Electric Falcon defends national championship on Sunday

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Bowling Green State University’s Electric Falcon will defend its title Sunday (Oct. 6) at the Formula Lightning Electric Car Championship, set for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington.

The Electric Falcon, which won last year’s race by 58.6 seconds, will take the green flag at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday for the 12-lap run on the 2.28-mile, paved-road course at Mid-Ohio. Behind the wheel will be Larry Crosser, a Perrysburg resident and eight-year member of the Electric Falcon MotorSports Team.

Formula Lightning race cars are battery powered and can reach speeds of up to 140 miles per hour. Student pit crews exchange more than 1,200 pounds of batteries during pit stops, often in 20 seconds or less. Sunday’s race will include three pit stops.

In addition to BGSU, universities currently involved in Formula Lightning racing include Brigham Young; Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis; Kettering University in Flint, Mich.; Ohio University; Ohio State; Notre Dame; Oklahoma, West Virginia and Wright State, whose car finished second to the Electric Falcon last year.

Sponsoring the electric car championship is the Electrical Manufacturing and Coil Winding Association. The association, which contributes more than $18,000 in scholarship funds to BGSU annually, will display the Electric Falcon at its Expo 2002 Oct. 15-17 at the Cincinnati Convention Center.

For directions to the track, check the Web at www.midohio.com.

(Posted October 2, 2002)