The technology packed Aurora 101 solar car became the first ever competitor in the Suzuka 'Dream Cup' solar car race to achieve 50 laps in 4 hours.

In doing so Aurora 101's sixteen year old first time driver, Damien McArthur from Hamilton in Victoria, set the fastest race lap time in the event at 4 mins 29.7 seconds. In 2002 Michael Schumacher's fastest race lap in the Formula 1 Ferrari was 1 min 36.1 seconds.

The Suzuka 'Dream Cup' is an FIA sanctioned solar car event held on the Suzuka Formula 1 race circuit in Japan. It is Japan's major solar car event attracting the highest number of solar car entrants of any solar car competition in the international calendar. It has been staged every year since 1992 when it was won by the Honda R&D team.

The Aurora team accepted the invitation of the race organisers and the event sponsors - the Yomiuri Shimbun media group - to compete in the 2003 Suzuka 'Dream Cup' as a demonstration entry. This was a great opportunity for the Aurora 101 team to test their new advanced technology in race conditions.

The 'Dream Cup' is staged in two heats of 4 hour duration. The Suzuka track is hilly with tight corners and is 5.807 km long. It is a severe test of handling skills and the durability of the solar car electrical system.

The first 4 hour heat was held on Saturday, 26 July in very fine conditions. The heat was won by the TIGA team from Osaka, sister city to Melbourne, which covered 49 laps. Aurora 101 finished in 7th place having lost 25 minutes or nearly six laps due to a suspension failure following a spin.

Aurora101's win in the second heat pulled it up to 5th place overall with a total of 93 laps, the highest place any overseas entry had achieved in this event. The event was won by TIGA covering 98 laps with another Osaka based entrant OSU finishing second with 97 laps.

The Aurora 101 solar car is named after the two most prestigious office buildings in Australia. They are Aurora Place in Sydney and 101 Collins Street in Melbourne. Minter Ellison, the Sumitomo Company, Ford Australia and Gochermann Solar Technology are Foundation sponsors of the Aurora Vehicle Association.

The Aurora 101 solar car has been extensively improved with new space grade triple junction galium arsenide solar cells, a newly developed motor controller from Tritium, new lithium polymer batteries, and high efficiency solar trackers from AERL. These improvements are aimed at being a leading contender in the 2003 World Solar Challenge which starts in Darwin on 19 October 2003.