Cambridge University's Endeavour solar vehicle takes on the Australian Outback in The World Solar Challenge 2011!

Supported by LiFeBATT's battery packs, Cambridge University's 'Endeavour' has taken to the Australian Outback to race over a 3000km stretch from Darwin to Adelaide.

Race Day One

Endeavour II sped away from Darwin on Sunday and the team had high confidence for a reliable and steady performance, although near-perfect conditions would be needed for her to be able to complete the Challenge in time. The first hours of the race went perfectly, with Endeavour cruising at 55-60kph along the Stuart Highway. However, an electrical problem at the first driver change caused a delay of over half an hour, and the team elected to use extra battery power to reach the race's first control stop in time. Towards the end of Sunday, the battery had been well depleted by the many hills out of Darwin, making it necessary to trailer the car to maintain progress and recharge the battery.

Race Day Two

Monday saw the team complete more solar kilometers at a good pace, but extensive cloud cover and thick haze from a large bush fire has severely hampered progress. As of Tuesday, the team are continuing to Alice Springs, the mid-point of the race, but with overcast conditions continuing the team will probably trailer again in an attempt to drive out of the haze and into some stronger sun.

Race Day Three

The weather was in Endeavour's favour with a clear sky, enabling the team to reach the third check point at Tennant Creek. However, they were held there just shy of four hours due to more fires down the route that also forced the next check point to be moved 100km south to Ti Tree. However, they did manage to get underway again and the afternoon session went without a hitch. The team are now camped at Devil's Marbles.

Race Day Four

Good progress was made under solar power in the morning and endeavour arrived at the moved check point. However 32km down the road the vehicle suffered a complete loss of power and the team decided to trailer to the check point at Alice Springs.The team then left the check point to maximise distance and camped further down the route by the side of the road. The loss of power was attributed to a faulty cell management board.

Race Day Five

With the cell management boards behaving themselves, Endeavour ran well and the team reached the Kulger check point. However, the weather deteriorated and soon became unsafe for Endeavour to continue and the team were forced to trailer again and managed to reach Cadney Homestead to camp.

Race Day Six

The team were faced with terrible weather conditions that hindered Endeavour's performance throughout the whole day. The team progressed steadily but trailered Endeavour to camp near the Salt Flats of South Australia.

Race Day Seven

Thankfully the weather was more forgiving throughout this day and although they had to trailer for part of their journey to Port Augusta, Endeavour still managed just over a 100km stint on solar power. Once the team reached Port Augusta they were forced to trailer to the finish line in Adelaide as police were unable to control busy saturday afternoon traffic. However, congratulations to the team on crossing the continent!

Photos courtesy of CUER