A major success for the SolarCar team from Realschule plus Idar-Oberstein: At the 2026 SolarCaRS+ Cup held at Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences, the team secured the overall victory with its self-developed DiaMINT Racer, prevailing against strong competition from across Rhineland-Palatinate.
The path to this success began back in December of last year. After getting acquainted with the project and building a go-kart based on an Infento kit, the search for sponsors began in early February. Thanks to the support of several local companies, around 4,000 euros were raised within a short period of time. This laid the foundation for developing the vehicle and purchasing the necessary materials.
However, the funds received were not used solely to finance the vehicle project. At the same time, the new DiaMINT Lab—the school’s own makerspace—was built from the ground up. Together, the students set up the workshop, installed shelves, organized tools, and—within just a few weeks—created a great working environment. In the future, the DiaMINT Lab is intended to be used for numerous other STEM projects and will be continuously expanded.
It became clear as early as the first test drive that the go-kart could only be used to a limited extent for the competition’s intended requirements. The vehicle proved to be too unstable in terms of steering and suspension. Instead of sticking to the original design, the team analyzed the weak points and developed their own solutions. From numerous sketches and ideas, an extraordinary three-wheeled vehicle concept eventually emerged. The resulting DiaMINT Racer impressed not only with its appearance but, above all, with its high maneuverability, which would prove to be a decisive advantage in the competition.
Starting in late February, work was in full swing in the former KoARaum. Week after week, the solar roof, chassis, rear axle, and steering system took shape. After just a few weeks, the team was able to complete its first test drive. However, the students still faced numerous challenges before the competition vehicle was finished.
Cooling the electric motor, in particular, turned out to be a real test of patience. Time and again, the team had to deal with setbacks. Various cooling concepts involving fans, ice packs, ice cubes, and even ice spray were developed and tested—unfortunately, without success. After about 25 minutes of driving, the motor would regularly shut down due to overheating. Just a few days before the competition, the team still hadn’t managed to complete a successful long-distance test drive.
On the Sunday before the race, after another unsuccessful test run, the team decided to open up the engine to drill additional ventilation holes. The risk was high: if the modification hadn’t worked, it probably wouldn’t have been possible to compete. But their courage paid off. It became clear during the subsequent test runs that the new solution worked, and for the first time, a full battery could be completely drained.
Then the big day finally arrived. The group set off for Kaiserslautern as early as 6:30 a.m. After setting up the pit lane, the competition began with a vehicle presentation in front of the audience and the jury. Yusra and Noah introduced the DiaMINT Racer and highlighted the vehicle’s unique features, while Jeremiah demonstrated the vehicle on the track. Thanks to their impressive performance, the team earned an outstanding second place with eight out of ten points, putting them in an excellent position for the remaining competitions.
In the short slalom that followed, Abd Alkhafi and Noah competed for our team. Although both completed their runs without any mistakes, the DiaMINT racer fell slightly short of his potential and finished in fifth place. The disappointment was limited, however, as the team made an impressive comeback in the long course that followed.
Jeremiah delivered an outstanding performance in this exercise. The hours of training over the previous weeks really paid off here. In particular, the high maneuverability of the tricycle concept he developed himself allowed him to fully showcase his strengths. Jeremiah completed the challenging course in a fabulous time of 1:56 minutes, securing first place. With this outstanding performance, he brought the DiaMINT Racer back within striking distance of the leading team from Morbach.
The outcome was ultimately decided in the endurance race. The goal here was to cover as much distance as possible on a roughly 350-meter-long circuit within 75 minutes. In this discipline, the driver had to be changed after every lap so that all team members could participate. Due to the well-known overheating problems, almost all teams approached the race cautiously. The team from Idar-Oberstein also opted for a defensive strategy and initially drove at a controlled, walking pace to conserve energy. We didn’t want to risk a technical failure.
As the race progressed and it became clear that the battery and motor were performing reliably, the pace increased significantly. While some competitors slowed down or encountered technical problems, the DiaMINT racer was able to get faster with each lap and raced around the track at full speed in the final minutes. At breakneck speed and with spectacular maneuvers, it overtook one competitor after another. It wasn’t until the very last minute before the end of the race that the vehicle ran out of power—a sign that the available battery capacity had been utilized almost perfectly.
Then began the long wait for the awards ceremony. The tension grew by the minute. When Realschule plus Westhofen was first called up as the third-place finisher, it became clear that only the teams from Idar-Oberstein and Morbach were competing for the overall victory. Finally, the decision was made: The team from Realschule plus Idar-Oberstein had indeed won the SolarCaRS*Cup 2026. Amid loud applause, the students received their certificate and a gift certificate worth 300 euros. This prize money will be used to fund a team outing at the end of the school year.
This success would not have been possible without the support of many volunteers. Special thanks go to the numerous sponsors—Groh + Ripp, OIE AG, Kreissparkasse Birkenfeld, HGS Dienstleistungen, Herbert Stephan KG, and the Roland Foundation—who provided financial support for the project. We would also like to thank Daniel Krieger and Thomas Arend for producing numerous 3D-printed components, Christine Brombacher from the International Federation for her assistance with transportation, and the many colleagues who made the additional project work possible by covering classes for others.
The victory at the SolarCaRS+ Cup is a striking demonstration of what students can achieve with team spirit, creativity, technical expertise, and perseverance. The members of the SolarCar team planned, designed, and built their vehicle largely on their own, overcame numerous technical setbacks, and invested many extra hours in test drives and optimizations. What is particularly remarkable is that, within just a few months, they not only developed a winning solar-powered vehicle but also established a new makerspace—the DiaMINT Lab—which will now offer motivated students a wide range of opportunities for tinkering, researching, and developing.