As the teams entered the third leg of the 11-day 5 400 km Sasol Solar Challenge, it emerged that the South African teams had started gaining momentum as more cars reached the finishing point on their own steam.

The two Japanese teams, Tokai University and team Kenjiro Shinozuka, held on to the leading positions, but Sasol Solar Challenge race director Winstone Jordaan said South African teams seemed to be gaining in confidence.

South Africa was represented by, besdies others, the University of Johannesburg (UJ) with three vehicles, the North West University (NWU), the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), team EV Drive and the Tshwane University of Technology.

The teams embarked on the leg from Upington to Springbok on Thursday.

The NMMU and NWU teams, as well as two of the three vehicles from UJ, crossed the Springbok finish line.

The teams were undertaking the 550 km trip from Springbok to Cape Town – the race’s halfway mark - on Friday, before taking a rest day.

The race would resume on Sunday, departing Cape Town for Oudtshoorn.