#drayson racing

[fuckyeahelectriccars]

Drayson B12/69 review by Chris Harris. I love the way he giggles with excitement as he is driving this car. Could do without his commentary at the end about the sound of racing. Yes, Chris, I want to watch cars that sound like spaceships racing. 

[formula-e-maniac-blog-blog-blog]

Drayson Racing Formula E Team livery.

[vera-park]

Electric Formula E Race Car for Drayson Racing.

Body form is changed for aerodynamic shape by electromagnet  (according to speed).

June, 2013

[brynlucas]

Formula E - the future of Motorsport?

Those of you who have been keeping up to speed with my blogs will know I have been taking a huge interest in electric powered vehicles for a while now.

The technology needed to make electric cars a viable option is finally catching up with the desire to make it a reality and the proof of this is the debut season of the FIA Formula E, which revs up (or not as the case may be!) in London in September of next year. So what is Formula E and how will the championship work? A good question indeed (and one I am glad you asked!). When you think of the pinnacle of motorsport, "ones" mind always goes right to Formula One - the top of the pile - with all the finances, the glamour and the high pace elite teams and drivers.

That is exactly what Formula E has positioned itself to be. The shop window, the flag bearer and the catalyst for the electric car movement. The inaugural season will see ten cities around the globe (namely London, Berlin, Rome, Putrajaya - Malaysia, Beijing, Bangkok, Rio De Janeiro, Buenos aires, Miami and Los Angeles) all host a round on a street circuit. At this stage the season calender is under review but final announcements are due at the end of September 2013.

The use of street circuits is perhaps one of the most surprising of the announcements. Formula E is for people to see. It is a spectacle of speed, power and technology all fused and placed right in the public eye. No need to venture off to a circuit, it is very much in public domain! In a bid to contain the event and to reduce disruption to each host city, Formula E rounds will include practice, qualifying AND the race all in the same day. This swift "in/out" approach will also appeal to the short attention spans of the great and good among us. For such a revolutionary competition to work there are a number of fundamental issues that need to be overcome:

Due to constraints on vehicle size, power generated and battery charge lifespan, Formula E has had to work around a number electric specific issues, which they have done with a great deal of mathematical genius! How do you get a car to complete a race of a certain distance when it has a range that is less than required? You use more than one car of course! The breakdown of the day is as follows (taken directly from the Formula E website as it is best described by them and to which which I have linked to at end of this piece): "Practice All events will open with a one-hour practice session giving drivers their first experience of the circuit. They will have up to two cars available to them giving them the option to change cars should they wish. Full power (200kw / 270bhp) will be available throughout. Qualifying The qualifying session is a straight fight for the fastest laptime and determines the order for the day's race. Drivers will only be able to use one car and have a maximum of four laps - two timed laps plus and out and an in lap - in order to set their fastest time. Cars will take to the track in stages in order to avoid congestion with the running order being chosen by the driver who sets the quickest time in practice. Full power (200kw / 270bhp) will be available throughout. Race Races will begin by standing start and last for approximately one hour with drivers making two mandatory pit stops in order to change cars. Engines will be restricted to power saving mode (133kw / 180bhp) but can be temporarily increased to maximum power (200kw / 270bhp) by using the 'Push-to-Pass' boost system." In addition there are also two other aspects (again taken directly from the Formula E website): "Pit stops/Car changes During races, drivers must make two mandatory pit stops in order to change cars. This must take place in their box and be observed by an FIA steward to ensure all safety equipment is correctly applied. Tyre changes, unless a puncture, are not permitted during this pit stop. Push-to-Pass During races only, drivers will be able to use a pre-determined number of power boosts to aid overtaking. This will increase the car's power output from 133kw (180bhp) to 200Kw (270bhp) for a limited period of time." The use of "push to pass" is similar to KERS in Formula One. KERS provides an extra level of acceleration as it stores energy created under braking and is later available to the driver.

KERS: http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/understanding_the_sport/8763.html As with Formula One, there will be both a drivers and a team (or constructors) championship. The drivers are awarded points based on their finishing position and the teams points are an amalgamation of their drivers points. To make the season competitive and consistent, each team has two drivers in their line up and both compete at each race meeting. There are ten teams lined up for the inaugural season although only three have been announced at this stage:

- Drayson Racing - http://www.draysonracingfe.com/

- China Racing - http://www.teamchina-racing.com/

- Andretti Autosport - http://andrettiautosport.com/ (Andretti Autosport is owned by former Formula One and Indy Car driver Michael Andretti - son of former Formula One world champion Mario Andretti). At this stage no drivers names have been announced although there are various rumours and media rumblings taking place - it would be futile to begin to speculate on this but expect to see top names from the world of IndyCar, GP2 and Formula One. Specifics: Each team will be running four Spark-Renault SRT_01E single-seat cars (two per driver), with the cars being transported to and from each race venue by Formula E themselves.

The reason Formula E have decided upon this for the debut season is central to the success of the series. In an attempt to reduce teams running costs, not only will Formula E be housing the cars in it's central garage but each team will have restrictions on the number of team personnel. This control over the cars also maintains each team has the same constraints per round - as well as fixed gear ratios the cars will also not require in race tyre changes - all designed to reduce expensive pit stop equipment. Although the constraints are in place, Formula E is all about design and development. Teams are allowed to develop their own cars - in accordance with the specifications put in place by the FIA (the governing body of worldwide motorsport) intended to allow electrical energy and innovations to be showcased in a competitive and exciting racing arena.

http://www.fia.com/ For full car specifics including dimensions, tyre information, motor technicals and all updates on the championship, visit the Formula E website: http://www.fiaformulae.com/

Formula E official trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDmagYyotNU Thanks for reading...please leave your comments on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BrynLucas or Facebook: www.facebook.com/brynlucasfanpage

For a history of electric cars - visit my blog pages: http://brynlucas.tumblr.com/post/54528592965/electric-cars-history-lesson and http://brynlucas.tumblr.com/post/54529270313/the-future-of-motoring

[maskafrica]

UK electric car breaks speed record

Drayson Racing sets a new world land speed record for a lightweight electric car at a racetrack in Yorkshire, travelling over 200mph.

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[kaa-pow]

The FIA's Formula E championship is scheduled to begin in 2014. [Drayson Racing Technologies](http://www.draysonracingfe.com/home.html) is the first official Entrant in the new championship. One can't help but think about the similarities that a [Tesla Motors](http://teslamotors.com) entry into this championship, would be akin to Ferrari joining the Formula 1 championship back in 1932.