At 5:00 a.m., the Tokai University Challenge Center Team brought its solar car, the Tokai Challenger, to the starting point of the race, the Darwin City Hall, to carry out final preparation. By 8:00 a.m., the locals were starting to crowd around the starting point.
Amidst the carnival-like atmosphere, the team diligently carried out the final checks on its vehicle. “We have done everything possible. Now we are just waiting for the start,” said team leader Tsuyoshi Takeuchi.
At 8:30 a.m., first off the starting line was Aurora 101 of Australia’s Aurora Vehicle Association, which posted the fastest time in the time trial. It was followed by the other cars at one-minute intervals. The Tokai Challenger, which was fourth in the time trial, started at 8:33 a.m. driven by Kohei Sagawa, a graduate of Tokai University.
At 11:24 a.m., the Tokai Challenger reached the designated 30-minute controlled stop checkpoint at Katherine. The Tokai Challenger was the first to reach the checkpoint, passing Aurora 101, Nuna V (Delft University of Technology, Netherlands), and Bo Cruiser (Bochum University, Germany).
From this checkpoint, Kenjiro Shinozuka took over as driver. The Tokai Challenger reached the next controlled stop in Dunmarra at 2:33 p.m. driving at an average speed of 100 km/h. From here, Kota Tokuda, a fourth year student of Tokai University, took over the wheel and drove until the car reached the designated daily driving limit of eight hours, stopping on the outskirts of Elliot at 5:33 p.m.
The Tokai Challenger covered 806 kilometers from the starting point, 50 kilometers more than the University of Michigan, which placed second at 746 kilometers. | | 
Mr. Shinozuka behind the wheel
Mr. Tokuda in the driver seat
Order: 1st
Total mileage: 806km
Power generated by Sharp compound solar cells
Power generated in the afternoon: 10.57 kWh
Power generated in the evening: 0.223 kWh
Peak output power in a day: 1.66 kW |
| Note: These values reflect measurements taken under conditions where the intensity of sunlight, the incident angle of sunlight, and hours of sunlight were not known. | |