Cambridge University’s Eco-Racing team (www.cuer.co.uk) had to pull out of the World Solar Challenge that took place earlier this month in Australia after the car, which took two years to build, crashed into a barrier during testing.

The team’s solar-powered Mirage car rolled over after suffering “a sudden loss of dynamic stability”, and the damage was irreparable. The safety compartment protected the driver, who left hospital after suffering “minor abrasions
and fractures”.

A statement read: “Unfortunately, the nature of the incident provided evidence that the car was unstable in certain conditions. Our continued analysis of the vehicle aims to understand the cause of the instability.”

Many of the team chose to remain in Australia to learn and help other teams. “Being part of such a large solar community in Australia is a rare opportunity, and the support and encouragement the team are receiving is phenomenal,” a team statement read.

The crash happened in Alice Springs, as the team was making its final preparations for the 3,000km race from Darwin to Adelaide, which was won for the third year in a row by Dutch team Nuon.

A University of Cambridge team has been building solar vehicles since 2007, when the UK’s first road-legal solar car — Affinity — made its debut.

The team’s most recent development, Mirage, is a 5m-long carbon-fibre vehicle that uses solar cells as its power source.

The race crosses what the team calls “some of the most remote, inhospitable and striking terrain in the whole of Australia”, so the car needed to undergo rigorous testing.