All teams are currently preparing their participation at the 24 hours iLumen European Solar Challenge. During the next weeks, each team will be presented on the iESC website. Today we start with the Durham University Electric Motorsport team from the United Kingdom.
Team and car
“The name of the car is ‘Ortus’ and it’s got 4m² of silicon solar panels”, explains Isaac Rudden, Team Principal of the Durham University Electric Motorsport team.
“The chassis was built in the academic year 2018/2019 for the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge and is being modified and upgraded for the 24 hours iLumen European Solar Challenge this year.
It was built by the students at Durham University, and our team now stands at roughly 30 people. Ortus placed 14th in the 2019 BWSC with a top speed of 108kph, and we’re looking to bring some fighting spirit to ESC!”
The challenge
“We’ve never raced on the Zolder race track”, Rudden admits. “But it’s quite a famous track so we’re all really excited! We know it’s going to be a challenge, but we feel more that ready!”
The European Solar Challenge is the only solar care race in the world that lasts for 24 hours. “This is going to present an interesting challenge, as both the car and the team are going to be heavily strained to work for extended periods of time. If something goes wrong as well, it’ll eat into the available track time so it’ll need to be fixed immediately!”
With which ambitions the Durham University Electric Motorsport team will travel from the UK to Belgium? “We’re looking for a strong finish, somewhere in the top 10 would be amazing! Other than that, we’re also looking forward to the great atmosphere and getting to make new friends with some of the other teams!”
To finish, Rudden hopes as many people as possible will travel to Circuit Zolder to attend the race. “A 24 hour track race is really unique, especially one for solar cars! Come along to soak up the atmosphere, the excitement, and energy of all the teams!”
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