Durham University Solar Car

Last week, we drove DUSC2023 for the first time upon its return from Australia. Testing at Croft Racetrack proved very successful for training our new team and new solar car drivers.

Last week, DUSC2023 arrived back in Durham! 🥳 The team is excited about the trailer being back (especially all our tools!) and new members were introduced to DUSC2023 for the first time.

Whilst we wait for DUSC2023 to return, we are refitting our 2019 car Ortus. The team is working towards having 2 running solar cars for the first time in Durham's history! #durhamuniversity #durhamuniversitysolarcar #solarcar #solarracing #DUSC2023 #ortus #engineering

It's been over 3 months since we were at Hidden Valley and began on our journey through the outback for the World Solar Challenge☀️ This year, the team will continue to innovate as new team members bring new ideas.

During the race, we camped on the side of the road wherever the car stopped at the end of the day. The sun had gone past the horizon by 8pm and to continue working on the car in the dark, we have the trailer! Powered by our partners @Victron_Energy and @cd_technologies 🔋⚡

On day 6 , we started alongside Western Sydney and Eclipse. Just 2 km from the finish line, the motor wheel got a puncture! The team managed to change the motor in under half an hour and arrived at the finish line at 15:13. This marked the end of the challenge! 💜

On day 5, at Coober Pedy, the wind caught the canopy, breaking the carbon fibre hinges. Luckily, we had spare parts to replace them! We also picked up an increase in power consumption from brake rub and the team got back on the road after a 20 minute repair. 2588/3022 km✅🦘

We started day 4 at Finke rest area and made it to Erldunda! Soon after, we arrived in South Australia and had a quick driver change at Marla Bore. Unfortunately, we had problems managing our battery, meaning we were just 50 km short of Coober Pedy.🥲 2124/3022km✅

On day 3, we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn and the half way mark! There were strong headwinds but we managed to perform several overtakes, pulling into Barrow Creek and Alice Springs in 9th place. We ended the day at 1617 km 🏎

The 2nd day of the race presented new challenges: cattle grids and wildfires! We had no technical issues and had smooth drives to Dunmarra and Tennant Creek. But, due to smoke from bushfires , we didn’t get as much solar power but got to camp at Devil’s marbles! 1088/3022 km ✅

On Sunday, 22nd October, solar cars started their 3000km journey across the outback. DUSC2023 left Darwin in 14th position and successfully made it to the first control stop, Katherine, despite a stop for a fuse change. We ended the day at 535km at Alexandar Forest!

On 21st October, we completed dynamic scrutineering and qualified in 14th place with a lap time of 2:24.43! The team worked late nights on the days leading up to dynamic scrutineering to make sure we would pass the final step before the start line of the @WorldSolarChlg 💜

Durham University is proud to say we are the first British solar car team to complete the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in under 6 days, finishing in 11th place. A big thank you to our sponsors, partners and supporters for making this feat possible! 💜

Throwback to track testing at Dunsfold Aerodrome 🏁 We can not wait to get DUSC2023 back on the track! #dunsfold #dunsfoldaerodrome #solarcar #DUSC2023 #DurhamUniversity #DurhamUniversitySolarCar #BWSC2023 #BridgestoneWorldSolarChallenge

Only one month left until the @WorldSolarChlg begins!! 🥳 The team are making their final preparations before flying out to Australia next week. #BridgestoneWorldSolarChallenge #BWSC2023 #solarcar #DurhamUniversity #DurhamUniversitySolarCar #DUSC2023 #engineering

Durham University Solar Car is a student led society that operates out of the Department of Engineering. We design and manufacture cutting edge solar powered cars from scratch, entering events across the globe. Read the full blog post at studentblog.webspace.durham.ac.uk/durham-univers…

50 days to go until the World Solar Challenge! 🤩 Our team made sure that DUSC2023 was packed safely in the trailer before making its way to Australia #BridgestoneWorldSolarChallenge. ☀️🛳 See you in Darwin! #BWSC2023 #solarcar #DurhamUniversity #DurhamUniversitySolarCar

Test 2 of DUSC2023 is complete! Over the two days at Dunsfold Aerodrome we're all thrilled with how well the solar car moves on track. From the test we were able to learn a lot about the car and what we need to improve on before we ship the car to Australia in 10 days!

Announcing our new DUSC 2023 car to race in #BWSC2023. Full car reveal coming next Saturday, 8th July. youtube.com/watch?v=gm-V__…

@ScientificGems @xxellie94xx Last we checked, we were right here! And on Instagram... and Facebook...

I'm collating a list of solar car teams interested in the #BWSC2023 World Solar Challenge. It's a work in progress; teams that I've omitted please let me know. scientificgems.wordpress.com/2023/03/19/bws…