American Solar Challenge Results: 2010
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After a couple years of preparation, a couple days of scrutineering, racing around a hot track in Cresson, TX and an 1,100 mile road race from Broken Arrow, OK to Napierville, IL, team Infinium from the University of Michigan won the 2010 American Solar Challenge.
Team Centaurus 2 of the University of Minnesota placed second and team SolarWorld no. 1 from Bochum University of Applied Sciences in Bochum, Germany placed third.
Congratulations to all. Here's a quick run down of the day to day race happenings.
American Solar Challenge Stage 3: It's been such fun, it's a shame the American Solar Challenge will soon end. The Apogee team from Stanford and the Solar Miner VII team of Missouri S&T might be feeling the same way.
After two road race stages and a Formula Sun Grand Prix that saw Michigan, Minnesota and Bochum take top honors, team Apogee and Solar Miner VII will join Michigan on the podium.
Congratulations are in order for the persistence and hard work shown by all the teams.
Special mention goes to team Infinium of Michigan, who used their skills and persistence to the best of their advantage. Along with their high tech car, they are a high tech team. Simply put, they are down right good.
The one hundred mile drive to the finish line in Naperville will resemble the final day of the Tour de France, with the leaders taking their final victory lap.
It still remains to be seen which teams will grab the overall second and third place spots. A back of the envelope calculation shows less than a twelve minute gap between Minnesota (total time of 27:35:28) and Bochum (total time 27:47:11). Should either of those teams get into trouble, Stanford, with a total time of 29:07:05 could possibly make the final podium.
American Solar Challenge Stage 2: A change in scenery to the rolling hills of central Missouri did little to change the ASC standings. Stage 2 ended like stage one, with the top three places going to Michigan, Minnesota and Bochum.
American Solar Challenge Stage 1: Rough roads and rain were some of the obstacles facing the American Solar Challenge participants as they completed Stage 1 from Broken Arrow, OK to Topeka, KS.
Michigan's team Infinium leads the pack. However, the thirty minute gap between the leader and the second and third place teams, Minnesota and Bochum, means that one flat tire or disconnected wire could easily juggle the standings.
Day 3 FSGP Update: With three days of smooth driving, the Infinium team of Michigan wins the Formula Sun Grand Prix, earning the team the pole position for the American Solar Challenge.
Second place went to the team from Bochum University and the Centaurus 2 team of Minnesota placed third.
In other race news, the Speed Racers of the Stanford Apogee Team tied with Minnesota for the fastest lap (2:05). The Texas Samsung Solorean Team qualified for the race for first time in fifteen years. The Mercury III Team from Illinois State also qualified, making for an even dozen of American Solar Challenge participants.
The teams are on their way to Broken Arrow, OK for Sunday's start. Only 1,100 more miles to the finish line.
Day 2 FSGP Update: Weather conditions dominated the early news. A sneaky wind gust picked up the German entry from Bochum University, nearly flipping it. Slower and steadier served as the call of the day for many of the teams.
Persistence paid off big for the Missouri S&T, Iowa State, Northwestern, Stanford and SUNY New Paltz teams, each of which qualified for the ASC road race. Patience paid off for the team from Taiwan, Kaohsiung. After spending Day 1 of the FSGP fine tuning their machine to ASC specifications, they completed 100 laps in one day, earning them a seat at the starting line.
In total, ten teams are now set to cruise through the Mid-West, on their way to their solar powered glory days.
The talent and persistence shown by all the qualifying teams thus far, coupled with the fact that speed limits apply to all the qualifiers during the ASC road race, means the title is up for grabs. The team that runs the steadiest, with and without the sun shining, and makes the least amount of mistakes along the way, will be the eventual winner.
Day 1 FSGP Update: On a hot and sunny day in Cresson, TX, with temperatures pushing the upper 900F range, the teams from Michigan, Minnesota, Bochum and Calgary completing the required one hundred laps to qualify for the upcoming road race.
Slight mechanical problems slowed the teams from Missouri S&T, Iowa State, and Northwestern. However, a productive day 2 will easily qualify them.
More serious techinal problems slowed down the teams from SUNY, Texas, Stanford and Kentucky. However, they did make it to the track.
The teams from Oregon State, Western Michigan and Kaohsiung are still working to get to the track for qualifying. Western Michigan says they are green lighted for tomorrow.
© 2010. Patricia A. Michaels