|
WMU Home > About WMU > WMU News
Sunseeker among solar race leaders in SaskatchewanJuly 25, 2005 REGINA, Saskatchewan--Western Michigan University's Sunseeker remains in sixth place and was one of seven teams to make it to Regina by the close of yesterday's eighth day of racing in the North American Solar Challenge. The official checkpoint in Regina is 2,018 miles into the 2,500-mile race, which began July 17 in Austin, Texas, and will end Wednesday in Calgary, Alberta. Eighth-day results reflect the race standings as of 8 p.m. (MDT) yesterday. The University of Minnesota remains in first place with a cumulative time of 45:42:01--just seven minutes ahead of the second-place team from the University of Michigan. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Missouri-Rolla and University of Waterloo are in third, fourth and fifth places, respectively. The race resumed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, yesterday after a one-day break for competitors. Prior to the Winnipeg stop, WMU was locked in what one race official called "one of the most exciting 'races within the race.'" From Austin to Winnipeg, WMU, Principia College and the University of Missouri-Columbia raced in close proximity with the lead among the three vehicles changing repeatedly as the cars neared the Canadian border. Over the days, however, the WMU team built a substantial lead in the cumulative time measurement, and by the end of racing Sunday, the other two teams had dropped back to eighth and ninth place and were not among the teams closing out the day in Regina. Stanford University moved into seventh place, but is more than four hours behind Sunseeker. There are 18 teams still competing in the cross-country event. The race will resume at 7:45 a.m. (MDT) today under predicted sunny skies. The lead teams are expected make it to Medicine Hat, Alberta, where they will wait for the rest of the competitors. On Wednesday, the final day of the race, competitors will leave Medicine Hat in order of their standings and head for the finish line in Calgary. Go to www.americansolarchallenge.org and click on "GPS Tracking" to see the current location of each car along the race route. Media contact: Cheryl Roland, 269 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu WMU News |
