Electric race cars headline entries announced for 2013 Pikes Peak Hill Climb

The electric division in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is going to have two former Kings of the Mountain in contention.  It's probably a sign of a shift in racing, that two contestants in the electric division are headlining the press release just sent out by the PPIHC organizers going over the known entrants in the 2013 running of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb.  These two Kings of the Mountain, Monster Tajima and Rod Millen, have won the hill climb race 17 times between them. 

Monster Tajima will be again driving his Tajima Motors E-Runner, which was forced out of the race last year when Tajima developed a small fire aboard the electric vehicle. He has won the Unlimited division eight times, and was the first driver to crack the ten-minute mark when he clocked a 9:51.278 in winning the title in 2011.

Millen is making his debut in the electric division and will be driving the Toyota TMG EV P002.  That car won the electric division last year when driven by Japan’s Fumio Nutahara.  Millen has won 9 titles on Pikes Peak including five wins in the Unlimited division.

Nutahara will be back but obviously not driving for Toyota, but the car has yet to be determined.

Current entrants in the Electric Car division are:

• Elias Anderson, of Austin TX, driving what's described as an HCE XP-13.  He drove the 3rd fastest electric car in the 2012 PPIHC, and finished in the top 10 of the cars.
• Michael Breem, of San Marcos CA, driving an electric BMW conversion.  He drove this car in the 2012 PPIHC, was the 4th fastest electric car, and placed 54th overall.
• Ikuo Hanawa, of Ibaraki Japan, driving what's described as a Summit HER-02.  This is the Yokohama Tires entry, and in 2012 their car placed 55th overall.
• Janis Horeliks, of Ogresgala pagasts Latvia, driving what's described as an "e0 PP01".  S/He is a rookie to the PPIHC. 
• Rod Millen, of Salisbury North Carolina, driving the aforementioned Toyota TMG EV P002.
• Tajima Nobohiru, of Shibuya-ku Japan, driving the aforementioned E-Runner.  He raced in the 2012 PPIHC but was forced out when smoke began billowing from the battery pack.
• Roy Richards, of Boron CA, driving a Honda Fit.  He is a rookie to the PPIHC.

The 2013 running also has an electric motorcycle division all of whom will be riding Zero Motorcycles bikes

• Nathan Barker, of Rocklin CA, riding a 2013 Zero FX.  
• Jeff Clark, of Orange CA, riding a 2013 Zero FX.
• Aaron Frank of Milwaukee WI, riding a 2013 Zero MX.
• Jeremiah Johnson, of St. Petersburg FL, riding a 2013 Zero S.
• Kenyon Kluge, of Santa Cruz CA, riding a 2013 Zero S.  Kluge is a Zero Motorcycles employee.
• Brandon Nozaki Miller, of Thousand Oaks CA, riding a 2012 Zero S.

All are rookies to the PPIHC.

Jeremiah Johnson is a pro motorcycle racer who has participated in the TTXGP, including the World Championship in Daytona last fall.

Brandon Miller is new to racing, and is working through the system to become the first certified motorcycle racer without ever throwing his leg over a gas bike.  In 2012 he took his Zero S to the Bonneville Salt Flats and set a land speed record for lightweight electric motorcycles.

Kenyon Kluge has an AMA racing license and has raced in the TTXGP since the 2010 season.  During the 2012 season he organized the eSuperStock award group which consisted of 4 2012 Zero S's racing in the TTXGP.

There are several other potential electric entrants in the 2013 PPIHC.

Sources:

• ppihc.com,
• Electric cars finish in top tier of rescheduled Pikes Peak Hill Climb
• Global warming & epic fires delays Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
• Toyota Motorsport to race to the clouds at Pikes Peak with new electric race car
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Toyota Motorsport to race to the clouds at Pikes Peak with new electric race car

Toyota Motorsport Group last year took an electric race car, the EV P001, to the Nürburgring to set a lap record for electric cars.  This year TMG is taking the next iteration, the EV P002, to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, to see about racing to the clouds.  The specs on the new machine are a step forward from the EV P001.  Along the way Toyota seems to have changed their intent from being the sole provider of electric drive train components to a race series, to being one participant in a range of components suppliers in the burgeoning field of electric racing.

The TMG EV P002 being tested at Paul Ricard Circuit in France.

Let's start with the EV P002.  It, like the EV P001, is built on a Radical chassis but with electric drive train components.  The twin axial flux motors produce a 350 kilowatt output (approx 470 horsepower), and a maximum torque of 900 Nm.  Each motor has its own TMG-designed inverter.  It is powered by a massive 42 kilowatt-hour battery pack, and has an off-board DC charger.  TMG predicts a top speed of 150 miles/hr, in the Pikes Peak configuration.  The EV P001 had twin motors, supplied by EVO Electric, but with a maximum output of "only" 280 kilowatts.  TMG does not disclose the supplier of the EV P002 motors, but a close look at one of the pictures published by TMG and we see a motor that suspiciously looks like EVO's.

TMG’s high-performance electric powertrain, with axial flux motors and TMG inverters visible

Japanese rally champion Fumio Nutahara will drive the car. In May, TMG conducted extensive testing at the Paul Ricard circuit in southern France to verify car and drive train performance.

Last year TMG described the project as a collaboration among several organizations, but this year the only listed collaborator is RK1 Inc.

What may be the most important tidbit is the quote down at the end of the press release:

Ludwig Zeller, General Manager Electric & Electronics: “Pikes Peak is a great showcase for TMG’s electric powertrain technology. We already proved at the Nürburgring that TMG is leading the way in developing such powertrains for motorsport and this is another sign of our commitment to this technology. TMG wants to be increasingly involved in electric motorsport and we believe our powertrain technology is an industry-leading combination of performance, durability and packaging. Electric powertrain technology in motorsport is still in its development phase but through projects like this one, TMG is laying the foundations for the future of high-performance and motorsport cars.”

The context is that there are several organizations developing electric car racing series.  TMG clearly wants to be a supplier of components to the teams which will race in these series.   TMG's purpose is to supply parts and expertise to racing teams, and if the future of racing really is electric, then TMG would be foolish to ignore the wave of change.

Last year, after attaining the Nürburgring lap record for electric cars, TMG said that event proved their drive train technology was "ideal to power any future single-make electric motorsport series."  This was clearly meant to appeal to the racing series organizers, and position TMG as the supplier to some kind of spec racing series.  This press release does not contain such a statement, but still works to position TMG as a supplier to electric racing teams.

TMG EV P002 Technical Specifications
Performance
Top Speed	240km/h (Pikes Peak configuration)
Maximum Torque	900Nm
Maximum Power	350kW
Maximum Revs	5000rpm
Powertrain
Electric Motor	2 axial flux
Inverter	2 x TMG inverters
Gear Ratio	2.5
Transmission	Single-reduction gearing
Battery	Lithium ceramic
Battery Capacity	42 kWh
Charging Technology	Off-board DC charging
Dimensions
Length	4.10m
Height	1.04m
Width	1.79m

Sources:

Toyota's electric race to the clouds at 2012 Pikes Peak Hill Climb

Toyota electric race car sets EV lap record at Nürburgring

Toyota Motorsport GmbH Brings Electric Technology to Pikes Peak