The World Solar Challenge in Australia has come to a sudden stop for Group T's Solar Team. The Umicar Inspire crashed during the first day of the race and has suffered irreparable damages.
The car was racing at 110km/h on the Stuart Highway when it was blown away by a stiff crosswind. The pilot lost control of the vehicle and hit a tree. Luckily, Koen Pieters came out unharmed, but the Umicar Inspire was wrecked.
The Solar Team has returned to Darwin and is working on getting the car back to Belgium. No further plans have been announced.
The World Solar Challenge is the unofficial world championship for solar cars. From October 25 to 31, over 30 cars race from Darwin to Adelaide, powered only by the sun's energy. The Solar Team came in 2nd in the 2007 race. This time round they aimed for gold, but it wasn't meant to be.
- Put in a word of support for the team at www.solarteam.be
- Official World Solar Challenge website: www.wsc.org.au
