September 13th, 2014, around 7pm in Beijing. 10 race cars sit on the starting grid waiting for the green light. In the background is the iconic Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium. Lining the streets thousands of spectators cheer.
There are some things missing from this picture. The familiar heat haze rising above the cars is absent, as is the noise. Instead of the deafening high pitched roar of engines revving up there is the comparative quiet of electric motors efficiently whirring into life.
Not that the start is any less exhilarating. These electric race cars accelerate from 0-62mph in three seconds and then on to a top speed of 140mph. Throughout the race overtaking is helped by each car’s “push-to-pass” acceleration boost. Pit stops involve the driver sprinting 100m to jump into a fully recharged car. After 45 minutes of dramatic racing around the streets of Beijing, the winner crosses the line and a new —low carbon— brand of motorsport emerges into the 21st century’s global consciousness.
Or so the event’s organisers hope. When the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) launches the first season of Formula E in China this year, it will be with a certain amount of trepidation. The combination of new technology, live TV cameras and street racing in city centres is enough to make anyone nervous. An exciting race is needed to win over both hardcore motorsport fans and to capture the imagination of the Playstation generation.
Formula E could be very big, but is it the future of motorsport? In geographical terms, the first season takes place in ten different cities around the world and features ten teams from eight countries. But, behind the cars and iconic global landmarks will also be some of the most interesting automotive technology being developed anywhere in the world.
Indeed, Formula E presents a chance for engineers to pioneer the development of new electric vehicle (EV) technology that would not be possible in the automotive mainstream, says Bernard Niclot, technical director at the FIA. It will also give them a world stage from which to sell the excitement of technology development to the public.
Speaking at a conference on low carbon racing organised by the UK’s Motorsport Industry Association, Niclot says: “We have to give the opportunity to manufacturers to develop technology and innovation in motorsport. We want Formula E to massively help the development of electric vehicles, to be a platform to showcase EV technology and encourage its development. We want it to show the public that the technology itself is exciting. But at the moment it is like a small baby, it needs supporting.”
For Formula E’s first year, each team will use the same car, which has been built by Spark Racing Technology and Renault. The
SRT_01E has a chassis made by Dallara, uses batteries developed by Williams, an electric drivetrain supplied by McLaren, tyres from Michelin and systems supplied by Renault.
The electric powertrain of the Renault-Spark SRT_01E
After a season of FIA-enforced parity, in 2015 Formula E the rules relax and the competition will become an open championship. Teams are expected to source and develop their own electric vehicle (EV) technology, hopefully leading to faster and more efficient cars.
Japanese racing team Super Aguri is participating in the first season. Mark Preston, the team’s principal, believes that the pace of technological development in the fledgling motorsport will be fast. “I think we will be surprised with how fast the cars will be developed and how fast we change the world,” he says.
“F1 is all about process innovation nowadays. But in Formula E there are some big jumps to come. As time goes on we will develop some exciting technologies that will make electric road cars more exciting than IC [internal combustion] road cars.
“I can’t wait until the point when a driver says they want to drive an electric car because of all the things they can do. Then we will get people saying they want to drive electric road cars because of the things it can do. Then people won’t be focussed on the lack of noise.”
Another team committed to Formula E is UK-based Drayson Racing. By the 2015 Formula E season, the Drayson team plans to be a constructor, fielding a new drivetrain developed in conjunction with its sister organisation, Drayson Racing Technologies, from the DRT 4X2-640 electric system featured in the Lola-Drayson B12/69 hyper-EV.
The Lola-Drayson hyper-EV has held the land speed record for an electric vehicle since June last year, when the car achieved a top speed of 204.2mph. The hyper-EV was developed from a LeMans prototype fuelled by bioethanol. Instead of an engine, the 1,000kg car has an electric drivetrain and a lightweight 20 kilowatt hour battery offering 850 horsepower. The chassis was also further optimised to be more aerodynamic.
The Lola-Drayson B12/69 hyper-EV features four axial flux Oxford YASA motors with the batteries, inverter and cooling system at the rear
Lord Paul Drayson, chief executive of Drayson Racing Technologies, drove the car for the record attempt and says: “0-150mph in a little over 8 seconds. It has no gearbox and a digital differential. The feeling of acceleration is not associated with noise and vibration and all the drama. To experience that pure linear acceleration as a driver is very different.”
Drayson says the point of the project was to see if EV and high level motorsport technology could marry together: “When we started we did not know if it would be possible to develop a racing car. The engineering challenge was to get the electric drivetrain into the car and manage the weight and optimise performance. We learnt a lot, not just in terms of motorsport, but relevant for high performance electric road cars.”
Drayson believes the R&D and experience with EV technology gained by the motorsport industry will help solve one of the largest issues facing the automotive industry globally. He says: “Increasingly we are facing a world where the advantages of the electric drivetrain over the IC because of air pollution are evident. Things are happening fast politically. So the ability to deliver high performance without the pollution I believe is the answer and will accelerate fast. The pace of change is steeper and the contribution that motorsport makes is much clearer.”
If the pace of change with the FIA has increased recently, the often-heard criticism of US motorsport is that, like US car manufacturers, the change to low carbon is slow. However, that criticism is unfair, says, Steve Wickham, vice president of chassis operations, Toyota Racing Development. As well as entering cars into major US competitions such as Nascar and the Indianapolis 500, the company also enters prototype alternatively-fuelled vehicles into races like the
Pike’s Peak International Challenge, to support and showcase low carbon innovation.
Wickham says: “There is a misconception of racing in the US – that we build our cars in a barn and a couple of good old boys take it down to the track to race. It’s just as complex and accomplished as Formula One, the processes we use to develop and the technology are just as advanced.”
He adds that late last year at a Nascar, the first ever working group to discuss electronics was held: “Someone did say the word KERS [kinetic energy recovery systems] and someone else said the phrase not in my lifetime. It’s baby steps there at the moment.”
Trevor Knowles, director of engine development at Indycar says that the famous Indianapolis 500 speedway competition is making big strides to be more environmentally-friendly. Indycar has downsized its engine specification and uses E85 bioethanol as a fuel. Although there is no opportunity for kinetic energy recovery in Indycar,the organisers “have got their eye on” heat recovery systems and plan to introduce electric systems within the next four years once the rules are established.
Knowles says: “Indycar has an ambition to move forward in terms of energy efficiency. But recent engine downsizing from a naturally aspirated V8 engine to turbocharged V6 engines means that off the corner acceleration is not as good, and not as exciting as the days of 1000bhp monsters. Electric traction offers an opportunity to reintroduce that excitement.”
Heat recovery systems will feature for the first time in the cars in this years’ F1 and World Endurance Challenge (WEC) competitions organised by the FIA, alongside engines that have been downsized to 1.6L in F1. Bernard Niclot, technical director at the FIA, says: “Exhaust recovery in road cars is currently for urban situations. But the development in F1 and WEC is for high speed which is suitable for motorways. It’s a typical example of how motorsport can help mainstream road car technology development.”
The rules in F1 and WEC are also substantially changing to ensure their relevance to the mainstream now and in the future around the world. But If Formula E gets off to a good start this year, its likely the pace of technological innovation the competition inspires in engineers will surprise many. The competition may even become the leading Formula — one day.