Sunrayce 99 was an intercollegiate solar car race sponsored by General Motors

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

, EDS

EDS

- Education :* Educational specialist , a terminal academic degree in the U.S.* Episcopal Divinity School, an Episcopal Seminary in Cambridge, Massachusetts* Evansville Day School, an independent college-prep school in Evansville, Indiana- Politics :...

, and the US Department of Energy. The race began on June 20, 1999 in Washington, D.C. and finished on June 29, 1999 at Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida. The event was won by the University of Missouri at Rolla (now Missouri S&T). Sunrayce 99 was the fifth and final race in the Sunrayce series and was followed by the first North American Solar Challenge in 2001. The overall success of the event was limited by difficult weather conditions. Teams battled clouds and rain throughout the race, and no team avoided having to trailer their car for at least part of the race route.

Teams were allowed deviate from the traditional lead–acid battery technology for the first time in Sunrayce 99 when nickel–metal hydride batteries were approved for use. The new battery technology offered equivalent capacity to lead acid batteries but weighed several hundred pounds less. Nickel–metal hydride batteries were very expensive at the time, so only the most well funded teams could afford them. Unfortunately the rainy weather and slow speeds neutralized the advantage of the new battery technology.

Route

• Day 1: June 20, 1999 - Washington, D.C. to Charlottesville, VA
• Day 2: June 21, 1999 - Charlottesville, VA to Raleigh, NC
• Day 3: June 22, 1999 - Raleigh, NC to Charlotte, NC
• Day 4: June 23, 1999 - Charlotte, NC to Clemson, SC
• Day 5: June 24, 1999 - Clemson, SC to Atlanta, GA
• Day 6: June 25, 1999 - Rest day at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, GA
• Day 7: June 26, 1999 - Atlanta, GA to Macon, GA
• Day 8: June 27, 1999 - Macon, GA to Tallahassee, FL
• Day 9: June 28, 1999 - Tallahassee, FL to Ocala, FL
• Day 10: June 29, 1999 - Ocala, FL to Orlando, FL

Results

Position Team Total Elapsed Time
1 University of Missouri-Rolla  56:16:44
2 Queen's University 57:04:02
3 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology , formerly Rose Polytechnic Institute, is a small private college specializing in teaching engineering, mathematics, and science. RHIT is highly regarded for its undergraduate engineering program, which US News and World Reports ranked in 2011 as No...

 64:08:10
4 University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project

The University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project, or UMNSVP, is a team of undergraduate students from the University of Minnesota that designs and constructs solar cars...

  64:24:13
5 Iowa State University

Iowa State University

Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...

  65:28:13
6 University of Missouri

University of Missouri

The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

  66:00:13
7 Messiah College

Messiah College

Messiah College is a private Christian college of the liberal arts and applied arts and sciences located in Grantham, Pennsylvania, near the capital city of Harrisburg...

  69:43:06
8 Ecole de Technologie Supérieure

École de technologie supérieure

Founded in 1974, the École de technologie supérieure is part of the Université du Québec system. Specialized in applied teaching in engineering and technology transfer to companies, it teaches engineers and researchers who are recognized for their practical and innovative approach...

  70:03:58
9 Kansas State University 70:23:48
10 University of Waterloo 72:42:15
11 Ohio State University 74:50:57
12 University of Pennsylvania 75:33:21
13 Stanford/Berkeley 77:27:20
14 Clarkson University 78:44:03
15 Yale University 78:59:32
16 University of Oklahoma 79:17:27
17 University of Michigan

University of Michigan Solar Car Team

The University of Michigan Solar Car Team is a 501 non-profit organization at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It is the most successful solar car team in North America, having won the North American Solar Challenge six times and is currently the defending three time Champion...

79:28:39
18 University of North Dakota 81:02:42
19 Minnesota State - Mankato/Winona 82:23:12
20 University of Toronto 82:44:18
21 Lincoln Land Community College 83:28:48
22 Purdue University 84:05:37
23 Western Michigan University 85:10:50
24 University of Arizona 86:20:44
25 South Dakota School of Mines & Tech 89:39:23
26 Principia College 94:20:48
27 University of Virginia 97:58:13
28 New Mexico Inst of Mining & Tech 97:58:39
29 United States Military Academy 100:32:49