Nissan building 24 Hours of Le Mans electric race car

Nissan says they will return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2014, with an electric race car.  Maybe.  The press release isn't precise enough to be certain, but it did promise an "all-new race car incorporating electric technology."

Nismo LEAF RC Electric Race Car

That's enough to make our minds to "whuuuh??"  Let's first start with carefully describing Nissan's announcement before pondering what this means.

Nissan President and Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn made the pledge to return to Le Mans during a special event today in Yokohama, Japan to open a new headquarters for NISMO, Nissan's global performance and motorsports brand.

He talked about "a new approach to innovation and excitement [that] will be at the project's core" and confirmed that Nissan's 2014 Le Mans entry will be the "Garage 56" entry for innovative concepts with an all-new race car incorporating electric technology.  I don't know Le Mans, but from reading other reports on this Garage 56 is reserved for experimental vehicles, in 2012 it was occupied by the Nissan Delta Wing, and in 2013 it will be occupied by a hydrogen fuel cell race car dubbed the GreenGT.

"We will return to Le Mans with a vehicle that will act as a high-speed test bed in the harshest of environments for both our road car and race car electric vehicle technology," said Mr. Ghosn.

The vehicle will apparently serve two purposes:

1. Test innovative new powertrain technology
2. Provide the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) with data to enable all parties to evaluate the incorporation of this breakthrough technology

That's about it other than a promise to release more details soonish.

Now we get to ponder about how Nissan could plausibly run an endurance race with an electric race car.  Electric cars in general have lower energy density than petrol cars, which is the key to their limited driving range.  The petrol race cars do make pit stops to refuel, but those stops are typically a minute or whatever minimal length of time to put the least impact on race results.  Electric cars however require a long recharge time, relatively speaking.

First - is this going to be an all electric car?

The press release does not use phrases like "zero emissions" or "all electric."  It instead says "race car electric vehicle technology" which I find to be imprecise enough that I'm not convinced this will be an all electric car.  However, if it were to be a hybrid race car they would have said so, right?

Maybe it is an all electric car?

Second - if it is an all electric car, how can they hope to make more than a couple laps with it?  That is, the Drayson electric race car lasts for 15 minutes or so of racing time.  The Formula E electric race cars will have a similar racing time, and in that series they'll be using four cars per team for a continuous race.

There are two ways to go about a longer race format like a 24 hours endurance race in an electric car.

1. Swappable battery packs, with charging in the pit
2. Fast charging

I've seen a 24 hour endurance race run with electric vehicles - the 24 Hours of Electricross staged by Zero Motorcycles in 2009.  In that case each team had 3 battery packs, one on the bike, and the other two in the pit charging.  The Zero bikes used in that event have fast swap battery packs that can be exchanged within a minute or so, which let the rider exit the race, swap the packs, and a fresh rider get on the track, all in a jiffy.

It's plausible then that a fast swap battery pack could enable an electric race car to run for 24 hours.  I can hear the question:  Isn't that cheating, compared to petrol race cars?  No, it isn't.  It's the equivalent of the petrol driven race cars refilling the fuel tank.

Audi switched to hybrid endurance race cars due to competitive pressure from Toyota TS030

For the 6 Hours of Bahrain, Audi switched the team lineup to race with two Audi R18 e-tron quattro hybrid race cars.  In prior 2012 endurance races, the team had raced with a split lineup:  The Audi R18 ultra is a conventional LMP sports car with a TDI engine, while the Audi R18 e-tron quattro is a hybrid race car.  It's been clear from the series results that the hybrid race cars, both the Audi e-tron quattro and the Toyota TS030, have performed much better than the conventionally powered race cars in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Audi went on to win the 6-Hours of Bahrain taking 1st and 2nd after the Toyota TS030 had to retire due to a crash.

As we see by the quotes below, Audi's reasoning is that the team needed a competitive edge due to pressure from the Toyota TS030.  The hybrid drive train gives racers a racing advantage over gas powered racing cars ("It makes it easier for our drivers to overtake other vehicles").

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "We decided to compete with two hybrid vehicles in Bahrain. Our analysis has shown that we’ve got an advantage in traffic with the R18 e-tron quattro. It makes it easier for our drivers to overtake other vehicles. This means that with two hybrid vehicles we’re in a better position in the battle with Toyota. At the same time, we’re giving both our driver teams identical material in the battle for the title. Bahrain will be a completely different race than the previous rounds. We’re expecting very high temperatures. Unlike the most recent round in Brazil, Bahrain also takes a high toll on the brakes, which require good cooling. Handling the tires will be crucial too."
   
Tom Kristensen, No.2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro:  “In Bahrain, a large number of challenges are awaiting us that we’re all looking forward to. It starts with the hot climate, but the desert sand and driving in darkness are special too. Allan and I are expecting a lot of the R18 e-tron quattro after we were able to make good use of the car’s strengths at Le Mans. That’ll hopefully help us in the battle for the title.”
 
Allan McNish, No. 2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro:  “I think the race in Bahrain will be a lot different from our run in Brazil. With Le Mans, Silverstone and Interlagos, we’ve been experiencing a nice variety since June, and now something completely different is coming up again. Temperatures in the Middle East at this time of year can go up to 35 or 40 degrees. We’ll only be driving about an hour and a half or a maximum of two hours in daylight. But even when it’s dark the temperatures will hardly drop. I’m expecting a lot of the R18 e-tron quattro, which has been developed quite a bit further since Le Mans.”

Source: http://www.fiawec.com/en/news/audi-to-field-two-r18-e−tron-quattros-in-bahrain_603.html

Audi takes 1-2 hybrid race car sweep in 6 Hours of Bahrain

In the 6-Hours of Bahrain, in the FIA World Endurance Championship series, Audi won the 1st and 2nd podium spots with the Audi R18 e-tron quattro.  The team had switched to an all-hybrid team for the Bahrain race, and while the regular Audi R18 race car was giving excellent results, the R18 e-tron quattro was giving even better results.  The other hybrid race car, the Toyota TS0300 hybrid, had to bow out after completing 144 laps.

In the 1st hour, the Toyota TS030 hybrid, driven by Nicolas Lapierre, held a 23.3 second lead over the nr1 Audi while the nr2 Audi had an extra long pit stop to repair a broken headlight.  The lead had slipped by the end of the 2nd hour to 19.8 seconds.  However by the end of the 3rd hour the Toyota TS030 had slipped to fifth place, and four laps behind, after a lengthy pit stop to repair a number panel light.  By the end of the 4th hour the TS030 had made up some ground on the nr2 Audi, due to that car having had a long pit stop to replace headlights again.

Photo : JEAN MICHEL LE MEUR

However by hour 5 trouble struck the TS030 when Nicolas Lapierre went straight on at Turn 12 with front end damage after being involved in an incident with a back marker.  This forced the Toyota hybrid race car out of the race, after the team had made a strong effort to catch up with the Audi's.

This left the two Audi R18 e-tron quattro's clear to take 1st and 2nd.

For the 6-Hours of Bahrain, Audi switched the team lineup to two R18 e-tron quattro's.

The competitors in the FIA World Endurance Championship set off at 1600 hours for the 6 Hours of Bahrain, sixth round of the season, under a scorching sun and a suffocating heat relative to that of the past few days.  That, however, didn’t prevent two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winners Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer from emerging ahead of the rest of the field with the No.1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro at the finish.

Source: http://www.fiawec.com/en/news/lmp-report-audi-1−2-and-strakka-on-podium-in-the-middle-east_671.html

Hybrid braking zones in use at Bahrain, source: http://www.fiawec.com/en/news/hybrid-braking-zones-for-6-hours-of-bahrain_596.html

Toyota/Audi hybrid's take 1st and 2nd at 6 Hours of Sao Paulo

Toyota Hybrid Racing has racked up the teams first win in the FIA World Endurance Championship race, the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, this weekend.  The win was with the TS030 Hybrid race car, a car that has been in only 3 races so far, and which already won a podium position at the WEC race at Silverstone, and now a first place finish at Sao Paulo.  In second place was another hybrid race car, an Audi R18 e-tron quattro.

Drivers Alexander Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre won pole position with a 1:22.363 best lap time and 188.3 km/hr fastest speed.  Next was an Audi R18 team consisting of Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish, Lucas Di Grassi, with a 1:23.147 best lap and 186.6 km/hr fastest speed.  In 3rd was an Audi R18 e-tron quattro team consisting of Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer, Benoit Tréluyer, who had a 1:23.332 best lap time and 186.2 km/hr fastest speed.  This makes for two hybrid race cars in the top 3 of qualifying.

The Toyota TS030 uses a supercapacitor system to store energy captured through regenerative braking.   At the Sao Paulo track there are five designated braking zones for regenerative braking, and the captured energy can be used to give a significant energy boost later on.

This race marks the first time a supercapacitor based system has earned pole position, or won, in a major international race.  This also marks the first win for Toyota, in an FIA World Championship race, since the 1999 Rally of China.

The Toyota team led for the whole race (except for a brief period during a pit stop) eventually extending the lead to just over a minute.   Alex Wurz: “I am proud to be a TOYOTA driver. TOYOTA has developed this incredible hybrid technology and I think we have shown it today. Our TOYOTA HYBRID System – Racing has been simply outstanding. I like Interlagos, a circuit that is really special for me, so it is a great feeling to win here with TOYOTA Racing in only our third race. Thank you to all the team and Nico for their great job. It was not easy and we pushed like crazy. The key was certainly the tyre management and we were able to make the difference in the second stint thanks to our Michelin tyres. Kinoshita san said at Le Mans “you watch, we push”. We will continue in this way during the following races.”  Nicolas Lapierre: “This is a fantastic win for all the team. Since the beginning, we know we have a fast car. After leading at Le Mans we had to work on the reliability. After the podium at Silverstone we had to improve our fuel consumption. We made it. All the team has worked really well since the beginning of the project and this weekend also. Alex did a wonderful job in qualifying to get the pole and during the race we managed the tyres well. The car was handling very well throughout the whole day and the hybrid system gave us again an incredible performance. It is simply wonderful!”

Audi has not released any news about this race yet.  These quotes come from the FIA WEC race report:  2nd - Benoit Treluyer, nr1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro “Honestly I wasn ‘t truly surprised from the beginning, but I was surprised by the tyre degradation. I think we weren’t on the right pressure and that was why I suffered a little bit in the second stint. Unfortunately the safety car didn’t help us either. Anyway we had a good fight with the Toyota and with Alan and we are going to be ready for Bahrain. The race in Silverstone was on our side and the race here was more on their side and Toyota deserve to win this race, they did a great job.” 2nd - Marcel Fassler, nr1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro “First of all I’d like to congratulate Toyota on their win today; it was a really strong performance. The second place is good for the driver championship, which gives us three extra points and this is our main goal for the season. As a driver we all want to win, we can’t be happy to be runner up but today we just didn’t have the performance. I struggled a bit in my second stint with tyre degradation, so it just wasn’t possible.” 2nd - Andre Lotterer, nr1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro “Congratulations to Toyota and the only reaction we can do is drive faster and try to beat them now. They have increased their speed a lot and on high down force tracks, their rear wing helps as well. For sure we weren’t in ideal conditions with our tyres but we collected a lot of data here and we have a chance to improve. We had a good fight with our sister car and I’m pleased we could stay ahead of them.”

Results: http://www.fiawec.com/races/6-hours-of-sao-paulo/results-and-chrono.html

FIA WEC Race Report: http://www.fiawec.com/en/news/race-report-lmp-first-historic-fia-wec-victory-for-toyota_582.html

Toyota's race reports (Sept 14-15) Pole position for TOYOTA Racing in Brazil, Victory in Brazil for TOYOTA Racing, Quotes after first win

Sept 10, 2012: Sao Paulo Beckons For TOYOTA Racing

2nd place at WEC Six Hours of Silverstone, Aug 26 2012: 6H Silverstone : First podium finish for TOYOTA Racing

Czech scooter company AKUMOTO sets range record in 24 hour endurance test

Czech scooter company AKUMOTO is claiming to have set a world record for the longest distance covered by an electric scooter in 24 hours.  The endurance run was made during European Mobility Week, the 19-20th of September 2011, at the Prague Strašnice.  The team rode the electric scooter 1136.3 kilometers, or 706 miles, which is the distance from Prague to Paris.  They consumed 40.8 kilowatt-hours of electricity, at a cost of Kč 190, around €8, in terms of normal electricity prices.

“The aim of the action was to demonstrate the traveling qualities and uses of electric scooters,” said AKUMOTO’s sales manager Lukáš Drahovzal. “Given that modern electric scooters in principle have exchangeable batteries, we were interested in learning just how far electric scooters could go in a set period,” he added, saying that the final result was beyond their most optimistic forecasts.

Their scooter design is on the smaller end of the scale and uses a "three pole brushless motor" embedded in the rear wheel.  They don't publish spec's on their website like speed, range, motor power, or battery pack capacity.  However the design includes regenerative braking, and most importantly for this endurance run the battery pack is easily swappable.

The battery pack is a small unit with a handle that fits under the seat.  Hence one method to recharge the bike is to stop, open the seat, pull out the battery pack, and insert a new one.  No word on whether there's a network of stations at which you can swap battery packs.  However during the 24 hour endurance event they clearly would have utilized the quick swap capability of the bike to keep the bike on the track, while keeping several packs freshly charged in the pit area.

Assuming the pack capacity is a fairly typical 4 kwh, they would have swapped packs 10-15 times during the 24 hours.

This isn't the first endurance test with electric bikes.  In April 2009 Zero Motorcycles ran an 24 hour endurance race at a dirt bike track in South San Jose, CA.  In that case they also relied on quickly swapped battery packs to keep bikes on the track.  Not to diminish AKUMOTO's achievement, but to remember our history.

See:

http://www.akumoto.com/detail/rekord

Czechs set electric scooter world record - Prague-to-Paris equivalent on 40.8 kWh or €8 electricity cost

The Zero Motorcycles 24 hrs of Electricross

Video from the 24 Hours of Electricross race