2019 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (BWSC), for which Bridgestone is the naming rights sponsors, is held in Australia once every two years. The 2019 race event began on October 13, 2019, and racers competed on a course spanning 3,000 km from Darwin on the northern edge of Australia to Adelaide on the southern edge over a period of approximately five days. We are proud to announce that our Hong Kong IVE Engineering Solar Car Team came in the 3rd place in the Cruiser Class with Sophie 6s vehicle.
Overview of BWSC:
1.Official Name：2019 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge
2.Date：October 13-20, 2019
3.Host Country：Australia (Start: Darwin; Goal: Adelaide)
4.Host：South Australian Tourism Commission
5.Race Classes：
(1) Challenger Class
A race to reach the goal the quickest in vehicles designed for speed; vehicles require four wheels and one driver.
(2) Cruiser Class
A race testing vehicles’ energy efficiency and practicality; vehicles must have four wheels and be able to be ridden by one driver and more than one passenger.
(3) Adventure Class
A race open to vehicles that are based on the criteria for participating in previous BWSC races or that otherwise do not meet the requirements to compete in the Challenger Class or Cruiser Class.
Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone) supplied solar car tires using its fuel-efficient tire technology to 32 teams participating in the 2019 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (BWSC), for which Bridgestone is the naming rights sponsors.
Held in Australia once every two years, the BWSC is the world’s foremost solar car race. The 2019 race event began on October 13, 2019, and racers competed on a course spanning 3,000 km from Darwin on the northern edge of Australia to Adelaide on the southern edge over a period of approximately five days.
The solar car tires “ECOPIA with ologic” to be supplied to teams competing in this race are fuel-efficient tires designed specifically for solar cars using fuel-efficient tire technology from Bridgestone, “ologic.” “ECOPIA with ologic” tires ensure the necessary durability while featuring reduced rolling resistance. Tires using ologic technology are narrower than standard tires with a wider diameter, making for a shape that realizes high levels of fuel efficiency and safety. The wider diameter limits changes in the shape of the contact patch to yield lower rolling resistance, which improves fuel efficiency. In addition, the narrower shape reduces air resistance while driving.
【Cruiser Class Result】
| Pos | Car No. | Car | Team | Stages complete |
Person-km | External kWh | Lateness (min) |
Efficiency | Practicality (%) |
Final score |
| 1 | 40 | Stella Era | Solar Team Eindhoven | 3 | 7957 | 71.24 | 0 | 111.7 | 93.1 | 104 |
| 2 | 75 | Violet | Sunswift | 3 | 6042 | 89.83 | 18 | 56.1 | 69.5 | 39 |
| 3 | 25 | Sophie 6s | IVE Engineering Solar Car Team | 3 | 3021 | 68.39 | 0 | 44.2 | 63.4 | 28 |
| 4 | 11 | thyssenkrupp SunRiser | SolarCar-Team Hochschule Bochum | 1 | 1974 | 25.7 | 165 | 14.6 | 76.3 | 36.3 |
| 5 | 35 | Eos II | University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project |
1 | 1974 | 37.26 | 9 | 48.4 | 75.1 | 11.2 |
| 6 | 80 | Sun shuttle-III | Sun Shuttle | 1 | 1974 | 20.78 | 168 | 17.6 | 53.4 | 9.4 |
| 7 | 45 | Eagle Two | Lodz Solar Team | 0 | 82.4 | |||||
| 8 | 12 | Helia | Cambridge University Eco Racing | 0 | 79.1 | |||||
| 9 | 9 | Emilia 4 | Onda Solare | 0 | 78.4 | |||||
| 10 | 98 | ATN | ATN Solar Car Team | 0 | 72.2 | |||||
| 11 | 14 | Investigator Mk 3 | Flinders Automotive Solar Team | 0 | 63.7 | |||||
| 12 | 49 | STC3 | Siam Technology Motor Sport (STC3) | 0 | 62.8 | |||||
| 13 | 66 | Tachyon | CalSol | 0 | 57.6 |
This event partnership seamlessly aligns with the three priority areas of the Bridgestone global corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment, Our Way to Serve: mobility, people and environment. The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge embodies that philosophy with their purpose to contribute to the development of solar cars, support young engineers, and contribute to the environment while using a new power source: solar light. The Bridgestone Group employs innovation and technology to improve the way people move, live, work, and play.
