Hong Kong’s Sophie Cruises into Victory

It was a day of wild weather as teams at times battled wind gusts and driving rain. After a delayed start due to weather conditions, drivers and their support crews set off on the final stages of the 2025 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.

 

Congratulations to the VTC Solar Car Team from Hong Kong who are now celebrating their Cruiser Class victory, as the aerodynamic Sophie 8X cruised to the Adelaide finish line at 11.29.56 am this morning. In what was a closely contested battle for line honours, Estonia’s Solaride in their solar electric Solaride III Enefit, crossed in second place, just four minutes behind.

 

Also celebrating, Italy’s Onda Solare from the University of Bologna, is on the outskirts of Adelaide and is on track to cross in 3rd place. Taiwan’s Apollo IX Plus is expected later this afternoon. Australia’s Sunswift in Sunswift 7 and Deakin University’s DUST are doing their best to cross the finish line before the 5.45pm cut off time tonight. USA’s Minnesota in Gaia and Italy’s team Archimede in Thalia are both in the non-competitive class and will enjoy finish line celebrations over the weekend.

 

Event Ambassador Chris Selwood AM congratulated the VTC Solar Team on their victory and commitment to the green to the mainstream Cruiser Class with design features you can expect to see in our driving future.

 

‘What a credit to this team. In 2023 they finished in the non-competitive class. Now in 2025, they’ve returned to win the Cruiser Cup,’ Chris said.

 

In the Toyota Challenger Class – Hungary’s Neumann reached Adelaide this morning at 11.11 am in 10th position followed by Sweden’s Chalmers and Swiss team a Centauri, in 11th and 12th position just six minutes apart. Remaining challengers expected today include Japan’s Kogakuin, Osaka, and Wakayama and South Korea’s SNU.

 

For the full leaderboard and to follow the remaining team’s progress, visit Live Map Tracker