Whyalla Team Wins Big in Hydrogen Car Race

Feel good story

By Arj Ganesan

ABC North and West SA

Awards and Prizes

Monday, July 6, 2026, 12:43 pm

Four Whyalla team members won the H2 Grand Prix World Finals in Switzerland.

In short:

Whyalla teens competed against the world's best in a hydrogen-powered car race.

The boys were wildcard entrants after a technical disqualification last year.

What's next?

An all-girls team from Whyalla will try to qualify for the 2027 world event.

Simon Coppins watched his car for four hours.

Simon felt like he had been watching his car for four hours during the race.

The team was in first place last year but got disqualified due to a technical issue.

They were very close to winning last year.

Caelan Kaminski spoke for the team during the H2 Grand Prix Finals.

The team got a second chance as wildcard entrants this year.

The five boys are from a small city in South Australia.

The team's win is thanks to the city of Whyalla.

The team won, and people cheered in the Swiss stadium and in Australia.

The team members are Karman Randhawa, Eli Coppins, Caelan Kaminski, and Simon Coppins.

Simon said the win felt very sweet.

Simon was lost for words after the win.

Hometown heroes

Simon and his teammates will return as heroes after winning the World Championships.

The event involves building hydrogen-powered cars and racing them.

The Whyalla team built and worked on their cars for hours.

Teams need to be strategic with their lap times and fuel.

The Whyalla team had been together for two years.

The team was disqualified last year due to a technical fault.

The team produces hydrogen to fuel their cars.

Simon and the team were heartbroken last year.

But the story didn't end there.

The race changed its scheduling format.

Qualifying events will be held the year before for some countries.

Simon wants to be an engineer.

The decision to change the schedule was made recently.

The Whyalla team was invited to the June meet.

The team had no time to prepare or find funds to get to Switzerland.

A win for the wildcards and Whyalla

Trudi Wynn is the driving force behind the town's H2 racers.

Trudi had to figure out how to get the team to Europe.

It was a huge undertaking for Trudi.

The town raised $80,000 to help the team.

Simon credits the win to the Whyalla community.

The community supported the team.

Many people watched and cheered for the team.

The city of Whyalla supported the team.

Shannon helped prepare the car but couldn't make it to Switzerland.

Caelan practiced his new role in the pit crew.

First girls team

Whyalla's H2 racing legacy is growing.

An all-female team will compete in a 2027 world qualifier.

The all-girls team is from Whyalla.

There's a strong drive to get girls into STEM.

Evita Elias is excited to take part in the event.

Evita wants to work in a STEM field.

Evita loves STEM and science.

More news from regional SA

Topic: Health Policy

Topic: Agricultural Pest Control

Topic: Consumer Goods

Topic: Invasive Species

Monday, July 6, 2026, 12:43 pm

Monday, July 6, 2026, 1:02 pm

See more ABC coverage

Promotion

Práctica de escucha