Without a doubt, the most important process of a solar car project is the test-drive.

Within this period, we are able to observe the mechanical, electrical and aerodynamic behaviors of the vehicle, determine the needs and act accordingly.

After getting the required issues, we prepared our escort vehicles ready for the test-drive.

For any case of an accident, we have placed all the fire extinguishers, first-aid kits, vests with proper signs on them as well as all the sign boards in the escort cars.

We were ready to hit the road around six thirty a.m. on the September 7th.  After loading SOCRAT ASTAY in the truck trailer, we left the Istanbul University Avcilar Campus and headed to Sapanca Service Area where we were to start our test-drive.

After having a breakfast around 8:30, we reexamined the entire system of the solar car.

Now it was time to head to Ankara. We started the journey at 9:45 am based on the priory determined driving strategies.

After completing the Adapazari track, we started the Bolu climbing, which we considered as a real challenge for the solar car.

During the climbing, the noise coming from the engine got some of us worried while it was considered to be completely normal for others. In the end, we decided to stop the car and check to see if something was wrong.

After completing the examination, we concluded that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle and that noise we’ve been hearing should not get us all worried. We continued our test-drive after this decision.

All went well from that point on and the closer we got to Ankara, the more excited we all felt since a success in this test would mean that SOCRAT ASTAY was ready for Australia.

We arrived at Ankara at 1:35p.m.

After completing the test, we headed towards the AK Party headquarters for our meeting with the prime minister. We decided to introduce SOCRAT ASTAY to the people of Ankara, so we didn’t load the car in the truck trailer. The attention that we gathered all through the way made us realize how much we enjoy doing what we are doing once more.

Prime Minister Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan together with Mr. Reha Denemeç came to the car park of the headquarters to examine the vehicle.

After a long chat, the Prime Minister was kind enough to sign our vehicle .

Thus, SOCRAT got its final approval prior to Australia.