Sun is in driver's seat for car race

The World Solar Challenge began on Sunday with 42 cars crossing Australia's tropical north to its southern shores, a grueling 3,000-kilometer race through the outback.

The race from the northern city of Darwin to the southern city of Adelaide is expected to take a week for most cars, with speeds of 90 to 100 km/h powered only by the sun.

The fastest time was achieved by Japan's Tokai University in 2009, completing the transcontinental race in just 29 hours and 49 minutes.