Wild winds wreak havoc for World Solar Challenge in Australia
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: QUALITY AS INCOMING
RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT
VIDEO SHOWS: DUTCH SOLAR TEAM TWENTE CAR 'RED E' DRIVING ON ROAD / SOLAR TEAM TWENTE MEMBERS RUNNING OUT TO VEHICLE LYING UPSIDE DOWN OFF ROAD / DUTCH VATTENFALL SOLAR TEAM CAR 'NUNA' OVERTAKING SOLAR TEAM TWENTE FOR LEAD OF RACE / SOLAR TEAM TWENTE MEMBERS INSPECTING DAMAGE ON 'RED E' / SOUNDBITES FROM TEAM MEMBERS OF TWENTE AND VATTENFALL / SOLAR CAR DRIVING THROUGH DUSTY WINDS
SHOWS:
UNKNOWN LOCATION, AUSTRALIA (OCTOBER 16, 2019) (BRIDGESTONE WORLD SOLAR CHALLENGE - ACCESS ALL)
1. DUTCH SOLAR TEAM TWENTE CAR 'RED E' BEGINNING RACING
2. 'RED E' DRIVING PAST PEOPLE ON ROAD
3. 'RED E' DRIVING ON ROAD
4. SOLAR TEAM TWENTE MEMBERS RUNNING OUT TO VEHICLE LYING UPSIDE DOWN OFF ROAD
5. VARIOUS OF TEAM MEMBERS SURROUNDING 'RED E'
6. DUTCH VATTENFALL SOLAR TEAM CAR 'NUNA' OVERTAKING SOLAR TEAM TWENTE FOR LEAD OF RACE
7. SOLAR TEAM TWENTE MEMBERS SITTING DOWN WITH HEAD IN HANDS
8. BELGIAN AGORIA SOLAR TEAM CAR 'AGORIA' PASSING BY SOLAR TEAM TWENTE
9. VARIOUS OF SOLAR TEAM TWENTE MEMBERS INSPECTING DAMAGE ON 'RED E'
10. DAMAGED 'RED E' ON TERRAIN
11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOLAR TEAM TWENTE MEMBER ANNALISE, SAYING:
"It's really windy here and our driver was doing a great job, keeping the car on the road. But suddenly there was one wind strike that was more heavier than the rest. He kept on the side of the road and then he lost grip with his tyres and then he arrived here."
12. SOLAR TEAM TWENTE MEMBERS INSPECTING CAR
13. DAMAGED TYRE ON 'RED E' CAR
14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOLAR TEAM TWENTE MEMBER ANNALISE, SAYING:
"Yes, everyone is okay. Our driver is okay, so I'm very happy with that. That's the first thing that was important, yeah."
UNKNOWN LOCATION, AUSTRALIA (OCTOBER 15, 2019) (BRIDGESTONE WORLD SOLAR CHALLENGE - ACCESS ALL)
15. 'RED E' CAR ENTERING SOUTH AUSTRALIA, PASSING SIGN READING 'WELCOME TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA'
16. 'NUNA' CROSSING CATTLE GRID ON ROAD
17. (SOUNDBITE) (English) VATTENFALL SOLAR TEAM MEMBER, AMI KANHOLKEMORE, SAYING:
"It's always very hard to drive in winds like this. The driver needs to be real concentrated because he needs to protect himself and the car otherwise you just can't join the race anymore."
18. SOLAR CAR DRIVING THROUGH DUSTY WINDS
STORY: The top placed car in the World Solar Challenge in Australia crashed on Wednesday (October 16), prompting organisers to implement a speed restriction on the race.
Dutch Solar Team Twente's car 'Red E', the smallest in the race, was in the lead for the first two days of the race. However, strong winds knocked the vehicle off the road, allowing fellow Dutch team Vattenfall to overtake and take the lead.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the 'Red E' driver was taken to hospital in the town of Coober Pedy, but was later discharged.
After a second crash from another team, organisers implemented a maximum speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour, which was lifted later on in the day as conditions got better and winds decreased.
The 3,000-kilometre (1,864-mile) Bridgestone World Solar Challenge is one of the most prestigious solar car races. The biennial event first began in 1987 and is based on a notion that a 1000-watt car would complete the trip from Darwin to Adelaide in 50 hours.
More than 40 racing teams from two dozen countries left Darwin on Sunday (October 13) to race across Australia to the southern city of Adelaide in the world's fastest solar-powered cars.
(Production: James Redmayne, Cordelia Hsu)
