Sunny skies power Team PrISUm past two teams and into fourth place

Cory Anderson, a mechanical engineering student, takes the controls of Hyperion during the American Solar Challenge. Larger photo. Photo by Team PrISUm.

AMES, Iowa – Working with sunny skies and a fully repaired solar race car, Team PrISUm made up some time on Monday.

Hyperion, the solar race car designed and built by Iowa State students, passed two teams on the road and moved up to fourth place at the end of day three of the eight-day, 1,650-mile American Solar Challenge.

Iowa State students will try to break back into the top three when the challenge heads across Michigan on Tuesday. The Iowa State team is about 36 minutes behind the third-place team from Principia College. The race leaders, Michigan and Minnesota, are hours ahead.

“Today was pretty much what I hope for during a solar car race,” said Evan Stumpges, the team’s project director and a May graduate in mechanical engineering.

That meant sunny skies most of the day and no issues with the car’s electrical or mechanical systems. That meant the team only had to stop for a quick driver change. And all that meant Iowa State’s solar race car had the speed to pass Oregon State and California, Berkeley.

Sunshine at the stage stop also promises a very healthy battery pack for Tuesday’s racing. That will help the team make the checkpoint in Kalamazoo, Mich., as early as possible and then make a good run toward Wednesday’s race stop in Normal, Ill.

Team PrISUm was running a strong second place until an accident and stormy weather slowed Hyperion on Sunday. The team worked into the night to repair a broken suspension piece, damaged aerodynamic wheel fairings and even a loose radio wire.

“We made up time compared to Principia and Minnesota,” Stumpges said. “But we have a ways to go before we can regain what we lost yesterday.”