Sunrayce 99 was an intercollegiate solar car race sponsored by General Motors, EDS, and the US Department of Energy.
The overall success of the event was limited by difficult weather conditions.
Teams battled clouds and rain throughout the race, and no team avoided having to trailer their car for at least part of the race route.
Nickel–metal hydride batteries were very expensive at the time, so only the most well funded teams could afford them.
Unfortunately the rainy weather and slow speeds neutralized the advantage of the new battery technology.