NEWLY UPDATED! Nov. 9
NO! This Team Will NOT Show Up in Ensenada!!! Answered on November 8
Question: "I know the original goal was to race the Baja 1000. What is the latest with that and for racing in 2013?"
Answer: SRD,"We were recently told that SRI does not currently have funding for racing, specifically for the Baja 1000. They are exploring different routes to make a 2013 season possible."
BRN EDITORIAL
END UPDATE, END REPORTING
We have REAL Race Vehicles to Report on for the BAJA 1000
Will This Team Show Up in Ensenada? Asked on November 5
The principals of this effort have been doing the publicity parade now for months. They still need $200,000+
The EV-1 desert shakedowns have happened and the SRD people said right after the desert testing, the rig should "maybe do a 100 mile event first".
This quote tells us they have some serious questions about their all electric effort in a 1,000+ mile desert off-road race. So, plan on an entry into the race, but lots of cover-ups about why they make only to Race Mile 58. More Later>>>
Stay Tuned>>>
October 30
The EV-1 practice at its Vista build shop.
LIVE! BAJA 1000 UPDATES!
October 10
The EV-1 made it to the Off-Road Expo.
It drove in and out of the event. The inside word on this effort is about money.
Range for the rig is about 120-150 miles. They must change battery packs ever time about 5 min to change pack. The first test is coming this week. To do a race like the 1000 we would require 4 sets of batteries to be swapped in and out of the race car. Once they come out of the car, they will be charged with 21,000 kW Sensitive Equipment Complaint Diesel Generators in the chase trucks during transport. There is no engine breaking on this car. The motors are "selectable" - they can run together or manually shut-off separately. Everything runs off the main power pack however, there is an Auxillery Power Unit (DC/DC converter) that runs all 12 volt accessories.
The team needs a major sponsor to get to Baja 1000. The team claims they will race in the desert racing season, 2013, next year.
The rig charges with genie in a chase truck . Battery packs weight 900 lbs each and there are 2 ,1 for each motor (SRD). They bought the chassis from Brenthal Ind and modified it at there shop with some help from a company that races an electric M3.
We saw it drive for the first time a couple weeks ago. It seems like it's going to be extremely fast. The electric M3 is built / raced by EV West.
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July 24, 2012
Bill Caswell Chokes on The Electric Dong.
Let's remember Bill isn't a journalist, he's a failed financial adviser, now compensated race hack. His Baja racing experience got him to San Felipe.
(Everbody else in the race made it the ENTIRE length of the event, to Ensenada, Baja Mexico. Yes Bill, rust never sleeps)
""I Drove A Wicked Fast Electric BMW And It Made Me A Believer In EV Racing By: San Felipe Bill
And then I try remember the last time I walked into a Blockbuster Video and it convinces me that the world changes rapidly. I bet steam engines disappeared the same way. Why bother with water and warming up when you have fuel? And to take it to the next level, why bother with fuel when you have electricity?
Whether electric cars are the immediate future or a distant dream seems besides the point now that I've driven a 700-hp electric BMW M3 that kicked the crap out of me in the best way possible.
Fuel is a hell of a lot more portable than electricity. Seven pounds of fuel (roughly one gallon of gas) will take you as far as 50 miles if used properly. How far can you go on seven pounds of electricity? Pretty damn far. But the thing you store it in weighs a ton. For 50 miles of range you need roughly 350 pounds of battery and assorted electronics (going off the Leaf). And then you have to replenish it, which leads to other problems.
Until the infrastructure is in place for us to do more useful things with electric cars it seems they're better used for racing, where the rules can be made to support the current limitations (and develop better solutions). Think of short, 30-minute bursts of energy. Like the electric R/C cars we played with as kids. They were horrible for distance but for the 30 minute they worked you found yourself laughing and giggling through every turn and flip.
Or in EV West's case, 10 to 13 minutes. Which is all they need to cover the 12-mile race up Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. I share a shop space with EV West and they let me drive their crazy 700-hp modified electric BMW. So what's it like?
Strange. Fast. Smooth. Quiet. It surges. Seriously. The power comes on so much differently than a combustion engine. You get the same torque at any RPM, at any speed, any time you press the throttle.
That consistency is cool. But it's more how smoothly the power is delivered that most caught my attention. It just flows. A combustion engine feels like 100 elves pounding away with hammers 80 times-per-minute on the crankshaft. I think I can feel the little hammer blows.
Electric feels like some strange water drive. As if the power was made with fluid or something soft like a rubber band. Like God reached down, pulled back on the car, and wound it up. You press the gas and the car jumps forward. Throttle response is a thing of the past. Same with the sound of the exhaust opening up as you climb into the RPM sweet spot. That's gone, too.""
But in its place you get 700 electric horses and you get them all the time, every time. Well… until the batteries need to be charged for the toy to work again.
This too will change. EV West has teamed up with SRD, the guys that helped me make it to San Felipe. (Too bad it was just one-tenth of the race length), to help them run the Baja1000 in the first fully electric desert racer.
The idea of 1,000 miles of racing all on electric while miles from civilization in arguably one of the hardest races on the planet is an insane idea. But I think SRD can do it. And they win most of the time they race, anyway. They won Class 5 in the Baja 1000 last year. Why would this be any different?
And don't worry, I remind them all the time they are going to ruin motorsports with their quiet little engines, but after driving their M3, I'm not sure I care. I do wonder if we are all going to trade in our nomex for rubber, shock-proof suits some day, but until then racing is racing and no matter what powers it, once you get in the car it's all the same.""
Baja Racing News.com EXCLUSIVE! By Gary Newsome Original Report: July 16, 2012
Justin Herrmann (Strategic Racing Designs of Vista California) and Michael Bream (EV West of San Diego County) and their respective teams are preparing for the Baja 1000 and their Electric Entry into the vaunted desert off-road racing event in the Fall, November 12-18.
Do you have info on this story? Contact us at bajaracingnews@live.com
DESERT SAFARI DUBAI is a attractive place i like it so much .
ReplyDeleteWhat is baja and why you give it name baja racing?i am enjoying to read your name.
ReplyDeleteDesert safari
A racing of electric vehicles in the desert, this is a really great idea. How did you come to mind? It's hard to organize a competition like this? Congratulations for the blog!
ReplyDelete