JOSHUA SILLS/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona Solar Racing Team member, Jennifer Rehwinkle, an engineering physics senior, adjusts the canopy on the cockpit on Turbulance, a solar car developed at the UA.

Undergrads hope for a smooth ride in ÎTurbulence'

Breathing hard, a UA student jumps into his new car and excitedly pulls the brake. As he rolls smoothly onto the pavement for the very first time he smiles for the cameras at the side of the road.

Local Tucson television stations and newspapers were on hand Monday morning as the University of Arizona Solar Car Team unveiled Turbulence, the solar powered car the team plans to race in July at the American Solar Car Challenge.

"I feel comfortable in the car. It's lightweight, has light batteries, a light body, and the best tires in the world. Most of all, it's reliable and that's the main concern," said mechanical engineering major and team driver Scott Page, who took the car for its first spin in front of an audience.

Page is part of a 15-member UA undergraduate team preparing for 2300-mile race. Starting in Chicago and finishing in Los Angeles, the course spans long stretches of old Route 66, where more that 30 international teams will jostle for position.

Work on the 2003 car began two years ago with team that was chasing the success of its predecessor, the 2001 UA Solar Car team that took first place in the stock-car division and ninth place overall at that year's race.

In its second competition since being founded in 1999 by Gopalan Ramadorai, a former UA metallurgy adjunct professor, the 2001 team was anxious about going up against some higher budget, better-prepared teams. But when Monsoon placed high, all the hesitancy about the team's ability to compete disappeared.

Car Specs Cost: $250,000 Average Speed: 40 mph Top Speed: 70 mph Weight: 450 lb. 20 percent lighter than Monsoon. Carbon Fiber frame. MORE SPECS: · horsepower DC. · brushless motor. · Direct drive. · Lithium ion batteries. · Michelin Wheels. · Global Solar solar panels. · Front A-arm suspension. · Rear Trailing arm suspension. · Rear view Camera. · 5' LCD screen.

Members of the 2003 team said they are working hard to repeat the 2001 team's success. They will enter the race as underdogs, however, taking on a more competitive open-class division and facing larger budget teams such as the University of Michigan, which spent $1 million on its 2001 car.

But the UA team is confident in their car and the hard work they put into its completion. Many of the team members work full-time or part-time jobs outside the university, but they still logged long hours working on Turbulence's design and construction, giving the car priority over work or school.

"We worked for six hours every Tuesday and Thursday night, and then we put in 12 hours on Saturdays. We did whatever we could fit into our schedules," said mechanical engineering senior and co-team leader Scott Rowland.

Many team members said that Turbulence's construction has taken over their life especially recently as the race nears.

"Like this morning," Page said. "We had to stay up all last night to get the car ready for the media."

Jarod Prosise, an engineering freshman on the electrical team, said he's given the project his complete commitment.

"I've been living out of a suitcase for weeks (since school ended), working on this car 24 hours a day," he said.

Construction on Turbulence did not begin until this January, and the project has cost the team its entire $250,000 budget. The body paint went on two weeks ago, and now team members believe everything is finally coming together.

"There's been a lot of speed bumps, but the car will be ready," Rowland said. "Last race was the best month of my life, this one will be not different."