The second day of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge ended at Shams Solar Power Station this evening, with Team SOCRAT crossing the line first after a 325km drive across the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

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The UAE team Petroleum Institute, who set of in the lead this morning, came in second just behind the leaders from Istanbul. Crossing the line first in solar car challenges does not guarantee winning the stage – any time penalties incurred will be added to the overall time at the end of the day.

Travelling from Turkey to take part in the inaugural Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge, SOCRAT were delighted with their progress so far. Serdar Zurnaci, driver, said: “We have had a good couple of days and everything has gone according to plan.

"We drove well today, and are pleased with our first position. The roads were often tricky, with city and desert driving. We still have a way to go but we have a good shot at winning. We have worked extremely hard for this

“We thank every member of the team for all their hard work and togetherness!"

The teams left Shams early this morning, travelling towards Liwa, via Hameem, before turning back on to finish at Shams.

The Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge is the first International Solarcar Federation (ISF) sanctioned event to be held in the Middle East.

It is sponsored by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and hosted by Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company Masdar, as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

Organisers are encouraging the public to attend all stopovers for a chance to see the cars up close and personal and meet the teams.

Stopover points are as follows: 19thJanuary: 8:30am at the multipurpose Arena at Zayed Sports City and 10am at World Future Energy Summit at ADNEC.