At the beginning of July 2014, my telephone rang. I was told that a great challenge was waiting; participation in Solar Team Twente!

I am Robin Haandrikman, 21 years old and I fulfil the position of Technical Manager at Solar Team Twente. It will be a challenging year, in which I lead the technical team. I make sure that my team can work under the best conditions and with the best materials. I am also responsible for the technical planning and contact with technical partners. Together, we develop the new solar car.

Since September, we challenge to build a solar car for the World Solar Challenge® in Australia. We participated in the iLumen European Solar Challenge to acquire more experience for the World Solar Challenge. During this race I was race leader. My task was to be the communicator between the technical team and our drivers and I was constantly in contact with the driver during the race. When the driver announced that something odd was going on in The RED Engine, I was the first one who could talk to him. Another responsibility of mine was the safety of the drivers; an important task, because safety is our first priority! It was a special experience; as a team we experienced a tremendous growth in five days. We can use all this experience for the real race in 2015.

As a proud member of Solar Team Twente I am really looking forward to the coming year and of course to the participation in the World Solar Challenge® with this fantastic team.

Robin Haandrikman Solar Team TwenteCoen Hartjes, Stan Kaal en Robin Haandrikman.

Photo: Patrick Ooms