On to Calgary!

The Michigan Solar Car's legal team seems to have helped MomentUM preserved its 11-minute lead over Minnesota heading into today's final leg of the North American Solar Challenge 2005. The rules of the race require that the cars stay within the speed limit, with penalties charged for speeding. Race officials were going to charge UM with 40 minutes of penalties, but the team put together 55 pages of data from the car and elsewhere proving that MomentUM was never speeding. Apparently radar picked up the chase vehicle temporarily over the speed limit a few times, and blamed it on the solar car.

Today, the rules should work completely in UM's favor. Being the leader, they'll leave Medicine Hat one minute before Minnesota. This means that before Minnesota can make up the 11-minute deficit, they'll have to pass Michigan. If Michigan can stay at the speed limit all the way to Calgary, Minnesota won't be able to pass them within the rules. And the UM car has already shown that it's the one best able to maintain speed against the western Canadian headwinds.

Raycing resumes at 8 am MDT, or 10 am EDT--a little over an hour from now. Go Blue!