They were first to finish on Day One and continued to lead the pack of solar-powered race cars for most of the 325-kilometre course on the second day of the Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge.
Then, just 200 metres from the finish line, the host emirate's Petroleum Institute team was relegated to a second-place finish as Istanbul's Team Socrat won the second leg of the 1,200km race on Saturday.
"We drove well today, and are pleased with our first position,” said Serdar Zurnaci, Team Socrat's driver.
"The roads were often tricky, with city and desert driving. We still have a way to go but we have a good shot at winning. We have worked extremely hard for this.”
Crossing the line first in the challenge does not necessarily guarantee a stage victory, because any penalties incurred during the race, such as exceeding the speed limit, for example, can add to a race team's final finish time, which will be posted this morning.
Sidd Bikkannavar, 33, an American driver for the Petroleum Institute team, said they were not too rattled by their second-place finish.
"We have our eyes on the big prize, which is the overall winner. Whatever happens on any one particular day will not change our strategy,” he said.
"Anytime we see a team coming up behind us or trying to overtake us we don't change what we're doing and adjust our speed or anything. We have a strategy.”
The team that finishes the three-day race with the best time overall will be declared the winner.
Fifteen international teams are competing in the competition, the first such event to be held in the Middle East under the aegis of the International Solarcar Federation.
It is sponsored by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and hosted by renewable energy company Masdar, as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
The public is invited to visit all stopovers on the final day of the challenge on Sunday for a chance to meet the teams and see the cars up close.
The stopover points will be at 8.30am at Zayed Sports City's multipurpose arena and 10am at the World Future Energy Summit at Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre.
Source: The National