A team of students from the University of Michigan won the North
American Solar Challenge yesterday, driving their solar-powered vehicle
2,400 miles across North America ahead of 14 other teams.
Averaging about 45 miles per hour on solar power alone, the
victory marked Michigan’s fifth win in nine races. All fifteen teams in
the race left Plano, Texas on July 13 and the race concluded at the
University of Calgary on July 22 in front of about 10,000 spectators
who lined the streets to watch the low, aerodynamically designed
vehicles glide by.
The University of Michigan’s vehicle led the entire race. A team
from Principia College placed second followed by Germany’s FH Bochum
car. Teams from the University of Waterloo andUniversity of Minnesota rounded out the top five.
Michigan’s team placed seventh in the 2007 World Solar Challenge in
Australia, where an early crash set the team back. The team was able to
pass two dozen teams in that race after repairing their vehicle, but
were unable to catch the leaders.
Read more about Michigan’s vehicle.
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