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NEWS RELEASE
07-23-01
Contacts:
Nick Mohr, Team PrISUm, (515) 451-5630
Skip Derra, News Service, (515) 294-4917
ISU SOLAR CAR TEAM BLAZES THROUGH SOUTHWEST U.S.
AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State University's solar car team, Team PrISUm, continued
its torrid pace
across the Southwestern U.S. covering almost 340 miles today, their ninth
day of racing in the
American Solar Challenge. The team drove its Odyssey solar car from
Flagstaff, Ariz., to near
Ludlow, Calif., about 55 miles southeast of Barstow.
"We had another great day," said Nick Mohr, director of Team PrISUm. "We
had a plan of trying
to get all the way to Barstow and we almost made it. The car operated
wonderfully and the team
showed a lot of poise."
Mohr said the weather was cooperating with the team, which had another day
filled with sunshine.
The team trekked across western Arizona and when they made the mid-day
stop in Kingman,
they decided to try to bring the car all the way in to Barstow.
"We were averaging about 43 mph to Kingman," Mohr said. "We figured if we
kept that pace we
would get real close to Barstow by 6 pm, local time. So we went for
it."
The Iowa State team began the day in 18th place in the ASC. The leaders of
the race, all teams
that had made it to Barstow over the weekend, are University of Michigan,
University of
Missouri-Rolla, University of Waterloo and Queens University.
All teams must meet in Barstow, Calif., by Tuesday evening for a staged
final leg of the race from
Barstow to Claremont, Calif., (near Los Angeles) on Wednesday.
For official team standings go to
www.formulasun.org/asc. To view where
teams are on the race route, go to
www.formulasun.org/asc/tracking/index.html. Team PrISUm also is charting its
own progress and posting it on its web site,
www.prisum.iastate.edu/asc/#map.
The American Solar Challenge, a 2,300-mile race is being held July 15-25. It
is the longest solar car race ever attempted. The race course will follow
along portions of old Route 66.
The American Solar Challenge is designed to advance renewable energy and
electric vehicle technologies, promote educational and engineering
excellence, encourage environmental consciousness and teach teamwork. This
is the sixth major solar car race Iowa State students have participated in
since 1990.
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