New electric-car racing championships

The American Le Mans Series’ strategic sustainability project specialist company Quimera and the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) on Thursday announced “a new global initiative to develop the next generation of sustainable motorsport.” IMSA, the ALMS sanctioning body, and Quimera plan to organize a global, non-fossil-fuel-based electric-racing championship. The involved parties plan to use 2012 to formulate the project and said the new series will be ready to launch by 2013. According to an official statement, “This series will represent the first clean-technology professional motorsport championship that will include various categories and also remain open to any [automobile manufacturers] eager to showcase and develop their own green credentials in a cost-controlled environment.” A version of the Quimera AEGT All-Electric GT car is expected to debut in demonstration runs at selected ALMS races in 2012. While the championship is expected to begin in the United States with races run in conjunction with the ALMS, organizers plan to give it an international scope by inviting any national governing body, promoter or country to join the project. The championship also plans to include motorcycles as part of its event roster. “We have often quoted the fact that the most important race in the world is the race among automobile manufacturers to develop new sustainable transportation solutions,” ALMS boss Scott Atherton said. “Our alliance with Quimera is the embodiment of that race. It enables us to continue our leadership in green racing and truly takes us to the next level. “We have been actively seeking a practical and viable opportunity to develop EV motorsport, and we believe Quimera’s technologies and plans are absolutely on target. As the ‘global leader of green racing,’ the opportunity to link these events to our American Le Mans Series weekends provides an ideal fit for all involved.” Some initial racing categories under consideration: -- AEGT (525 kilowatts/700 hp): Quimera has already designed, built and tested in extreme conditions the world’s first and most powerful all-electric GT race car. The car has a carbon-fiber chassis. Homologation requires no minimum cars to be manufactured while the category will also allow for inventive bodywork design. -- Touring GT (300 kilowatts/390 hp): Quimera is building prototypes. This is an open category with all manufacturers invited, though multiple single-class OEM championships will be considered (discussions are taking place). Cars will have either a carbon or tubular chassis. Homologation requires no minimum cars to be manufactured. Series organizers are negotiating an initiation series to be based on slightly modified road-legal cars with a powertrain up to 150 kilowatts. This is intended as an OEM showcase for existing EV consumer technology and provides a dynamic platform for the introduction to non-fossil-fuel-based race series. -- F3-type open-wheel (300 kilowatts/390 hp): Formulec has spent the past two years designing, developing and testing its EF01, the world’s first 100 percent electric single-seater which will lay the foundation for a carbon-fiber-chassis, open-wheel category. -- TTXGP motorcycle: The TTXGP World Championship will expand its format to include more classes and different race formats. Javier de Rocafort, chairman of the Quimera board, said, “For Quimera, this project is not simply confined to developing environmentally friendly cars that will offer an insight into the future of motorsport. It also concerns encouraging the dramatic shift soon to occur in the way the industry has operated up until now. “More important than the act of car racing is how we actively evolve and prepare the future for coming generations. In this regard, our partnership with IMSA and the American Le Mans Series allows us to investigate and better understand the potential applications of these new technologies in the toughest possible environment--and in one of the largest automotive consumer markets in the world, the U.S.A.”