Pike's Peak Hill Climb and the Rise of EV Racers

The Pike's Peak International Hill Climb is one of the few motorsport competitions that encourages engineering excess. Each year, the race's unlimited class draws the world's most talented drivers and bleeding-edge racing machines to the singular pursuit of ascending the Colorado mountain's 12.42-mile course as fast as human nerves and automotive technology will allow. Ultimately, the race serves as a barometer?albiet an imperfect one?of what can be accomplished with a car.

That's why, after technical problems kept it in the pits last year, Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima's run yesterday in the bespoke EV rally racer Monster Sport E-RUNNER Pikes Peak Special was so widely anticipated. Tajima is the race's most successful driver?for the past six years, no one has been faster than him up Pike's Peak. Combining his driving talents with arguably the planet's most sophisticated EV rally car could finally bring EV rallying in line with the prestigious unlimited class.

Well, nearly. After completing the course yesterday in 9:46.530, Tajima not only set a new record for EVs, but managed to break the famed 10-minute barrier?a feat that wasn't even possible in gas-engined cars until two years ago, when Tajima himself pushed his Suzuki SX4 to a 9:51.278. But it wasn't quite enough to keep up with the most insane gas-powered cars: Despite Tajima clocking the fastest EV climb the race has ever seen, Sebastian Loeb and his 875-hp twin-turbo V6 Peugeot 208 T16 destroyed the rest of the competition, outpacing the Monster Sport E-RUNNER by more than a minute and a half with a finishing time of 8:13.878. In fact, Tajima didn't even break the top three; two unlimited cars and one time attack-class racer edged him out into 5th place. It's one thing to be beaten by rally-driving machine Sebastian Loeb (World Rally Championship-winner 9 years running) in an exceptionally fast car; but it's another thing entirely to be beaten by a production-based Hyundai Genesis.

While that big gap was a disappointment, Tajima's pace is another reminder of how far EVs have come in racing. Nissan recently announced it would enter an EV LMP1 racer in the 2014 24 Hours of the Le Mans. Drayson Racing Technologies's just broke the four-decades-old FIA EV land speed record last week. And electric motorcycles have finally caught up with their gas-powered competitors at Pikes Peak. Along with a successful drive by Tajima, these achievements could propel EV racing to the forefront of motorpsort?no longer as a curiosity to pursue alongside the internal combustion engine, but as a viable alternative.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/pikes-peak-hill-climb-and-the-rise-of-ev-racers-15648404?src=rss

nba dunk contest 2012 act of valor woody guthrie benson henderson 2012 dunk contest edgar vs henderson berkshire hathaway