Solar cars cruise through Prairies

Drivers passing through the Prairies on the Trans-Canada highway will be sharing the road with some futuristic-looking vehicles on Monday, as contestants in a solar car race head into the stretch run.

Fifteen solar-powered cars, including four managed by teams from Canadian schools, were heading west through Manitoba and Saskatchewan on Monday en route to the stage stop in Medicine Hat, Alta.

Teams from the University of Calgary, University of Waterloo, Queen's University and Red River College in Manitoba are among those competing in the 3,862-km North American Solar Challenge, which began in Texas last week and wraps up on Tuesday at the University of Calgary.

The Midnight Sun team from the University of Waterloo was the top Canadian team as of Sunday evening and stood fourth overall.

They trailed the top team from the University of Michigan by just less than eight hours. The Michigan team had completed the journey so far from Dallas, Texas in 34 hours 14 minutes and one second as of Sunday evening.

The cars can reach speeds of 80 kilometres per hour, but the cars in this race are averaging about 66 km/h, according to a blog being kept bythe University of Michigan team. Recharging the battery also limits the number of kilometres a car can travel in a day.

As of Monday at about 11 a.m., the Michigan team had passed Moose Jaw, Sask. Some of the teams, including the Michigan and Queen's University squads, had GPS tracking on their vehicles that allows interested observers to track their location in the race on the web.

The competition to design, build and race solar-powered cars is sponsored by automaker Toyota and is meant to promote renewable energy technologies and provide hands-on experience for students.

Grey skies over Winnipeg on Sunday were a problem for the racers, with most teams opting to carry their cars in trailers to the next checkpoint in Brandon, Man. Teams can carry their cars in trailers but incur time penalties when they do so. Among Canadian teams, only the Midnight Sun did not have to trailer.

Environment Canada is forecasting sunny skies, although clouds and possible showers are expected for Tuesday afternoon in Calgary.

The last time the race was held was in 2005. A similar event, the World Solar Challenge, ran in 2007 in the Australian Outback.