iLumen European Solar Challenge 2024

Aletsch on a lap in the night, its rear lights on
iESC 2026SilvrettaBWSC 2025SilvrettaiESC 2024AletschBWSC 2023Aletsch
The team around Aletsch with the Swiss flag after the finishA driver in Aletsch’s cockpit, the canopy openA driver in Aletsch’s cockpit in the pit box while a team member works on the open carAletsch coming down the straight, the driver in the cockpitAletsch on the start and finish straight, the driver in the cockpitAletsch alone on the pit straight in the morning lightTeam members unfolding the Swiss flag beside Aletsch in the pit lane

Laps in 24 hours
163
Kilometres
654
Place in the Challenger class
13th
Fastest lap
4:28

Aletsch · Circuit Zolder · 21–22 September 2024

Our first race in Europe: a year after the World Solar Challenge 2023, Aletsch raced 24 hours on Circuit Zolder in Belgium, in the Challenger class.

Aletsch finished 13th with 163 laps.

Start / Finish

How the race works

The iLumen European Solar Challenge is the only 24-hour race for solar cars. It runs every two years on Circuit Zolder in Belgium, a former Formula 1 track of 4.011 km, from Saturday noon to Sunday noon.

We race in the Challenger class: light single-seaters built for speed and efficiency. The most laps win, and the fastest lap earns a few points more.

By day the sun charges the car while it drives; through the night it runs on its battery. Each team may stop to charge from the grid only a few times, at least once in the night, so how fast to lap is a question of strategy. The drivers change in the pits.