42 teams from 24 countries will be taking to the start line at Darwin's State Square this Sunday 6th for the biannual race of solar-powered cars. The teams will cover the 3,021 km to Adelaide with the aim of reaching the Adelaide city street circuit on Sunday the 13th. The event, popularized by the 1996 movie "Race the Sun" starring a barely know Halle Berry (back then at least!) saw its inaugural race in 1987 when the USA car "Sunraycer" won the first edition. This land version of the America's Cup was last won by Japan with the "Tokai Challenger" a race that it also won in 2009. Although there are many divisions, the main division sees vehicles driving from 8am to 5pm at which teams must stop and camp at that spot for the night. This nifty things are relatively fast averaging 70-90km/h and completing the distance in about 30 to 35 hours racing time! For the race, a very warm air mass building in the central interior will bring scorching temperatures, temperatures that will reach the mid-to-high 30s through the first half of the racing period and even nudging the 40 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday and I somehow doubt these cars have any aircon! A cold front sweeping over southern Australia on Thursday will bring a relief to the hot temperatures but will also bring the dreaded clouds and perhaps a few light showers. A high pressure system however, will push in over the state from Friday bringing dry and sunny conditions for the final hurdle.