Sunseeker retains sixth place in third day of race
July 16, 2003
KALAMAZOO -- Western Michigan University's Sunseeker solar racecar has completed 629 miles of the 2,300-mile American Solar Challenge and remains in sixth place after the third day of racing, July 15. WMU's solar race team traveled 193 miles Tuesday, from Rolla, Mo., to just west of Tulsa, Okla., where they spent the night.
On Tuesday, the University of Minnesota took the overall race lead as the University of Waterloo, which had led since the first day, fell to fifth place. Minnesota's team has traveled 629 miles with a cumulative time of 15 hours, 24 minutes and 8 seconds. They are followed closely by the team from the University of Missouri-Rolla at 15:37:35 and Kansas State University at 15:55:27.
WMU's time for the 629 miles completed through Tuesday is 17:46:49, which puts Sunseeker about 1 hour and 45 minutes behind fifth-place Waterloo and about 30 minutes ahead of seventh-place Principia College.
The American Solar Challenge, a 2,300-mile cross-country solar car race from Chicago to the Los Angeles area, is the longest solar car race in the world.
To follow the July 13-23 race as it unfolds, go to the ASC Web site at <www.formulasun.org/asc>. The site includes a map of the route with information about stops and the location of the race leader. A daily update link carries information about the last know location of each team and discloses current standings, miles completed and time elapsed.
Media contact: Cheryl Roland, 269 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu