Solar Team Twente has created a new team called the Innovation Team. This is active during the time the racing team is in Australia, but continues to innovate and work on the student solar car. “We’ve already started and are working in the office from 8:30 to 6:30,” says Esmee Hulsman of the new innovation team.
The team started in September at the Solar Team Twente office on the Canalstraat in Enschede. “We had a number of busy application rounds for this,” Hulsman says. Job interviews were conducted with Nikki van de Rydt, among others. She was part of Solar Team Twente in 2019.
getting information
As much information as possible about solar car racing in Australia is currently being collected. “We want to understand how the current car is built and what errors occur during this race. Based on that we can develop a new plan.”
The new innovation team also helps in the “back office.” These are tasks that the Australian team cannot do because of the race. The innovation team is not building a new car, but will be working on the solar car currently competing for the title in Australia.
continuity
The Solar Team Twente office is not always busy during the lead-up to a new race. In this case the 2025 race, because there is no World Cup planned for 2024. “There is a period of six months where no one is there, and we are trying to fill this absence and ensure continuity,” says former team member Nicky van de Rydt. The idea for the Innovation Team originated with a group of former team members. The team has more than a year to work innovatively on the solar car.
Eight hours behind the wheel
The video team that took part in 2019 was also supplemented by former team member Nikki van de Rydt. “We were in a car that was constantly overtaking the solar car and then we took pictures,” says van de Rydt. “I was driving all day. You can’t imagine it, but I was behind the wheel for about 8 hours every day.
When the race ended on the Cooper Petty shoulder in 2019, the video team drove a short distance behind the solar car. “We suddenly saw that we were standing,” says Van de Raedt. “Then, we quickly got into the car and my colleagues started filming and filming everything. I was basically walking down the road.” Reporting is done primarily to indicate to others that a dangerous situation has occurred.
