{"id":10070,"date":"2015-06-29T20:47:56","date_gmt":"2015-06-30T03:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=10070"},"modified":"2015-06-29T20:47:56","modified_gmt":"2015-06-30T03:47:56","slug":"three-races-going-electric-least-hybrid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/three-races-going-electric-least-hybrid\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Races Going Electric \u2013 or at Least Hybrid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three major automobile and motorcycle races are adapting electric or hybrid power, and seeing winners in all categories.\u00a0 \u00a0The three take place in the month of June every year, making the month a showtime for innovation and a demonstration of incredible driving skills.<\/p>\n

Isle of Man<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perhaps the most dangerous of all events, the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy motorcycle race covers 37 miles on public roads running through countryside and villages.\u00a0 Over 200 riders have been killed on the course since the first race in 1910.\u00a0 This doesn\u2019t discourage over 100 riders from qualifying every year and hitting top speeds near 200 mph.\u00a0 The winning gasoline-powered superbike this year averaged 128.749 during its six laps around the island.<\/p>\n

By comparison the winning electric bikes in the TT Zero race do only one lap around the course, limited by the current state of battery development.\u00a0 This year\u2019s winner, John McGuinness riding a Honda\/Mugen electric, averaged 119.279 mph, edging into superbike territory.\u00a0 A few more years, and doubtless electric and gasoline superbikes will be competing for the whole six laps.\u00a0 A mere minute and 10 seconds separated the first-place and sixth-place finishers in the TT Zero event.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"John<\/a>

John McGuinness shows winning form on Honda\/Mugen electric TT Zero bike<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Le Mans<\/strong><\/p>\n

Le Mans has been dominated by Audi with its superb Diesel\/electric hybrid LMP1 (Le Mans Prototype 1) racers for the last several years.\u00a0 Porsche surprised them by achieving a one-two finish this year \u2013 also with hybrid racers, followed by Toyota with its own hybrids.\u00a0 This is not your grandfather\u2019s Prius, though.\u00a0 LMP1 means Le Mans Prototype 1, the all-out extreme race car for this event.\u00a0 Porsche used a 2.0-liter V-4, while Audi had a 4.0-liter Diesel engine in its machines. \u00a0Results showed\u00a0a hybrid sweep.<\/a><\/p>\n

1. Hulkenberg\/Tandy\/Bamber<\/strong>GER Porsche 919 Hybrid 395 laps<\/strong>\u00a0LMP1<\/em>
\n2.\u00a0Webber\/Hartley\/Bernhard<\/strong>\u00a0GER Porsche 919 Hybrid 394 laps<\/strong>\u00a0LMP1<\/em>
\n3.\u00a0Lotterer\/Fassler\/Treluyer<\/strong>\u00a0GER Audi Sport Team Joest R18 e-tron\u00a0393 laps<\/strong>\u00a0LMP1<\/em>
\n4.\u00a0Duval\/di Grassi\/Jarvis<\/strong>\u00a0GER Audi Sport Team Joest R18 e-tron\u00a0392 laps<\/strong>\u00a0LMP1<\/em>
\n5.\u00a0Jani\/Lieb\/Dumas<\/strong>\u00a0GER Porsche 919 Hybrid 391 laps<\/strong>\u00a0LMP1<\/em>
\n6.\u00a0Wurz\/Conway\/Sarrazin<\/strong>\u00a0JPN Toyota Gazoo TS040 Hybrid\u00a0387 laps<\/strong>\u00a0LMP1<\/em>
\n7.\u00a0Albuquerque\/Bonanomi\/Rast<\/strong>\u00a0GER Audi Sport Team Joest R18 e-tron\u00a0387 laps<\/strong>\u00a0LMP1<\/em>
\n8.\u00a0Davidson\/Buemi\/Nakajima<\/strong>\u00a0JPN Toyota Gazoo TS040 Hybrid\u00a0386 laps<\/strong>\u00a0LMP1<\/em><\/p>\n

Hybrid mechanisms varied. \u00a0Porsche had a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) taking energy from braking to recharge a lithium battery pack, and recovered energy from exhaust gases and the second turbocharger.<\/p>\n

\"Porsche's<\/a>

Porsche’s 919 surprised Audi team this year at Le Mans<\/p><\/div>\n

Racecar Engineering <\/em>reports on Porsche\u2019s layout<\/a>, which has two turbines in the exhaust system. \u201c\u2026the first is part of a conventional turbo-charger layout in that it is linked to a compressor but the second turbine, which is sat alongside the first is only linked to an electric motor (GU-H), and not to a compressor or the other turbine. This layout allows the Porsche to recover energy at all times the engine is running, the only LMP1 design currently able to do this, all others are only able to recover energy under braking.\u00a0Energy from both the MGU-K and the GU-H is stored in a battery provided exclusively to Porsche by A123.”<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Audi includes a flywheel in its hybrid system, like other such units pulling its energy from braking.\u00a0 Toyota used a V-8 engine and a supercapacitor energy storage system with otherwise fairly conventional KERS type energy recovery \u2013 again, mostly from braking.<\/p>\n

Because of this, Dr. Seeley cautions, such energy recovery systems don\u2019t necessarily work well with airplanes, although Pipistrel regains an extra trip around the field from about an hour\u2019s worth of touch-and-goes in its Alpha Electro \u2013 it takes a special propeller and a steep descent to regenerate energy.<\/p>\n

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pikes Peak was won this year by a pure electric racer for the first time.\u00a0 The Drive e0 car<\/a> didn\u2019t quite make its goal time of under nine minutes, but it did use its six motors to good advantage.\u00a0 Rhys Millen took the six-YASA-motor vehicle up the Peak in style, driving the first electric competitor to win the event outright.\u00a0 The motors put out a total of 1,020 kilowatts (1,367 horsepower) and a fairly staggering 2,160 Newton-meters (1,593 foot-pounds) of torque.<\/p>\n