National Press Release

2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas(R) will welcome 52 student teams looking to go the extra mile

HOUSTON, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- While most high school and college students are busy writing papers and preparing for exams, a select group from across the Americas are taking what they've learned in the classroom and putting it to practical use - building high-mileage, fuel-efficient vehicles for the 2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas(R). After months of coordinating designs and constructing vehicles, 52 student teams - including nine high schools and 32 universities - are in the final stretch as they work to complete their vehicles for the 2009 challenge taking place April 16-18 at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Not only are these students looking to break the nearly 3,000 miles per gallon (1,275 kilometres per liter) record set in 2008, they are providing the world a glimpse into the fuels, technologies and transportation of tomorrow.

"By participating in the Shell Eco-marathon Americas, we have the opportunity to study new fuel-efficient technologies in automotive applications and gain practical experience for the future," said Andrew Ritter, student team leader of the Mater Dei High School team, who set the Shell Eco-marathon Americas record in 2008 with an astonishing 2,843 miles per gallon, equivalent to 1,208.6 kilometers per liter. "Last year, we didn't think our team could compete with such elite colleges, but we ended up breaking the 2007 record in our first run. And that motivated our team to keep pushing the limits of fuel efficiency, both on the track and in the classroom."

This year, student teams will participate in either the "Prototype" or "UrbanConcept" categories. For the Prototype category, teams will enter futuristic prototypes - streamlined vehicles that focus on maximizing fuel efficiency through innovative design elements, such as drag reduction. For the UrbanConcept category, new to the Americas event this year, teams will enter more "roadworthy" fuel-efficient vehicles. Aimed at meeting the real-life needs of drivers, these vehicles are closer in appearance to the higher-mileage cars seen on roads today. For both categories, teams can use any conventionally available energy source - including fuels such as diesel, gasoline and liquid petroleum gas (LPG), as well as alternative fuels such as hydrogen, biomass and solar.

The Shell Eco-marathon(R) is a global mileage challenge and forum for current and future leaders who are passionate about finding sustainable solutions to the world's energy challenge. The event challenges students to design, build and test eco-friendly vehicles that travel further using less energy. From vehicle design to financing, student teams manage their projects from start to finish. The winning teams in both the Prototype and UrbanConcept categories receive a grand prize of US$5,000 for their school. And this year, Shell will also have several "off-track" awards, including the "Safety Award," "Technical Innovation Award" and "Eco-friendly Award" among others.

The 2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas roster contains 52 teams from nine high schools and 32 universities from North and South America - including Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States. The Prototype entries include 35 vehicles powered by combustion engines, five by fuel cell/hydrogen technology, three by LPG, three by solar power, two by diesel fuel, and one by ethanol gas. The UrbanConcept entries include two vehicles powered by combustion engines and one by solar power.

The complete 2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas roster is:

Prototype Category:

    Combustion Engine Entrants:

    School                    Location               Team Name     Vehicle
                                                                   Name

    Barstow High School       Barstow, Calif.        AZ-TECHS      Stingray
                                                                   806

    California Polytechnic    San Luis Obispo,       Cal Poly      Black
     State University         Calif.                 Supermileage  Widow

    California State          Chico, Calif.          Suffrage      One
     University, Chico

    California State          Los Angeles, Calif.    CSULA         Super
     University, Los Angeles                         Supermileage  Eagle II

    Cedarville University     Cedarville, Ohio       Jackets       Slipstream
                                                     Racing        II

    Cedarville University     Cedarville, Ohio       GL4           GL4

    Centennial High School    Corona, Calif.         Huskies       El Nino

    Centro de Investigaciones Mexico City, Mexico    Nemesis       CLRT
     de Diseno Industrial
     (CIDI) / Universidad
     Nacional Autonoma de
     Mexico (UNAM)

    Chitkara Institute of     Punjab, India          TEAM STEALTH  STEALTH
     Engineering &
     Technology /
     Punjab Technical
     University

    Colorado School of Mines  Denver, Colo.          Colorado      Blaster
                                                     School of
                                                     Mines

    Dalhousie University      Halifax, Nova          Dalhousie     Maritime
                              Scotia                 Supermileage  Mileage-
                                                                   machine

    Design School/ State      Belo Horizonte,        Team Sabia    Sabia 6
     University of Minas      Minas Gerais
     Gerais

    East Los Angeles College  Monterey Park, Calif.  Huskies       Phantom

    George M. Schurr
     High School              Montebello, Calif.     Spartans      R7

    Grand Rapids Technical    Grand Rapids, Minn.    G-Rock        Fastest
     School                                                        Indian


    Louisiana State           Baton Rouge, La.       Tiger Racing  Chitty
     University                                                    Chitty
                                                                   Bang Bang

    Louisiana Tech University Ruston, La.            LA Tech       De
                                                     Bulldogs      Donderhond

    Loyola Marymount          Los Angeles, Calif.    Gen2          Gen2
     University

    Loyola Marymount          Los Angeles, Calif.    Team RAMROD   Tip of
     University                                                    the Spear

    Mater Dei High School     Evansville, Ind.       Mater Dei     Next Gen
                                                     Supermileage  II
                                                     Team

    Monrovia High School      Monrovia, Calif.       Team Green    The Green
                                                                   Machine

    Northern Arizona          Flagstaff, Ariz.       Team SAE@NAU  Ragnarok
     University

    R. L. Turner High School  Carrollton, Texas      Turner        Microsquirt

    Rochester Institute       Rochester, NY          RIT           X1
     of Technology                                   Greenvehicle
                                                     Team

    Rose-Hulman Institute of  Terre Haute, Ind.      R-H           RHEV
     Technology                                      Efficient     74
                                                     Vehicles

    Rose-Hulman Institute     Terre Haute, Ind.      R-H Efficient RHEV
     of Technology                                   Vehicles      74++

    Summit High School        Fontana, Calif.        Skyhawks      Skyhawk

    University of California, Berkeley, Calif.       Cal SMV       Care Bear
     Berkeley

    University of California, Los Angeles, Calif.    Supermileage  The
     Los Angeles                                                   Enterprise

    Universidad Nacional      Mexico City, Mexico    Escuderia     Ahuicyani
     Autonoma de Mexico -                            Puma
     Facultad de Ingenieria

    University of California, Santa Barbara, Calif.  UCSB Gauchos  Gaucho
     Santa Barbara                                                 Mileage

    Universite Laval          Laval, Quebec          Alerion       NTF 3.0
                                                     Supermileage

    University of Colorado,   Boulder, Colo.         CU-L.A.T.E.R  F-CAT
     Boulder

    University of Houston     Houston, Texas         Team SAECO    Phoenix

    University Of Texas, El   El Paso, Texas         Miner Dilema  Orochi
     Paso

    Fuel Cell Entrants:

    School                    Location               Team Name    Vehicle
                                                                  Name

    Cicero North-Syracuse     Cicero, N.Y.           Performance  Pure
     High School                                     Engineering  Speed
                                                     Team

    Lamar University          Beaumont, Texas        Rebel        1602
                                                     Alliance

    Los Altos High School     Hacienda Heights,      Hacienda La  Infusion
                              Calif.                 Puente
                                                     Unified
                                                     School
                                                     District

    North Carolina A&T        Greensboro, N.C.       Aggie        Aggie
     State University

    Penn State University     University Park, Pa.   Blood Sweat  Penn State
                                                     & Gears      HFV

    LPG Entrant:

    School                    Location               Team Name    Vehicle
                                                                  Name

    George M. Schurr          Montebello, Calif.     Spartans     Spartan
     High School

    George M. Schurr          Montebello, Calif.     Spartans     Destiny
     High School

    George M. Schurr          Montebello, Calif.     Spartans     Mach 1
     High School

    Solar Entrants:

    School                    Location               Team Name    Vehicle
                                                                  Name

    Centennial High School    Corona County, Calif.  Huskies      The Blur

    Purdue University         West Lafayette, Ind.   Purdue       Racing
                                                     Solar        Pulsar

    Ohio State University     Columbus, Ohio         OSU Solar    Red Shift
                                                                  Firefly 2

    Diesel Entrants:

    School                    Location              Team Name    Vehicle
                                                                 Name

    College of the Redwoods   Eureka, Calif.        Diesel       Diesel
                                                    Corsair      Corsair

    Wright State University   Dayton, Ohio          Raider       Eco-Raider
                                                    Engineering

    Ethanol Entrant:
    Los Altos High School     Hacienda Heights,      Hacienda La  HICE
                              Calif.                 Puente
                                                     Unified
                                                     School
                                                     District

UrbanConcept Category:

    Combustion Engine Entrants:

    School                    Location              Team Name    Vehicle
                                                                 Name

    Louisiana Tech
     University               Ruston, La.           Tech EcoCar  Urban Car

    Mater Dei High School     Evansville, Ind.      Mater Dei    Street Buggy
                                                    Supermileage
                                                    Team

    Solar Entrant:

    School                    Location              Team Name    Vehicle
                                                                 Name

    The University of         Tucson, Ariz.         Arizona      SolarCat
     Arizona                                        Solar Racing
                                                    Team

To help ensure the 2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas is a successful event for all the student participants, Shell is pleased to welcome the 2009 event sponsors, including Autodesk, Michelin, Pennzoil and SKF USA Inc.

With many successful years in Europe, the Shell Eco-marathon came back to the U.S. as the Shell Eco-marathon Americas in April 2007. The Shell Eco-marathon concept started as the Shell Mileage Marathon in 1939 between employees of Shell at a research laboratory in Wood River, Illinois. Today, the Americas event extends to student teams from across North and South America.

In Europe, the 2009 Shell Eco-marathon project will take place at the EuroSpeedway in Lausitz, Germany. The 2008 European event attracted teams from 20 countries, with the winning teams hailing from France, the Netherlands and Sweden. Plans are also underway to bring the Shell Eco-marathon to Asia in 2010.

For more information on the Shell Eco-marathon Americas, please visit www.shell.com/ecomarathon.

Shell Oil Company, including its consolidated companies and its share in equity companies, is one of America's leading oil and natural gas producers, natural gas marketers, gasoline marketers and petrochemical manufacturers. Shell, a leading oil and gas producer in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, is a recognized pioneer in oil and gas exploration and production technology. Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Shell Group, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies, employing approximately 104,000 people and operating in more than 110 countries and territories.

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