UMNSVP Racing

Minnesota Finishes Second

12:30 pm: After 2500 miles from Austin, Texas to Calgary, Alberta, the University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project finshed in second place by 11 minutes overall in the 2005 North American Solar Challenge.  We would like to thank all our fans, friends, families and sponsors that made this finish possible.  It has been a fantastic journey and we appreciated all your support throughout.  Thanks for the great comments on our site.

8:00 am: After last night's penalty appeals, Michigan has regained the lead and Minnesota will be starting second today. Look for GPS updates as the rayce begins at 8 and a final update on the standings once the team reaches Calgary. Thanks for all your support, we have the best fans bar none!

Michigan Penalized; Minnesota in 1st

5:30 pm: University of Michigan has been assessed a 40 minute penalty due to speeding.  The penalty places Minnesota in first place by a half hour, and gives Minnesota the pole position for tomorrow's stage start.  Michigan has an opportunity to protest the penalty this evening, and the start order will not be official until tomorrow morning.  This website will be updated as more news becomes available.

Minnesota Drops to Second

The arrival times are in and Michigan has retaken the lead as of Medicine Hat.  Michigan arrived into the checkpoint at 11:20 am, with Minnesota arriving 38 minutes later at 11:58 am.  The overall lead in Winnipeg was only 27 minutes meaning Michigan is now in the lead by 11 minutes.  Third to arrive at the checkpoint was M.I.T. at a time of 12:24 pm, followed closely by University of Waterloo at 12:25 pm.  Last to arrive at the checkpoint for now was University of Missouri - Rolla at 1:05 pm.

University of Minnesota had a great charge this morning, and things were looking good on the road as the team sped down Canada's highway 1 at the speed limit.  However, the weather's always a factor and high cirrus clouds at first, and mostly cloudy skies near the end prevented the team from maintaining the speed limit, allowing Michigan to gain precious minutes.

The team has tomorrow off, as other vehicles collect at the Medicine Hat Stage Point, and then there's the final short stage into Calgary.  Driving 2500 miles and yet having the lead separated only by 11 minutes is astounding and Wednesday should prove to be an exciting day.  In the meantime, the team will use tomorrow to charge up the car, and make any final preparations for the finish.  Wish us luck.

Thank you Winnipeg!

9:00 am: Borealis III is starting this morning from the Manitoba capitol in downtown Winnipeg.  We had a great stay here thanks to the folks of Winnipeg and our great hosts at Red River College.  The penalties have been assessed this morning and the start order is generally unchanged.  Minnesota is in first, Michigan is in second, M.I.T. is in third and Rolla is in fourth.  Our time ahead of Michigan is still around one half hour.  We will be starting in one minute intervals so we will have Michigan right behind us all day.  Should make for an interesting day of racing.

5:20 pm: It's a nailbiter.  Borealis III just left the Regina checkpoint behind Michigan by 19 minutes.  We're still in the lead but the margin is shrinking.  Today was a windy one, with 20 mph winds right on the nose of the car, so a speed of 65 mph over the road feels like 85 to the car.  Michigan passed Minnesota early in the day and has been gaining ever since.  We will not know the exact split until we arrive in Medicine Hat tomorrow, but it'll be close.  M.I.T. arrived at the Regina checkpoint 15 minutes after Minnesota and Rolla arrived as Borealis III left the grounds.  We'll keep you posted.

9:00 pm: We had a great day of driving.  We lost time to Michigan, but we drove well and the team operated superbly.  We charged this evening next to some gorgeous scenery so be sure to check out the pcitures.

Rest and Relaxation

While the car is outside soaking up the energy of the sun, the team is hanging out on the grass enjoying some free time for a change.  We are going to do some minor tune ups over the next two days and get prepared for the race to continue Sunday at 9:00 am.

The University of Minnesota would like to thank the University of Missouri - Rolla racing fans and the University of Michigan racing fans for their kind posts on this site.  We really appreciate your interest in our website.  We would also like to thank all our fans in Minnesota for all your great comments.  There were a torrent of messages posted from alumni and fans alike yesterday and the team loves reading them.  Everyday we print off all the comments, and they are lining the inside of our trailer for all the team to read.  Keep them coming!

To answer the Michigan parent's question, there is a little brown solar jug.  Minnesota and Michigan have decided to extend the historic football trophy tradition into the solar car arena, and have come up with a little brown jug to give to the team that is ahead at the end of the American Solar Challenge.  The trophy is currently in the back of our trailer waiting for the victor to claim it at the finish line.

There was a nice article about the team in yesterday's paper.  For those who haven't seen it it can be found at http://www.startribune.com/stories/1405/5517030.html.

Oh Canada...

9:00 am: Today the University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project goes international for the first time over the course of a race when we enter Canada.  We are currently cruising the sunny road of Highway 75 and anticipate an arrival into Fargo at 10:00 am.  We look forward to seeing all our friends and family.  After Fargo we make a run for the border and hopefully will make Winnipeg tonight.

The team made it to Winnipeg Thursday evening and were the first to arrive to a great crowd and lots of press.  Zac Kahly began the day driving Borealis III from Ortonville, MN to Fargo, ND.  The weather in Ortonville was exquisite, showing all the other teams why we love our great state of Minnesota.  We passed M.I.T.'s camping spot, as they were getting ready to put their car on the road.  Showing true Minnesota hospitality, an Ortonville farmer opened up his property for M.I.T. to camp on as well as providing some morsels for the team to eat.

After two hours the University of Minnesota arrived in Fargo with M.I.T. about ten minutes behind.  Completing the thirty minutes required stopping time at the checkpoint, the team rolled out as Michigan rolled in.  John Wanner was now driving the car as the team prepared for a long leg to Winnipeg.

The team crossed the border into Canada in the town of Pembina.  With our own lane reserved at customs, the team got through pretty quick, too quick for the cameramen.  The border agent stood at the window of the lead van telling the team that she had no more questions but had to stand there just for the cameras.

Once in Canada, the highway had flashing signs that read "Use caution for slow moving solar vehicles."  As Borealis III sped by at 100 km/h we kept our eyes out for these rumored slow moving vehicles.

Borealis III was the first car to arrive at the Winnipeg stage stop, followed closely behind by M.I.T. and then Michigan.  The team is so glad to be in Winnipeg for now we have two solid days and three nights to charge the car's batteries with the sun and to charge our own batteries with some much needed sleep.  Up until today, the team has seen every sunrise and sunset for the past 10 days.

Onward to Minnesota

7: 30 am: The team is currently charging our car and getting ready to race on up to Sioux Falls and then Minnesota.  We are anticipating a 1:00 pm arrival into Sioux Falls if all goes well.  After Sioux Falls we turn right and cross into Minnesota, following Highway 75 through Pipestone and on up to Fargo.  We probable will not make Fargo this evening, so if any Gopher fans cannot make the Sioux Falls checkpoint today, you can always come and see us at the Fargo checkpoint tomorrow.  We would love to see you there.  And of course people can plop down a lawn chair anywhere on highway 75 and watch the solar cars roll through.  Stay tuned for more updates.

10:15 am: In Herman, NE Minnesota passed M.I.T, and is now in the lead.  With Peter Meinz behind the wheel, Borealis III passed just north of a thunderstorm.  Minnesota was lucky to avoid most of the storm but M.I.T. unfortunately hit hail.  The skies are clear now and the team is expecting a 2:15 pm arrival now in Sioux Falls.  See you there.

Borealis III entered Sioux Falls, SD at around 1:30 pm with a police escort leading the way.  The reception into the checkpoint was incredible with huge crowds, dozens of news crews, and flags and fanfare everywhere.  We chatted with all the solar car fans as long as we could, but since we only have 30 minutes at the checkpoint, we had to quickly change drivers and get ready for the next leg.  M.I.T. arrived at the checkpoint about 15 minutes after us and Michigan arrived as we were leaving.

Out of Sioux Falls we headed east and brought Borealis III to the homefront as we crossed the Minnesota border.  The team was so happy to be racing in our homeland as the rolling fields of corn and soy were so much more beautiful then the dead grass of Texas.  As we passed through Pipestone, the streets were lined with kids holding up signs that said "Honk if you love the sun," to which the caravan immediately followed suit.

The team is spending the night in Ortonville and will head out to Fargo tomorrow.  Thanks for all the updates everyone, and like Brad Schulz keeps saying, come to Fargo!

Minnesota Passes Michigan

It is a day of weather and we are playing a cat in mouse game.  It was looking glum at first as we had to maintain slow speeds due to heavy overcast skies and thunderstorms.  On top of that, the competition is tight.  University of Missouri - Rolla passed us early in the morning and M.I.T. is close on our tail.  Everyone is driving slow at 35 mph.  The good news is that Michigan had to pull over on the side of the road and Minnesota has just passed their car.  The weather has made it an interesting day of racing.

3:00 pm: Borealis III finally made it to the Topeka media stop, and it was quite an exciting time getting there.  M.I.T. passed us this morning, but soon after we passed Rolla as they sat in a gas station charging their array.  M.I.T. and us were inching along the highway at 20 mph, until our car simply ran out of electricity 500 feet before the top of a hill.  We had to sit on the road for about twenty minutes waiting to charge and then when we finally had enough juice we inched our way to the top of the hill.  Once there we could glide down out of the weather and into the sun.  Unfortunately, as we were waiting Waterloo passed us putting us in third. It was a long morning through a lot of weather but we made it.  We are now cruising north of Topeka enjoying the blue sky.

11:00 pm: We cruised at the speed limit the rest of the day enjoying marvelous blue skies.  An hour outside of Topeka we passed Waterloo, and now are second behind M.I.T.  We had a great sunset and charge and are looking for a great day of racing tomorrow.

The race is still very tight with little room for error.  We stopped driving today at 5:52 pm in Independence, KS and started charging our batteries.  Cars are supposed to stop driving for the day at 5:45 pm but there is a half hour window after so teams can choose a suitable location to stop.  After stopping we drove a van ahead to check out Michigan.  Michigan is twenty miles ahead of us, but they stopped at 6:04 pm, meaning tomorrow we will start 12 minutes before they do.  The race is tight and we have no room for error.  Both us and Michigan are driving the speed limit all day, so the race is a matter of reliability.

The morning began mostly cloudy in Weatherford, TX, and with Zac Kahly behind the wheel we set off north.  The caravan encountered light showers that were not a problem and so the car continued on.  After three hours, we changed drivers and John Wanner drove the next three hours into the media stop at Broken Arrow, OK.  The media stop was frantic, with just 30 minutes given to send out the vans to refuel, change drivers, and go to the bathroom.  We showed up at the media stop about ten minutes after Michigan, and the University of Missouri - Rolla showed up about ten minutes after us.

After the media stop Peter Meinz was behind the wheel, and it was smooth sailing until the team hit a major thunderstorm system at the Oklahoma - Kansas border.  The car worked well during the storm, but we pulled over under an overpass just to play it safe.  After the storm passed quickly, and we proceeded smoothly into Kansas.

The weather's looking great tomorrow and we're looking forward to another great day of driving.  It is approximately 500 miles to Sioux Falls so we are anticipating a Thursday morning arrival at that media stop.  We would love any and all fans to show up if they have the time.

The North American Solar Challenge is officially underway with the University of Minnesota's Borealis III leading the pack.  Sitting at the pole position, Borealis III left the start line at 9:00 am for Weatherford, Texas. Check out photos from all the vehicles crossing the start line.  Below is an image of all the vehicles at the starting line with Peter Meinz behind the wheel of Borealis III.

The top three at the end of the day are University of Michigan at number 1, followed by the University of Minnesota at number two behind by one minute, with third being M.I.T. at 16 minutes.  We were the first vehicle to arrive at the finish with Michigan showing up two minutes later, but since Michigan left the start three minutes behind us, they are now in first.  A one minute lead can be anything like a long stop light, and in a 60 hour race that was won two years ago by four hours, there's a lot of road left to travel.  We look forward to an exciting race with our fellow leaders.

M.I.T. had an interesting day when the motor was accidentally switched into reverse at a stop, and the solar car rammed into their chase vehicle.  The car drove the rest of the day with a wicked spoiler, and a lot of broken solar cells.  But the M.I.T. team is resilient and surprisingly jovial, and quickly set about replacing all the broken cells with new modules.  At third place, the team is in a great position.

Weather was a big factor today and the U of M was lucky to get out ahead before the rain struck.  When the thunderstorm did come, Borealis III was safe in the trailer in the finish area.  Calgary wasn't so lucky and got caught in a major down pour.  There's a great picture posted of the team bailing out water from their fairings.  However, the team made it through the storm and arrived at the finish late afternoon.

Northwestern, on the other hand, was not able to finish today and had to drop out of the race.  Halfway through the day their car had a battery fire that left the vehicle disabled on the side of the road.  The team is fine, but the vehicle is now forcing Northwestern to call it quits.

SIUE also had to drop out of the race due to a qualifying conditional.  Because the team failed to qualify by two laps, the officials made a deal and let the car race the first leg if they could maintain an average speed of 25 mph throughout the day.  SIUE also got caught in the storm and were not able to make their speed stipulation.

Stanford had some trouble at the starting line and was forced to drop back and start last, but everyone was happy to see their car swing into the finish line this afternoon.

In all it was a great first day of racing, and we look forward to an equally great day tomorrow.