American Solar Challenge

Big thanks to this year’s event sponsors: Velotric, NIU, MathWorks, Generac, IOSi, SunCat Solar, and Tesla

In what can only be described as one of the most challenging years we’ve seen, teams competing in the 2024 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) found themselves navigating spotty weather, an unfamiliar track, and for some, critical mechanical issues at the eleventh hour.

The final day of the FSGP track event concluded on Thursday, July 18. Following the awards ceremony that evening, event officials announced which teams would advance to Saturday’s 1,550+ mile Electrek American Solar Challenge (ASC) cross-country main event.

We’re proud to announce Electrek is sponsoring the American Solar Challenge this year. The 2018 event (PDF Flyer), which begins next weekend, will see racers take their Solar-powered “cars” from Omaha, Nebraska to Bend, Oregon loosely through the Oregon Trail. I use quotes because to get the Wh/mile equation on these vehicles to within what’s possible with a car footprint solar array, you’ll essentially need 4-wheeled electric bicycles.

The American Solar Challenge (ASC) is a multi-day, 1,500-2,000 mile cross-country endurance rally across North America. The event is typically held every other year during the summer and is open to collegiate level solar car teams from countries all over the world. The routes have varied greatly over the course of the event’s rich history, but they are always designed to provide teams with a great opportunity to demonstrate their solar cars under real world driving conditions and thoroughly test the reliability of all onboard systems.

This year is a bit more interesting also in that they are now racing a cruiser class which will act and look a lot more like traditional road vehicles…

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