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NEWS RELEASE
07-18-01
Contacts:
Nick Mohr, Team PrISUm, (515) 451-5630
Skip Derra, News Service, (515) 294-4917
SOLAR CAR RACE SPIRIT LIFTS TEAM PRISUM IN DAY 3 OF
RACE
AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State University's solar car team, Team PrISUm, got a big
lift from another school during the third day of racing in the American
Solar Challenge.
Team PrISUm's power trackers, electronic devices that optimize the power
from the solar array, broke down keeping the car off the road. But the ISU
students got a significant boost when the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology team lent ISU its spare trackers.
The ISU team subsequently made it from Rolla, Mo., to Neosho, Mo, a distance
of 185 miles of rolling hills in day 3 of the ASC -- a pretty good day of
racing given the team didn't get on the road until about 11 a.m.
"We've struggled with our trackers through the first part of the race," said
Nick Mohr, director of Team PrISUm. "We saw that they were basically
inoperable this morning, so getting trackers from another team provided a
big lift. It really shows the spirit of solar car racing."
Mohr added that the ISU team plans to travel as far as it can each of the
next several days of the race, trying to make up ground. Without any
mandatory overnight stops for the teams until Barstow, Calif., July 24, race
strategy will focus on optimizing sunlight as the teams trek across
Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
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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