoming wedged between the bars, and so do not attempt to cross.
During the race we will need to cross a number of these grids, which was one of the problems the designers of the suspension of the solar car faced, because the bars are fairly close together and each bar sends a separate shock through the car via the wheels.
Preparing for the arrival of the solar car
While waiting for the arrival of the solar car, the Umicore Solar Team is ensuring that all the preparations have been made to allow them to get to work immediately after they have taken delivery.
Yesterday, we picked up all of our Makita equipment from our supplier in Darwin. Because of the fact that it is impossible for us to take all of our gear (drills, grinding discs, vacuum cleaner, ...) with us to Australia, it is extremely handy that all of our equipment has been provided here (including an Australian plug).
