Sunseeker officially in fifth place
July 17, 2003
KALAMAZOO -- Nearly half way through the 2,300-mile American Solar Challenge, Western Michigan University's Sunseeker moved into fifth place in official standings and was just over four minutes behind the fourth-place car from Principia College.
The standings for July 16--day four of the race--show Sunseeker made it through the Sayre, Okla., checkpoint, which marks 1,000 miles of the race completed, with a time of 29 hours and 19 minutes. The University of Missouri-Rolla was in first place at mile marker 1,147 with a time of 28 hours and 23 minutes. The University of Minnesota is in second place, and the University of Missouri-Columbia holds the third position in the standings.
According to Laura Shepherd, a WMU staff member who is accompanying the team on the cross-country trip from Chicago to Claremont, Calif., the team stopped between Edmond, Okla., and Sayre during the afternoon to repair a rear suspension problem with the car. She said the team planned to be in Albuquerque, N.M., on Thursday, July 17. That checkpoint is an official overnight stop for all racers, and ends the longest leg of the race. All of the competitors will re-start the race from Albuqurque at 9 a.m. Sunday, July 20. That day, the competitors will leave Albuquerque at one-minute intervals, based on their standings, and head for Gallup, N.M., then continue into Arizona.
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
