Sustainable Motorsport Roundup for July 23, 2022-Pushing Boundaries

A lot of really interesting stuff in this week’s Sustainable Motorsport Roundup including Hyundai’s new “rolling lab,” SRO considering renewable fuel in 2023, the ERA Championship launches, and the new hybrid Mygale F4 car. All this plus NASCAR going electric (!), Mercedes investing in SAF, Goodwood’s ground-breaking electric car debut and much more.

• Hyundai Motor’s N sub-brand has revealed a ‘rolling lab’ concept to demonstrate its zero-emissions ambition. The RN22e, which uses the HMG E-GMP platform, has been refined and optimized to produce racetrack-ready performance. “As a rolling lab, Hyundai N will continuously develop the featured technologies for future RN22e iterations. The RN22e will continue to develop alongside Hyundai N’s progress in motorsports expertise.”

• Sportscar 365 reports that the SRO Motorsports Group is considering the introduction of renewable fuel in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS series next year. More sustainable fuels have been introduced this year in the FIA World Endurance Championship, which now uses TotalEnergies Excellium Racing 100 developed from wine residue, and in ADAC GT Masters which runs on Blue Gasoline 98 developed by Shell. “We have made a tender for a renewable fuel,” Ratel said. “We are receiving, on the one side, an assessment from the manufacturers. And on the other side, we have a tender. We will bring all that together and decide what we do for next year. It will be a progressive approach. We have made a large survey, both with the teams and the manufacturers.”

• Check out the drag race between a Ferrari 488 Pista and an ETCR CUPRA e-Racer in the video above.

• Green Racing News looks at the recycling program that is conducted by Extreme E at all their race locations. “Our focus on recycling is a key example of how Extreme E addresses major environmental challenges. However, it’s not just our category that has this as a focus, as it’s great to work with so many of our partners to deliver positive solutions and actions, especially when it comes to recycling,” said Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of the series.

• The all-electric ERA Championship kicked off recently at Zolder and Formula Scout explains how ERA’s first race delivered, and why to note the series it supports too. “ERA is already confirmed to support ETCR in 2023, the two series share some race direction officials, and the champion will receive a prize test in one of the touring cars. Tin-tops may not seem like the kind of direction that drivers with single-seater ambitions would want to follow, but the DTM was a legitimate step on the way to F1 for many drivers when it had high-downforce cars and manufacturer teams.” And for the record, Cameron Hawes won the first ever ERA race. Unfortunately, the ERA has canceled the second round at Vallelunga.

• Despite the hiccups, the ERA Championship is generating positive press as Eric Kavanagh enthuses in All the Torque, All the Time.

• The BWT Alpine F1 Team has partnered with HYVIA, a joint venture between Renault Group and Plug dedicated to hydrogen mobility. “This partnership embodies the strong links between Renault Group, BWT Alpine F1 Team and Plug as well as their common investment in high-end technology and the transition to low-carbon mobility, with a major anchorage in France. This is a first step towards a future collaboration between HYVIA and BWT Alpine F1 Team for its logistic needs. HYVIA provides professionals with a range of 3 Renault Master H2-TECH (Van, Chassis Cab and City Bus).”

• BWT Alpine F1 Team has also announced a partnership with ALL- Accor Live Limitless, for its home race, the French Grand Prix. Accor is one of the world’s leading hospitality companies with over 5,300 hotels in 110 countries and across more than 40 hotel brands including Fairmont, Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure and ibis. ALL is Accor’s lifestyle loyalty program that provides meaningful experiences and rewards for its millions of engaged members around the world. “Both parties will also explore sustainable technologies to reduce their respective carbon footprints and environmental impact. Alpine has recently taken strides to reduce emissions by implementing high performance electric technology in its road car range. Inspired by the cutting-edge innovation seen in Alpine F1 Team’s powertrain, all Alpine cars will be fully electric by 2025. Alpine can now also benefit from Accor’s leadership and expertise in sustainable travel initiatives, as it works closely with the FIA and F1 to reduce its environmental impact when travelling the globe throughout the F1 Calendar.”

• Race car manufacturer Mygale recently introduced their new hybrid-powered F4 car developed in conjunction with ORECA, and Founder and CEO of Mygale Cars, Bertrand Decoster spoke to F1 Feeder Series about the reasons why with one of those reasons revolving around sustainability. “It’s not just racing on the mind of the Mygale Cars CEO when talking about the introduction of hybrid engines in F4: “We are working together with the French Federation (FFSA) to create a more sustainable racing industry. We started with 100% biofuel this year, it was one of the simplest short-term solutions, but we aim to continue with hybrid engines.”

• In Tis the season for some electric racing, Vartan Bardalian from Green Biz looks at Formula E through the lens of the recent New York ePrix, which is significant as this is not a motorsport-related publication. “With 15,000 people set to attend this weekend’s race, Formula E represents a cultural shift. At its core, Formula E is a motorsport, and fans attend for the thrill and excitement that comes from watching high-speed electric race cars. But it is also a celebration of sustainability and innovation, raising awareness for transportation electrification.”

• Avalanche Andretti Formula E have announced that the team has been awarded the highest level of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile’s Environmental Accreditation programme, following an audit of its Environmental Management System in March 2022. “This announcement follows Andretti Autosport’s newest internal initiative “We Think Green” a campaign with a goal of certifying the team’s operations model in sustainable practices. This program starts with employees, the heart of the business, and speaks to the core values of preserving the legacy of Andretti Autosport, fostering a culture of innovation, upholding integrity through compliance in environmental legislation, and remaining accountable to environmental protection, including pollution prevention. The focus is not on environmental management alone, but also on continuously improving existing processes and procedures and laying the foundations for operating in a sustainable fashion.”

• Mercedes have announced a multi-million dollar investment in Sustainable Aviation Fuel, making them the first global sports team to do this. “As Formula 1 operates at the forefront of automotive technology, we have a responsibility to ensure we are at the cutting-edge of innovation in sustainable technologies,” Mercedes said in a statement. As such, the team believe that their multi-million-dollar investment in SAF will “significantly improve” their overall environmental impact, as well as further assisting their journey towards becoming Net Zero.” I have discussed Sustainable Aviation Fuel in my Getting to the Track Sustainably feature that I write occasionally in my Sustainable Motorsport Roundup columns. Here is an excellent Introduction To Sustainable Aviation Fuels.

• In This Record-Breaking EV Shows Electric Cars Could Soon Dominate Racing, Forbes looks at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed and specifically the debut of the McMurtry Spéirling. “The Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK is rapidly becoming a key event for electric cars, but this year was particularly momentous. An EV has broken the record for the legendary hillclimb, which had stood since 1999. Called the McMurtry Spéirling, it shows how close electric vehicles are getting to rendering fossil fuel obsolete even at the performance pinnacle of four-wheel technology.”

• Could NASCAR be going electric? The Checkered Flag looks at what could be a truly shocking transition according to some leaked documents they have seen. Full details are available in the Checkered Flag article.

• Ignition Human Performance has added Tristan Niesslein as their new non-executive Director focusing on Sustainability and ESG. Tristan is a Sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) specialist working in the sport sector, with a particular focus on opportunities in motorsport to deliver innovation and transformation globally and across industries. Tristan also has an impressive background in commercial, operational and strategic positions in a variety of sectors that has equipped him to apply a broad knowledge to sustainable development in motorsport and beyond. “I am really pleased to deepen the relationship with Ignition Human Performance and support ESG adoption further into motorsport and motorsport adjacent industries. As people sit at the centre of ESG, in terms of the benefits and delivery, delivering our expertise with IHP makes complete sense.” Tristan explains.

• Tristan and Ignition Human Performance‘s Neil Butcher will also be debuting their new podcast called Tomorrow’s Motorsport. The podcast “is looking at the not-too-distant future of motorsport with the key players, influencers and advocates at how the business of motorsport will meet the challenges of present and future, when it comes to Transformation, Innovation and Performance.” Their first guest next week will be Ferdinand Habsburg who will be discussing his new Rebel Team that I mentioned in a recent Business of Motorsport column.