A solar car made by students from Japan’s Tokai University was named the winner yesterday of a 3,000km race across the Australian Outback that aimed to show that green cars can also be mean.
The Tokai Challenger crossed the finish line just north of Adelaide yesterday afternoon after a smooth run, with one flat tire the only issue along the way.
“The victory by Tokai Challenger is the first by a Japanese team since 1993 when the event was won by Honda Dream II,” said the organizers of the 2009 Global Green Challenge, a race of solar cars held every two years.
PHOTO: AFP/ GLOBAL GREEN CHALLENGE
The Tokai Challenger had started the event in fourth position as a fleet of 31 solar-powered cars from 16 countries set off from Darwin on Saturday, a showcase of prototype solar cars.
But the Japanese car went into the lead at the end of the first day, ahead of favorites Michigan University’s Infinium and the Netherlands’ Nuna V.
On day one, Belgium’s Umicar Inspire from the Umicore Solar Team crashed 380kms into the race after losing control during to a wind gust. The car was withdrawn from the event.
Race spokesman Mike Drewer said the second and third running cars are expected to cross the finish line this morning.
The solar race, staged every two years since 1987, was this year joined by another event, the Eco Challenge, in which 17 cars from 10 manufacturers are competing with eco-friendly vehicles to prove which is the most fuel-efficient. This race is expected to finish on Saturday.
Competitors included the all-electric Tesla sports car, vehicles made by Ford, Kia, Honda, Hyundai, BMW, Skoda, Suzuki, Holden, and HSV, and a modified Honda postman’s scooter running on alcohol.
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
US ELECTION: Polls show that the result is likely to be historically tight. However, a recent Iowa poll showed Harris winning the state that Trump won in 2016 and 2020 US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris courted voters angered by the Gaza war while former US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump doubled down on violent rhetoric with a comment about journalists being shot as the tense US election campaign entered its final hours. The Democratic vice president and the Republican former president frantically blitzed several swing states as they tried to win over the last holdouts with less than 36 hours left until polls open on election day today. Trump predicted a “landslide,” while Harris told a raucous rally in must-win Michigan that “we have momentum — it’s
‘SHARP COMPETITION’: Australia is to partner with US-based Lockheed Martin to make guided multiple launch rocket systems, an Australian defense official said Australia is to ramp up missile manufacturing under a plan unveiled yesterday by a top defense official, who said bolstering weapons stockpiles would help keep would-be foes at bay. Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said the nation would establish a homegrown industry to produce long-range guided missiles and other much-needed munitions. “Why do we need more missiles? Strategic competition between the United States and China is a primary feature of Australia’s security environment,” Conroy said in a speech. “That competition is at its sharpest in our region, the Indo-Pacific.” Australia is to partner with US-based weapons giant Lockheed Martin to make
TIGHT CAMPAIGN: Although Harris got a boost from an Iowa poll, neither candidate had a margin greater than three points in any of the US’ seven battleground states US Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the final days before the election, as she and former US president and Republican presidential nominees make a frantic last push to win over voters in a historically close campaign. The first lines Harris spoke as she sat across from Maya Rudolph, their outfits identical, was drowned out by cheers from the audience. “It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph with a broad grin she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.” In sync, the two said supporters