6-27-99

Contacts:
Allen Ihlefeld, Team PrISUm, (515) 231-0363
Skip Derra, News Service, (515) 294-4917

HEAVY RAIN SLOWS TEAM PRISUM IN DAY 7 OF SUNRAYCE 99

AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State's PrISUm Phoenix solar car completed 130 miles, out of today's 199-mile leg (Macon, Ga., to Tallahassee, Fla.) of Sunrayce 99. The ISU solar car got as far as Camilla, Ga., before the students decided to trailer it into the overnight stop.

As of 5:30 p.m. (CST), no cars had crossed the finish line in today's leg of Sunrayce, which was dogged by overcast skies and a driving rain.

Iowa State began the day in 5th place overall. Official times and standings after six days of Sunrayce 99 can be obtained by accessing www.sunrayce.com/sunrayce/mobile.

"We made it as far as we could without draining our batteries," said Team PrISUm director Allen Ihlefeld. "We have two more days of racing, both of which are predicted as overcast and rainy, so we didn't want to use all of our battery power in today's leg of the race."

Tomorrow's leg of Sunrayce 99 is 200 miles from Tallahassee to Ocala, Fla.

Sunrayce 99 coincides with the week of the summer solstice. The 1,424-mile race began June 20 in Washington, D.C., and ends June 29 in Orlando, Fla.

Sunrayce is an ongoing educational program that culminates in a biennial cross-country race of solar-powered cars. The program is open to colleges, universities, trade schools and other post-secondary educational institutions.

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Editors:

The ISU News Service will provide daily updates on Team PrISUm to reporters covering the race. Contact Skip Derra, (515) 294-4917 or (515) 255-3422 (home).

Official race standings and times can be obtained by accessing the Sunrayce Web site.

Team PrISUm's Web site includes images and updates on the team's performance.

Iowa State homepage

University Relations, online@iastate.edu
Copyright © 1999, Iowa State University, all rights reserved
URL: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~nscentral/releases/99/june/day7.html
Revised 06/27/99