After driving 2,494.9 miles across the country in 10 days, the ISU solar car team PrISUm crossed the finish line in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on Wednesday.

The team came in third in its class and secured 11th place overall in the North American Solar Challenge 2005.

“We did well considering the competition,” said Ryan Pfeiffer, senior in mechanical engineering and director of systems integration for the team. “It would have been nice to have been first. The competition was tough. We did well.”

Fusion, the student-built solar car, drove 71.5 hours from Austin, Texas to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, according to the ISU Web site.

On the final driving day, Pfeiffer said the driving went well and the car averaged approximately 50 mph. The car arrived in Calgary around 1 p.m. Wednesday.

“After we crossed the finish line we realized the day went well,” Pfeiffer said.

The team experienced some electrical problems earlier in the week.

“There were no major mishaps, just some small electrical problems,” Pfeiffer said. “We worked through it; we figured out the problem and fixed it.”

A minor problem with a loose wire in the battery pack caused a few problems on the road to the finish line Wednesday, according to the ISU Web site. There was enough sun for Fusion to run on solar power without drawing from its battery reserves.

Twenty teams began the race July 17 in Austin, Texas. The University of Michigan team won the over-all race.

Stanford University and the University of California Berkeley, two teams in the same class as Iowa State, arrived before team PrISUm, respectively. Team PrISUm raced in the stock class, which contains lower-powered cars than the open class.

All the teams made it across the finish line, although some cars had to be trailered in, Pfeiffer said.

While driving in the competition, he said, a lot of people driving by had cameras and waved and honked at the solar cars.

Pfeiffer said the team will probably return to Iowa sometime Thursday, although they were not certain.