On October 17, 2022, the Solar Car Race was arranged where high school students from Jönköping County competed with self-built solar powered cars in various categories and members from the JU Solar Team participated as jurymen and timekeepers.
Once a year, the so-called Klimatveckan is arranged where one of the events is the Solbilsracet where high school students from various schools in Jönköping County participate. This year it was Brinellgymnasiet and Aleholmsskolan that participated. In total, there were nine teams that participated and there were between three and five students in each team. The students had by themself built the mini solar cars that they competed with from scratch battery used to power the car was charged using solar cells and solar energy. In the competition, there were three categories that the cars were judged on, innovation, design and speed. In addition, there was the Walking prize. This prize was won by the team with the over-all best performing car. The JU Solar Team were invited as guest members of the jury but also to talk to students and show that it is possible to make a similar car as they built but in a larger format. As jury members, we participated in the decision of which car won in the various categories. The Walking award went to the car that generally performed the best and that showed the jury that they had put time, thought and effort into their car. In this year's competition, the Walking prize went to the Turbo car, which is a fitting name as it was the fastest of all the cars. In addition to a place in the jury, JU Solar Team acted as timekeepers during the races and then got the parquet seats to see when the cars competed. Those from the JU Solar Team who was there were impressed by how much time and thought had gone into the cars, both in design and production. We also displayed various components such as brake discs and solar cells from our solar car. As part of the driver's equipment, we displayed the helmet used in Australia during the last competition in 2019. During the day, we were pleasantly surprised by the interest there was from both high school students and teachers. Talking and showing what the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge is all about and the car that we are building and will compete with in 2023 is something that everyone in the JU Solar Team is passionate about. That so many high school students show interest and such knowledge further inspires us in our work. The solar car race was a successful and inspiring day of competition with several impressive entries in all categories, so the prospects for future members of the JU Solar Team look bright.
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