Solar Race Team Begins Second Stage in 2,400-Mile Race
UA Solar Car shines during media conference.
The team has traveled 327 miles and has another 2,073 to make it to the finish line in Calgary.
The University of Arizona solar race team and its car, Drifter 2.0, finished the first stage of the American Solar Challenge in 12th place. The UA solar race team was one of only 15 teams from the 24 entrants that qualified for the race after undergoing and passing inspection.
The second stage of the race began on July 15 and spans more than 500 miles from Neosho, Miss., to Sioux Falls, S.D., with checkpoints in Topeka, Kan., and Omaha, Neb. Teams have until Friday, July 18, to reach Sioux Falls, the third stage of the race.
The team is competing for best time in a race which will eventually end at the finish line in Calgary on July 22.
UA race team member Wei-Ren Ng described the race as “difficult” but noted that the weeks spent in the lab before the race were paying dividends. “All the long hours in the lab to prepare the electrical system in the car definitely paid off,” he said. “It was one of the first things to pass inspection.”
Weather has been a factor, forcing the cars to run primarily on stored battery power rather than solar power in the earlier in the race. Weather has been cooperating lately and the teams have experienced sunny days entering into the second stage.
A UA team spokesman reported that the team is receiving a great deal of support along the route. For example, the hotel the team stayed at in McAlester, Okla., provided them with energy bars and snacks for the race. The bags were decorated in UA colors.
The standings at the end of the first stage are as follows:
1 - Michigan
2 - Principia
3 - Minnesota
4 - Bochum
5 - Missouri
6 - Red River
7 - Waterloo
8 - Calgary
9 - Kentucky
10 - Iowa State
11 - Queens
12 - Arizona
13 - Northwestern
14/15 - Oregon State and Durham (the British team) posted no times but are listed by the race organizers as still in the race.
et cetera
- Extra Info |
- Contact Info
Peter Brown
UA College of Engineering
520-621-3754
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