MEDIA RELEASE

GETTING SET TO FOLLOW THE SUN – SCHEDULE UPDATE

Friday 24 February

The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, the world’s largest, and most prestigious solar car event, is gearing up for its brightest yet after its pandemic-enforced, four-year hiatus from hosting teams on Australian soil.

Event organiser, the South Australian Motor Sport Board, in partnership with Northern Territory Major Events, is finalising the program for this one-of-a-kind 3,000-kilometre adventure from Darwin to Adelaide and has announced a scheduling change. The start date will move from Friday 20 October to Sunday 22 in Darwin and conclude on Sunday 29 October in Adelaide.

Event Director, Chris Selwood AM, said the adjustment back to the traditional Sunday start was practical from an operations perspective and would also be easier for more people to attend the event now bookended by weekends.

‘Infrastructure upgrades in the Darwin CBD make a Sunday start for the high-tech solar cars and multitude of support vehicles preferable to a weekday,’ Mr Selwood said.

‘And without giving too much away as yet, the exciting live program of events we will be announcing in the coming months to celebrate the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge return, will be able to be enjoyed by more people in both Darwin and Adelaide with the inclusion of the two weekends,’ he said.

‘This event is an investment in our future. The more opportunity we have to inspire those who can create change, the closer we come to real-world sustainable mobility and a healthier planet.

‘We look forward to sharing further updates in the countdown to the 2023 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge,’ Mr Selwood concluded.