Chasing The Sun At Chile’s Solar Rally

Rally racing in solar-powered cars has taken off in recent years, nowhere more so than in Chile's Atacama Desert, says the BBC's Gideon Long.

Motor racing is not the greenest of sports.

Whether it be Formula 1 cars hurtling around the circuit at Monza or rally cars careering along dirt tracks through Scandinavian forests, fuel consumption is always an issue, especially in today's energy-conscious world.

But in Chile this week, 20 teams are taking part in a rally in which all of the cars are powered by the sun. Carbon emissions are zero.