# World Solar Challenge 1996

The 1996 World Solar Challenge was an edition of the trans-Australian solar-powered car race across 3,000 km (1,900 mi) of highway through the Australian Outback from Darwin, Northern Territory to Adelaide, South Australia.
It was the fourth such edition of the event, held every three years since 1987.
The race was won by the 'Dream II' car from Honda's research and development team for the second consecutive event, ahead of a combined engineering school team from Biel, Switzerland. Honda broke its own race record, completing the course at an average speed of 89.76 km/h.
Event founder and adventurer Hans Tholstrup sold the event to a winning bid from the South Australian Government following the 1996 edition.

## Entrants

There were 48 listed entrants as part of the event, with 32 completing the course.
Among those participants were teams from automotive manufacturers Honda and Mitsubishi. The Biel College of Engineering team included contributions from several schools in the Biel-Bienne region. Return competitors and pre-event favourites included Honda, Japanese automotive components manufacturer Aisin Seiki, and the Victoria-based Aurora Vehicle Association.
It also marked the first appearance of the University of New South Wales 'Sunswift' car. Cars were able to be either one or two-seaters.

## Route

The World Solar Challenge runs across approximately 3,000 km from Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory, to Adelaide, the capital of South Australia.

## Results

| Place | Team name | | Country | Time (hr:mm) | Average speed (km/h) | Distance (km) |
| 1 | Honda R&D | Dream II | Japan | 33:32 | 89.76 | 3010 |
| 2 | United High Schools of Biel | sCHooler | Switzerland | 35:00 | 86.00 | 3010 |
| 3 | Aisin Seiki Co Ltd | Aisol | Japan | 37:18 | 80.70 | 3010 |
| 4 | Mitsubishi | Mitsubish | Japan | 45:07 | 66.72 | 3010 |
| 5 | University of Queensland | SunShark | Australia | 46:24 | 64.87 | 3010 |
| 6 | Waseda University | Waseda | Japan | 46:38 | 64.55 | 3010 |
| 7 | Northern Territory University | Desert Rose | Australia | 48:02 | 62.66 | 3010 |
| 8 | O.S.U. | Simon | Japan | 49:52 | 60.36 | 3010 |
| 9 | University of New South Wales | sUNSWift | Australia | 56:32 | 53.24 | 3010 |
| 10 | Tokyo Salesian Polytechnic | Ikuei Neo II | Japan | 61.26 | 49.00 | 3010 |
| 11 | Queens University | | Canada | 61.29 | 48.96 | 3010 |
| 12 | University of Western Ontario | Sunstang | Canada | 63.59 | 47.04 | 3010 |
| 13 | Tokai HS | | Japan | 65.35 | 45.90 | 3010 |
| 14 | Mino Family Team | Mino Family IV | Japan | 66.57 | 44.96 | 3010 |
| 15 | Tokai University | | Japan | 67.10 | 44.81 | 3010 |
| 16 | Lake Tuggeranong College | Spirit of Canberra | Australia | 67.15 | 44.76 | 3010 |
| 17 | Japanese Crested Ibis | Fine | Japan | 67.51 | 44.36 | 3010 |
| 18 | SunBa Solar Car Team | SunBa | Brazil | 68.43 | 43.80 | 3010 |
| 19 | Team Kataro | Kira Kira Fighter III | Japan | 70.12 | 42.88 | 3010 |
| 20 | Association Helios | Helios | France | 70.49 | 42.50 | 3010 |
| 21 | France for W.S.C. | Heliotrope | France | 71.31 | 42.90 | 3010 |
| 22 | Hokkaido Automo. Eng. College | Sulis V | Japan | 72.22 | 41.59 | 3010 |
| 23 | Kirenjaku | Kirenjaku | Japan | 73.17 | 41.07 | 3010 |
| 24 | Nippon Electronics College | Sonec | Japan | 73.34 | 40.91 | 3010 |
| 25 | UC Berkeley / Stanford University | Afterburner | United States | 74.17 | 40.52 | 3010 |
| 26 | Soenderborg Teknikum | Solvogn Danmark | Denmark | 74.21 | 40.48 | 3010 |
| 27 | McGill University | Northern Sun | Canada | 74.25 | 40.45 | 3010 |
| 28 | Team Jona Sun | Jona Sun | Japan | 75.59 | 39.61 | 3010 |
| 29 | Yokohama National University | | Japan | 80:04 | 37.59 | 3010 |
| 30 | Pumpkinseed | | Japan | 82:44 | 36.38 | 3010 |
| 31 | Annesley College | | Australia | 83:51 | 35.90 | 3010 |
| 32 | South Bank University | Mad Dog | UK | 84:04 | 35.80 | 3010 |

### Retirements/non-finishers

| Team name | Car | Country | Distance (km) |
| Los Altos High School (Hacienda Heights, California) | | United States | |
| Akita | Hama Zero | Japan | |
| Mexico Team | | Mexico | 1927.2 |
| Detlef Schmitz | Helio Det | Germany | 1690 |
| Poli Solar | Citizen Eco Drive/USP | Brazil | 60 |
| Aurora | Aurora Q1 | Australia | First day |

### Pre-race withdrawals

| Team name | Car | Country |
| Team Holy Cheat | Holy Cheat II | UK |
| Dripstone High School | | Australia |
| Kormilda College | | Australia |
| Winston School | | USA |
| Firm Chrisante | | Italy |
| University Teknoligi | | Malaysia |
| Shalom Catholic College | Goodlife Bug | Australia |
| Panda San | Panda San 96 | Japan |

## Class winners and Awards

A number of prizes were awarded following the event as well as recognition of individual class winners.

### Silicon PV/Silver Zinc battery class

| Place | Team name | Car | Country |
| 1 | Honda R&D | Dream II | Japan |
| 2 | United High Schools of Biel | sCHooler | Switzerland |
| 3 | Aisin Seiki Co Ltd | Aisol | Japan |

### Silicon PV/Lead-acid battery class

| Place | Team name | Car | Country |
| 1 | University of Queensland | SunShark | Australia |
| 2 | University of New South Wales | Sunswift | Australia |
| 3 | McGill University Team Northern Sun | Northern Sun | USA |

### School class

| Place | Team name | Car | Country |
| 1 | University of Queensland | SunShark | Australia |
| 2 | University of New South Wales | Sunswift | Australia |
| 3 | McGill University Team Northern Sun | Northern Sun | Canada |

### Private class

| Place | Team name | Car | Country |
| 1 | Mino Family Team | Mino Family IV | Japan |
| 2 | SunBA Solar Car Team | SunBA | Japan |
| 3 | Team Kataro | Kira Kira Fighter III | Japan |

### School Awards

| Category | Team name | Car | Country |
| Asia | Tokai Technical High School | Tokai Falcon | Japan |
| Americas | Los Altos High School | Sun Shadow | USA |
| Europe | Association of Helios | Helios | France |
| Australia | Annesley College | EOS | Australia |
Other Awards
| Category | Team name | Car | Country |
| Best Amorphous | Japanese Crested Ibis | Fine | Japan |
| Renewable Materials Award | Team Jona Sun | Jona Sun | Japan |
| Mal Trainer Battler Award | South Bank University | Mad Dog | UK |
| GM Sunraycer Award for Technical Innovation | University of Queensland | SunShark | Australia |
| Katherine Clunies Ross Award | Los Altos High School | Sun Shadow | USA |