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Six vehicles that took part in the first Solar Challenge in South Africa finished off at The Innovation Hub on the 8th of October. The 11 day, 4975km race began in Johannesburg, through Cape Town and Durban and ended off in Pretoria. The countries represented in the race were South Africa, Japan, Malaysia and India.
The South African race has been recorded as the longest and most enduring in the world. The competition organisers predict this will become the most sought after world wide pursuit in the next coming years, surpassing the popular Australian race contested on flat terrain and less distance. The only South African team to finish the race was the Seena Team, consisting 8 members from Divwatt - a renewable energy company who built and raced their vehicle. Ian de Villiers, SA team leader says, “The sport is not recognised in South Africa. We need to popularise the sport in our country. We will now require sponsorships going forward to try step up our game. We are, however, very happy with our performance.”
The Japanese Tokai University Team won the race and were awarded the Africa Spirit Award, in second position was South Africa’s Seena Team and they were awarded with the Best SA Team award and Malaysian UTM Team took third place.
The award ceremony was attended by Japan Embassy delegates, dignitaries from the various countries, representatives from South Africa National Energy and Research Institute, family members and the media. This initiative was held in conjunction with the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) and the next South African Challenge will be hosted in 2010.
  
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