AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State University's solar car raced another 330 miles across western Canada on Monday and solidified its hold on third place in the North American Solar Challenge's stock class.
The world's longest solar car race from Austin, Texas, to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, will resume on Wednesday when the long and low solar cars make the final sprint to the finish line at the University of Calgary.
Monday's racing wasn't ideal for Iowa State's Fusion, said Ryan Pfeiffer, a team member from Council Bluffs who's studying mechanical engineering. There were some clouds most of the day. There was a problem with a module in the battery pack. And the battery protection system had to be fixed.
Even so, Pfeiffer said Monday's 40 mph run was a little monotonous from his place in the chase vehicle.
"The car is boring," he said. "Being reliable is more boring for the team."
But it's good for the racing.
Fusion was third in the race's stock class at the Medicine Hat, Alberta, checkpoint. It's about three hours behind cars from the University of California Berkeley and Stanford University.
Fusion is in 11th place overall, also trailing eight cars competing in the more powerful open class. The University of Michigan is leading the University of Minnesota by 11 minutes for the overall lead.
Tuesday's rest day in Medicine Hat won't be too busy for Team PrISUm, Pfeiffer said. Team members will recharge Fusion's batteries. They'll change its tires. They'll polish its black shell and the purple and blue racing flames that decorate its aerodynamic wheel covers. And they'll catch up on some sleep.
And maybe they'll think a little about what they've accomplished: Nearly 2,500 miles of racing powered only by the sun.
"It's an honor to race with all these other great teams," Pfeiffer said. "We feel pretty accomplished."
The North American Solar Challenge started July 17 with 20 university teams competing for pride and a big traveling trophy. Twelve of those teams were able to make the Medicine Hat checkpoint on Monday.
