Belgian Solar Team drops to third place after pit stop for flat tire

Coober Pedy, Bridgestone World Solar Challenge 2025

26 augustus 2025

Tuesday, August 27, 2025 – The Innoptus Solar Team started day 3 of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge from second place, just a few seconds behind the leader. During a short pit stop to replace a flat tire, the team from Twente managed to overtake the Belgians. As a result, the KU Leuven students dropped back to third place. Strategically, today was a challenging day: the weather was unpredictable, with more clouds than in previous days and increasing wind. The engineering students tried to adapt to this as best as possible. With the top three so close together, the coming days promise to be exciting for the team.

Puncture

The Leuven students started today in second place, just a few seconds behind the race leader: the team from Delft. However, things went wrong during the day when the Belgians suffered a blowout. Because of the puncture, the students had to stop at the side of the road. While they were changing the tire, their competitors from Twente managed to overtake them, causing the KU Leuven students to drop back to third place. By the end of the day, however, the students were able to catch up with their rivals and remain close behind.

We started today in second place, just a few seconds behind first. Unfortunately, during the day we suffered a blowout, which allowed the team from Twente to overtake us, and we ended the day in third place.
^{Hugo Dupré (21, Herentals), Mechanical Engineer with the Innoptus Solar Team}

Cloud cover

Today, the teams were confronted with cloud cover for the first time, while the wind also proved difficult to predict. The rapidly changing weather conditions posed a strategic challenge, forcing the teams to adjust their pace. The Belgians tried to make optimal use of the gaps in the cloud cover: by speeding up when clouds were present and slowing down in the sun, the engineering students hoped to harvest as much solar energy as possible. In addition, the students also deployed their fin today. Thanks to the “sailing effect,” this fin helps the solar car consume less energy when driving in crosswinds.

Today was an extremely hectic day. There was a lot of cloud cover with occasional clear spells, and what we then do is “cloud in–cloud out.” This is a strategy where we drive more slowly when we are in a gap in the clouds and faster when we are under a cloud and therefore not receiving sunlight.
^{Pieter De Mulder (23, Edegem), Aerodynamical Engineer with the Innoptus Solar Team}

In the afternoon, a lot of cloud cover was forecast, with heavy variation. We tried to respond to that as best as possible, and I think we succeeded. We continuously adjusted our speed to stay in the sun for as long as possible and to get out of the clouds as quickly as possible. On top of the cloud cover, there was also a lot of crosswind. In fact, today was perfect for us, because even more than in the past few days, we were able to use our fin to drive faster without having to consume too much energy.
^{Simon De Baere (25, Kessel-Lo), Strategist with the Innoptus Solar Team}

Outlook

The teams still have nearly 900 km to go until Adelaide. The top three in the standings are incredibly close, within less than 8 minutes of each other, showing how evenly matched the teams are. The coming days will reveal who ultimately takes the title.

We still have 900 kilometers to go, and all the teams are actually within less than 8 minutes of each other. It’s going to be really interesting. I think we’re in a strong position.
^{Maarten Vansteenkiste (22, Oudsbergen), Energetical Engineer with Innoptus Solar Team}

Bridgestone World Solar Challenge

The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge takes place every two years and brings teams from around the world from Darwin to Adelaide, across the Australian Outback. During this journey, they cover a distance of 3,021 kilometers. The race is considered the unofficial world championship for solar cars.