The first electric vehicle was built in 1834 in Scotland. They quickly became a fashionable form of transportation. Compared to the gas cars and Stanely Steamers of the era. By 1900 Electric vehicles outnumbered gas vehicles. The invention of the Kettering ignition and self start system for gas vehicles in 1916 was the turning point for the electric vehicle's popularity. This eliminated the advantage of easy starting. Electric vehicle races were held as early as 1889. A Frenchman named Jenatzy claimed a top speed of 75 mph, and set an official speed record of 68 mph. During the early 1900's an American, J. Baker, reached 100 mph in his electric vehicle. With the increased evelopment of gas vehicle technology and the widespread availability of petrolium fuels, electric vehicles faded into special purpose applications and were soon forgotten as highway vehicles. The interest in electric vehicles rised again in the seventies. In 1978 an electric vehicle competition began in England Through the newly formed UK Electric Vehicle Association in cooperation with the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. An Austrailian named John Stevens who was the Austrailian Electric Vehicle Association national President saw the event while in England. He then organized a similar event in Austrailia in 1980. The event was held in Doncaster Shoppingtown carpark and ran for two hours. The course was short with vehicles covering 130 laps, after which they complained of dizzyness. The 1981 AEVA committee moved to a more suitable location with different difficulties. The event was held every year in Austraila with improvments in every year. In 1990 the concept of Electrathon racing was introduced to the United States. It started when an Austrailian Electrathon champion named Clark Beasley went to California to introduce the idea. He formed the New Electrathon Racing Association (NERA). The idea rapidly began to gain popularity in California, and soon the whole country. Teams have poped up in high schools, colleges, and garages around the country. Central FLorida has it's own annual Electrathon Race sponsored by the Florida Solar Energy Center. The race is apart of there SunDay Challenge which is a multiclass of electric solar and nonsolar racing events.