Navigating A Solar Car Through Killer Conditions

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FRANCES VAN ELBURG: Really important
to prepare ourselves for, uh...
the situations that can happen,
because to win this race
it means taking risks.
MAN: Oh!
Oh! [BEEPING]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
DEREK: When young engineers
join the fraternity of
a solar car team,
it's just the beginning of
an unforeseeable
yet life changing journey.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
A commitment that
begins as a choice
[indistinct shouting]
rose into an obsession.
[indistinct shouting]
And when their ideas face
not only fierce competition,
but the reality checks
of Mother Nature,
their bond grows with the struggle.
And their will becomes
even more consumed with the desire to win.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION]
YANTE VAN HAM: That night was very... very tough.
There was a lot of wind, there was lot of sand.
There was a thunderstorm out of nowhere, lightning strikes.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
And then in the meantime we still had to fix the car.
So, we set up a
make-shift workshop
with wooden crates and everything
and then we fixed the car in the middle of nowhere.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION]
It was tough but
yeah, we pushed through.
DEREK: It's challenges like these
that can either
break a team or
bring them even closer together.
DRIES KETELSLEGERS: In the middle of the night, I woke up
with a tent right in my face.
Like, everything was blown to pieces.
So, I ran out and started helping here
getting the tents back in,
getting all the stuff to the truck.
It's an adventure.
I mean, in 60 years we can
talk to our children and say,
"Ah, we've had that and sandstorms"
and everything, so...
I thought it was quite cool.
As we get into South Australia,
the wind is picking up because there are
fewer and fewer trees.
Without that coverage,
well, the winds can whip up to incredible
speeds here
and fly across the roads.
That can cause solar cars
to spin around,
lose their bearings
and maybe ruin some of their
delicate mechanics.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION]
DEREK: The journey in and out of the next control stop,
Coober Pedy, is a few hundred kilometers of
notoriously treacherous road
for this race.
And climate change has only made
these winds stronger
and more dangerous.
The section around Coober Pedy is very difficult,
as there is a lot of sidewinds.
And our light solar cars are very
sensitive to those sidewinds
as they get blown away
and the pilot has to constantly
work on the steering wheel to keep
the... car going straight.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION]
Go, let's go. Let's go.
SIDD BIKKNNAVAR: Starting of the day, we'll be fighting some
pretty high head winds
from Coober Pedy to Glendambo.
That's the next to two control stops.
The weather models are all predicting
50 kilometers power winds.
So, it drains the battery
'cause you're fighting through the wind
and the other thing is
it makes uh... steering very difficult.
Plus you have gust from side to side,
road trains, so it'll be
a really difficult day.
DEREK: In spite of the harsh conditions,
last year's champions
Vattenfall, are on the attack.
Yeah, yesterday we were
22-23 minutes behind Twente
and now we are only three minutes behind,
so, uh, we made up for a lot of the time.
And I think we'll be able to
overtake Twente today.
We've got a couple of drivers that are
really good with driving with
big winds, so we hope
they will sort this out today
and we can go as fast as we want to.
DEREK: For three days straight, Solar Team Twente
from the Netherlands, has held on to the lead.
An impressive accomplishment.
But with Vattenfall right on their tail,
things maybe about to change.
JASPER DE GROOTE: So, yesterday was kind of a hectic day.
So, like we had some issues with our solar panel
that was clapping uh... open
because of the wind but,
we fixed it overnight and made sure
it will not happen again
and I have no clue
how it will go uh... today
and how the weather will play out.
DEREK: And while two formidable Dutch teams
are still leading the pack,
team Tokai are convinced
that their bullet design
is far superior
for handling strong winds
than the catamarans out front.
Today is the day to make their move.
KOTA FUKUDA: Our design is
not for straight wind
not uh... but also
for the side wind.
So the effect is smaller
than other teams, I think.
DEREK: Using complex
fluid dynamic simulations,
Tokai designed a vehicle shaped
like a dart.
The majority of the weight
upfront, and a rear
that forms a cross.
Like a dart, their car
actually gets it more stable
the faster it goes.
Increasing stability further,
Tokai carefully shaped the shoulder of the car
to direct crosswinds, down and back.
It's an ingenious design.
Meanwhile, team Agoria has developed
a completely different solution.
VAN HAM: We also have a system built into our car
which is called crabbing.
And for crabbing we turn
the car sideways.
DEREK: By using four wheel steering,
Agoria is able to turn their car
into the wind.
And thus greatly reduce
drag and lateral force.
VAN HAM: This helps us reduce air resistance.
So, when there is a side wind,
we can tilt the car and then it
catches that side wind, and then
the aerodynamic air resistance
is reduced.
As the only competitor
from Germany, and the...
challenger class,
it's our goal to
take on the Dutch, as
we say in our team.
So we need to
show that we are able to finish the challenge
and show all the others
that we can take on the Dutch.
DEREK: Entering the notoriously dangerous
stretch of road before Coober Pedy,
Twente is well aware
that their competition
is gunning for them.
DE GROOTE: Today will be a very important day
because it will be very tense at the finish.
It's just
this close and you're just
hoping your strategy plays out well.
JASPER SCHRIJVERS: Because the teams are so close,
teams are less eager to
slow down because of safety.
I think somebody will make a mistake and...
making a mistake with these kind of
sidewinds...
can become dangerous.
DEREK: While pushing hard to keep their lead,
Twente is harshly confronted by the outback.
And it costs them... dearly.
DEKKER: It's really windy here
and our driver he was doing a great job
keeping the car on the road
but suddenly, there was one wind strike
more heavier than the rest,
and he lost grip with his tires
and then he arrived here.
ELBURG: It was so hard to see your car
and it was uh... yeah sort of gone.
It was upside down. It didn't...
it didn't drive anymore.
DEREK: After dominating the race for three and a half days,
team Twente is out
of the World Solar Challenge.
DEKKER: Everyone is okay.
Our driver is okay, so that's that.
I am very happy with that
and that's the first thing
that was important, yeah.
Everyone is okay.
DEREK: As the emotional shock of their crash sets in,
the defending champions, Vattenfall,
pass them by.
Moving them into the lead.
It's like life's work for last year
and then it's gone.
This is so sad, yep.
VAN HAM: Oh [bleep]!
We just passed by Solar Team Twente,
who were in the lead, in the race.
And they were on the side of the roads.
And pretty far off,
so I think they were just
blown off the road and
landed in the side.
I hope their driver is fine
but it looks really bad.
It's great for us that we can overtake them
because we've lost a competitor,
but it feels terrible at the same time.
We wanna win, but we wanna win by being the best,
not by having the other ones being
blown off the road.
Coober Pedy,
not to be underestimated.
DEREK: After about an hour on the road,
everyone is still battling the wind,
just trying to make it
into the control stop at Coober Pedy,
in one piece.
Sheezus...
We see the car
being a bit well... imperfect,
or im... imbalanced
on the road.
WILLEM-JAN CLAES: The danger of the race is
all the factors combined
so you have the speed of
those cars that go fast.
You have the winds.
You have some small tornadoes also
that can pass the roads.
You have the road trains,
incoming traffic,
a lot of animals.
It's a long route
and you have to be focused
every minute of the race.
DEREK: As the day wears on,
the wind continues to build,
with gusts reaching up to 80 kilometers per hour.
The aerodynamics of
the German team's bullet design
is serving them well,
but it may have its limits.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
DEREK: As Sonnenwagen's driver steers into
50 kilometer per hour crosswinds,
the road trains suddenly cuts off the wind,
and then creates a turbulent wake behind it,
sucking the solar car into its draft.
It rolls multiple times
before coming to rest,
upside down.
KAI-JIMMY SHEN: I didn't have any injury, but uh...
it could have been much worse than that, so uh...
I'd like to thank my
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY] my colleagues
for building such a safe car
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
[MAN SPEAKING IN GERMAN]
DEREK: Chances looked pretty slim that
the German team can get
their car back on the road.
It is in rough shape,
but one has to respect
their tenacity.
I'm in Coober Pedy.
This is a mining town.
This is where a lot of Australia's opal comes from.
It is cold, it is windy
and the last hundred kilometers
of this race, have been
incredibly treacherous
We're now about 800 kilometers
from the finish line.
Defending champions, Vattenfall,
have taken a lead following Twente's crash.
and they've been here for
for 20 minutes already.
What is that like to drive in that vehicle
in this wind? What is it like?
Feel the wind, definitely.
erm... I'm happy with the way the car drives currently,
we're relatively stable.
Erm... it's... we can keep it on the road, that's fine.
It just requires concentration at all time.
DEREK: Is there any fear about
you know, flipping or going off the road?
Oh, yes if you see your nearest competitor go
and that's something you never want to see.
That's not the way you want any solar event to go.
No, exactly.
Okay, well done getting to the check point.
There goes team Vattenfall.
They are the first team to depart Coober Pedy.
In fact they have the entire control stop
up to themselves
Fifty minutes back, now running second, is Agoria.
Then Tokai from Japan
and the University of Michigan.
Seven and half hours behind the leader,
Sonnenwagen, arrives at Coober Pedy,
with the car being held together by duct tape and
and pure resilience.
[CROWD CLAPPING]
SHEN: Even though we had this accident,
we were able to uh... to go on.
Uh... they assessed the damage
and they fixed it very quickly.
We're very lucky that uh...nothing happened.
That's uh... fortunate that everyone is... is fine.
We always have to remind ourself,
this is a dangerous competition.
But what we
wanna achieve
is the message that
sustainable technologies
and the new ones that have
fight climate change, that they get attention
and that, uh... they develop even more.
We wanna show what's possible already
and I hope [CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
uh... yeah,
this message is being delivered.
DEREK: With the lead team's back on the wind-blown highway,
the race has made a bold move
for safety.
The race has really changed
because of this crazy weather
and all of the wind,
well, the race officials have actually declared
that all solar cars
must go under 80 kilometers per hour.
That was maybe precipitated by
the rollover of Twente
that happened earlier today
and also the team Sonnenwagen
BIKKANNAVAR: This hurts us in a big way.
We actually performed very well in the high winds,
the car was designed for it.
DEREK: By complying with a lower speed limit,
teams positions in the race
are effectively on hold.
BIKKANNAVAR: This helps the leading cars,
in front of us, which are catamarans
and they're...you know very unstable in the wind.
This also helps uh...
some of the slower cars behind us.
Now, instead of falling
further and further behind,
they're able to just sorta
keep their position locked behind us.
PHILIP GEPTS: Yeah, so we're headed towards Glendambo now...
that's the place where the second control stop will be.
And that's uh...
second to last.
DEREK: Like Tokai, Agoria feels
their car is very capable in the wind.
And the speed limit,
is actually hurting their chances
of catching Vattenfall.
[SPEAKING OTHER LANGUAGE]
DEREK: Taking charge, Agoria sends
their advance crew to the next control stop,
control stop, to make a case to the race officials.
The faculty has imposed an 80 kph limit
The thing is, we have footage
from our car which shows it is stable
and it is designed
to be able to...
To drive in severe crosswinds.
This is basically at eighty kilometers an hour
And we just know we can go faster
while driving safely
Hi, Dan, uh... this is Paul
Agoria, uh... apparently they've spoken with
some people that said
this uh... 80 kph speed limit is going to be reviewed,
have you heard any news
about that?
All right, speed restriction
has been taken off.
It's free for all.
-Alright. -Okay, thank you very much.
Let's chase them!
DEREK: The speed limit was enforced for
a full two hours.
Definitely, an opportunity lost
for teams that felt it took away their
competitive advantage.
But now, the gloves are off.
Here in Glendambo,
I am expecting
the first vehicle to
roll in here very shortly,
it is the team, Vattenfall.
This team has run
a pretty incredible strategic race.
Having won this event
seven of the last nine times they've competed,
Vattenfall knows to
to stick to their strategy and take
advantage of other team's mistakes.
When Twente went off the road,
they were able to pass by and take over
what seems to be a sizeable
and potentially insurmountable lead.
From here on out, there's only
several hundred kilometers into Adelaide.
So, it's their race to lose.
Remarkably,
even with the section of speed restriction,
Agoria has cut their gap in half
since the last control stop.
To just 23 minutes behind Vattenfall.
This race might not be over yet.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION]
DEREK: That was closing a lot of ground,
like on one leg.
So, if you can do that again the next leg.
Then we'll be... head-to-head.
DEREK: Awesome!
How is the Tokai car holding up today?
Ah. It's holding up great.
Our car was designed
for these kinds of conditions.
-[DISTORTED SOUND] -Fukuda sensei is the
aerodynamics professor.
So...this was all designed for,
and then unfortunately we had to...
we had to slow it down and lose our advantage.
But this was the sector where
we were gonna overtake the leaders.
So, now you can make up some more time on the next leg.
Yes. So now we can increase the pace, yeah.
Fantastic.
With no imposed speed limits,
the top teams are in a sprint
to make the next control stop, Port Augusta,
before the day's end at 5 p.m.
And it is 289 kilometers away.
Hopefully, we pass Vattenfall tonight.
If not then, we'll get them tomorrow
But also the... solar car behind us, Tokai.
They're, uh...
hunting us down as well.
BIKKANNAVAR: This competition is a blend of
endurance and excitement.
It's putting yourself to the test.
Those long hours of
having to pay attention and do everything right.
You know, a gust of wind comes by
or there's a mechanical problem.
It's a lot of mental focus to
stay alert and to be ready to
operate at very high level all at once.
Anything goes wrong, you need to be able to
do whatever's right for the car.
DEREK: I am here at Port Augusta,
the ninth and last control stop
of this entire solar challenge.
After this, it's straight through to
the finish line in Adelaide.
Now, it's nearly the end of Day Four
and momentarily
we are expecting the arrival
of the Vattenfall car.
The real question what I wanna see here is
how close behind them is Agoria.
Looking at the time that it is now,
nearly 20 to 5:00,
looks like both of those cars
may end their day
here, at this control stop.
This is way faster
than I was expecting.
Agoria is in right
on the heels of Vattenfall.
Seven minutes separating these two teams.
The last control stop, it was more like... 23.
That is remarkable.
This team is pulling back time
in a serious way.
Oh... whoa... whoa... watch out! watch out!
DEREK: Phew!
The Vattenfall car
just being pushed by the wind,
rolled off its moorings,
and started rolling backwards.
Now, none of the team members
are allowed to touch that vehicle
or they have to start that timer again.
Team Agoria has already arrived.
So, everyone was running
trying to throw rocks and...
little bits of matter underneath it
just to stop the car from rolling away.
This is incredible.
Agoria has witnessed
this entire moment,
and feels the defending champions
have violated the rules.
In turn, they have filed a protest.
Even though no one physically touched the car,
they still feel the rules were broken.
FAID: The rule only says that
during the control stop
the pilot ha to do all the handling
nobody can touch anything.
And everything that he's using,
must be part of the car.
If that cone was part of the car,
that has been carried all the way
then it would be fine. As long as the pilot did it.
Right, but that's not what happened.
Team Tokai, has just made it
in the nick of time.
Since all control stop periods must
be served during official race hours,
they will have to take their 30 minutes
stop down before leaving in the morning.
Tomorrow morning will be
a full-tilt sprint to the Adelaide finish line.
Race officials have agreed with
Agoria's protest and docked Vattenfall
a five minute penalty.
That means,
the top two teams will be departing here only
two and half minutes apart.
The closest in race history.
Yeah, tomorrow...
It's full attack for the win.
Now we are so close,
we have to do it.
DEREK: Tomorrow, one team will be crowned
champion of the World Solar Challenge.
Will the Dutch team, Vattenfall,
hang on and become champions
for the eighth time?
Will the Belgian team, Agoria,
finally their streak of bad luck
and claim their first victory?
Or will the ultra-disciplined team, Tokai,
who had been relentlessly gaining on
the leader since day one,
finally catch them both,
and take home the trophy?