Innoptus Solar Team won the 2023 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge with Infinite, finishing the Darwin-to-Adelaide race in 34 hours, 4 minutes and 41 seconds. The team said wildfire smoke reduced the solar energy it expected to receive, while the event organizer described Infinite’s fin as a stability feature for difficult, windy conditions. Those factors shaped the story of the win, but published reports do not quantify the smoke’s effect or prove how much the fin improved performance.
Who won the 2023 World Solar Challenge?
Belgium’s Innoptus Solar Team finished first in the 2023 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge with its car, Infinite. The event organizer reported that the team had led for almost the entire journey from Darwin before crossing the finish in Adelaide on October 26, 2023. It was Innoptus’s second consecutive title, according to the event report.
| Place | Team and car | Reported elapsed time |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Innoptus Solar Team — Infinite | 34 hours, 4 minutes, 41 seconds |
| 2nd | Team Twente — RED X | 34 hours, 24 minutes, 58 seconds |
| 3rd | Brunel — Nuna 12 | Elapsed time not stated in the event report |
The first two times put Team Twente 20 minutes and 17 seconds behind Innoptus. The organizer said RED X kept the Belgian team under pressure, at times coming within minutes. These are race elapsed times, not controlled measurements of vehicle efficiency.
What did the fin do?
The event organizer described Infinite’s fin as designed to help the car remain stable in tough, windy conditions. Innoptus said the feature helped it maintain speed as the wind picked up. Pauline Vanvuchelen, from the team’s marketing group, called it “our secret weapon” in the team’s race report.
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That phrase captures the team’s view, not a measured engineering result. The published reports provide no wind-speed readings, drag coefficients, controlled comparison with a car without a fin, or separate estimate of the fin’s contribution to speed. They support the fin’s stated purpose and the team’s account of its usefulness, but not a quantified aerodynamic advantage.
How did wildfire smoke affect the race?
Innoptus reported that smoke from nearby forest fires reduced the solar energy the team expected to receive, so it adjusted its race strategy. The team also described clouds and changing weather as challenges. The reports do not state how much solar energy was lost, how dense the smoke was, or how much the strategy change affected the final result.
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Wind also affected the event beyond the Challenger Class in which Infinite competed. The organizer said no team in the CSIRO Cruiser Class completed the second stage, which it described as the first time that had happened in that class. That Cruiser Class outcome should not be confused with Innoptus’s Challenger Class victory.
How did Innoptus take the lead?
Innoptus said it had worked on Infinite for 15 months and began the final day in second place. According to its account, the team moved into the lead during the first hour of that day and held it to Adelaide. Manager Cedric Verlinden credited the team’s approach: “We arrived first in Adelaide and that is because we followed our own strategy for 3,000 kilometres.”
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The event organizer described the finish as smoother than the dramatic final day of the 2019 challenge. Innoptus’s account emphasizes the team’s strategy and the changing conditions; neither report isolates the effect of any one factor on the winning margin.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the reports establish—and what they do not
The official event report establishes the finishing order and winning times, while Innoptus’s contemporaneous account explains how the team says smoke, clouds, wind and its fin influenced race decisions. Together, they document a win under difficult conditions without providing a scientific comparison of vehicle designs or a measured breakdown of weather effects.
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- Established: Innoptus and Infinite won in 34 hours, 4 minutes, 41 seconds; Team Twente was second, and Brunel third.
- Attributed to the team: Smoke reduced expected solar input, and the fin helped maintain speed as wind increased.
- Not reported: Solar-power losses, smoke density, wind speeds, aerodynamic drag, or a controlled estimate of the fin’s effect.
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