The Porsche Supercup kicked off their 2024 season running on eFuels and I have the details this week. You will also learn about how Hansen Motorsport is continuing their push for sustainable sport, a hackathon sponsored by Google and Formula E and an electric race boat that flies above the water. All this and much more in the Sustainable Motorsport Roundup on Motorsport Prospects. Your source for sustainable high performance motorsport news.
Sustainable Motorsport News
Sebastien Vettel was back on track at last weekend’s Imola Grand Prix as he took to the circuit racing his sustainably-fueled Senna McLaren MP4/8 F1 race car in an emotional tribute to Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger.
World RX team Hansen Motorsport is continuing its push for sustainable sport as it looks back at 2023 and ahead to the 2024 season. In its ongoing drive for environmentally-friendly improvements, the Swedish outfit has released its 2023 sustainability report, sharing its methods and findings with promoters, partners and fans as the sport increasingly unites for positive action against climate change.
“2022 saw Hansen Motorsport become the first rallycross team to reach carbon-neutral status, in the same year that the FIA World Rallycross Championship switched to all-electric cars. Last season, the team took additional steps in its pursuit of net-zero emissions by 2030.”
I mentioned last week that McLaren Racing had released their third annual Sustainability Report. Here are the takeaways according to McLaren and an analysis by Global Sustainable Sport.
- The key takeaways from our 2022 Sustainability Report (McLaren)
- McLaren’s third annual Sustainability Report reveals progress (Global Sustainable Sport)
Google has partnered with Formula E for the Google Cloud x Formula E AI Hackathon. Sharpen your skills and innovate at the speed of AI. Develop AI solutions for electric racing & break a record. Develop record-breaking innovations for FIA Formula E with Google Cloud’s generative AI in their London Hackathon. The event takes place July 19, 2024 from 09:00–19:30 BST at ExCeL London.
Go here for more information and how to register.
The 2024 Acura ZDX Type S is set to make history as the first all-electric pace car at the 102nd running of The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, in Colorado Springs, June 23. Pro BMX athlete, car tuner and amateur drifter Coco Zurita will drive the ZDX Type S up the 12.42-mile course.
The June 2024 issue of Race Tech magazine has some interesting sustainability-related articles including:
- IT’S LOLA, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT!: The world’s most successful manufacturer of customer race cars is reinventing itself, with electrification, hydrogen and sustainable fuels and materials the core focus. Chris Pickering explains
- BATTERY TECH: To embrace electrification at all levels, motorsport must source high-performance battery cells at a realistic price point. Chris Pickering talks to InoBat’s chief commercial officer Iain Wight, an expert who understands the juggling act
You can order your copy here.
Sustainable Motorsport Tech
IndyCar is starting to decide what type of engine they want for 2027 and beyond and it looks like it will not be too different from what they are running today.
“If this line of thinking holds, today’s engines would be largely locked down in the next year or two at whatever state of development agreed upon by the series and its manufacturers. Once that were to happen, a wide-ranging list of R&D limitations would be implemented to further reduce the annual monetary outlay to participate as IndyCar engine suppliers.”
In other engine news, Hagerty Media showcases the Waissi Engine, an ICE engine based on a horizontally opposed two-cylinder design. “We have to consider the entire life cycle of an electric vehicle and its total environmental impact (from mining to electric grid to use to heavier impact on roads to replacement of batteries to disposal, etc). I think the future will not be one or the other, but some combination of technologies, and the internal-combustion engine will be in that mix. Also, alternative fuels and their research (including hydrogen, etc.) show great promise.”
Series News
In Formula E news, while the series partners with Infosys to develop sustainable tools, The Race looks at six calendar dilemmas that the series must solve for 2025.
“Formula E wants to start its next season at the end of the 2024 calendar year to return to the genuine year straddle that it was used to pre-COVID. So it is eyeing a December start, probably in Sao Paulo, meaning two FE events in Brazil’s biggest urban sprawl in 2024 as the current season’s race there happened in March.”
If you are wondering what kind of road-relevance Formula E has, Forbes looks at how Formula E race data helps to build better electric road vehicles.
“We want to be at the cutting edge of technology and innovation and shape the future of mobility,” says Dr Kay Mueller-Jones, Managing Partner, Head of Consulting & Services Integration, TCS. “The entire story of Formula E is about sustainability, and at the same time to create new ideas about what is the future of mobility in terms of connected services and the electric vehicle ecosystem.”
If you are wondering what the founder of Extreme E thinks about the series, Alejandro Agag has argued that it will “surpass our wildest expectations.”
“It’s truly impressive to have such esteemed names on board. We’ve been fortunate beyond expectation. I frequently seek advice from drivers like Sainz and Loeb; their enthusiasm is contagious. I firmly believe in the championship’s success, largely due to the drivers’ commitment,” he noted.”
As for the Monaco Hydrogen Alliance that Extreme E recently joined?
“We are delighted to become an official member of the Monaco Hydrogen Alliance. The potential for utilizing green hydrogen is enormous, and like the Alliance, we are committed to promoting sustainable and emissions-free mobility while significantly reducing our impact on the planet,” he said.
The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup kicked off its season last weekend in Italy where the flat-six engine of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars ran on predominantly fully synthetic fuel for the first time. “By using so-called eFuels, Porsche’s international one-make cup takes the next step towards making motor racing as CO₂-neutral as possible. Thirty drivers have submitted their entries for the season opener, including new Porsche Junior Alessandro Ghiretti.”
I don’t cover much motorsport that does not race on two or four wheels here on the Sustainable Motorsport Roundup but I am planning on changing that as there are so many great initiatives out there. The all-electric foiling boat E1 Series is a perfect example. With Will Smith joining forces with sustainability investors Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio and Alshair Fiyaz to debut in the series, he is just one of a group of celebrities owners getting involved in an exciting race series with innovative sustainable tech.
“With only a Series A fundraising under its belt, the E1 Series- founded in 2020 by Motorsport veteran Alejandro Agag and managed by former McLaren Applied´s managing director Rodi Basso- has introduced a brand new flying electric raceboat- called the RaceBird- and has expanded its roster at record clip, already having incorporated eight official teams each piloted by a female and a male captain.”
Green Racing News brings you everything you need to know about the Latvian E-Kart Championship.
“For children aged 5 to 10 years old, the vehicle to be used will be the TeK-MICRO 7KW, which offers a homologated chassis of 950 mm, 7 kW of power, and a maximum speed of 95 km/h. From 11 to 13 years old, the kart is the TeK-MINI 15KW, which provides the same power and chassis but with an additional 5 km, that is, up to 100 km/h. Both feature a PMAC electric motor, a 35Ah / 48V / 200A battery with one hour recharge time, and Heidenua HDD tires.”
Sustainable Racing
NXT Gen Cup, the world’s first electric junior touring car cup, will join DTM, Europe’s premier and best-known racing series, for an intense total of 12 races across four race weekends from July to October in 2024. NXT Gen Cup features an arrive-and-drive concept, with a full season available for 55.000€ – including a robust education package in sponsor relations, company economics, PR and media relations, social media and much more.
The Big Picture
In The Big Picture, I look beyond motorsport to see what other sports are doing in their sustainability journey as well as the issue of sustainability generally. Hopefully this will act as a catalyst for change in the motorsport ecosystem as it demonstrates that in many ways, all sport shares some commonalities that can be tackled with achievable, measurable sustainability practices.
In honor of Earth Day, Front Office Sports recently hosted three conversations with a lineup of visionaries committed to eco-friendly initiatives and investments across the sports landscape.
Find out why green sports venues are one of the hottest trends in real estate, how sustainable efforts drive revenue and sponsorships, and insider details on motorsports’ zero-carbon future. The relationship between sports and environmental responsibility is stronger than ever.
Whether you’re looking to be entertained and inspired by success stories, learn about innovative green solutions, or gather insights on the economic benefits of adopting green practices in sports, Future of Sports: Sustainability has something for everyone.
It’s on all of us to take care of the planet, and sports — played, celebrated, and obsessed over by millions of people worldwide — should be at the forefront of that mission. This event is your passport to understanding exactly how that eco-conscious legacy will be created.
You can watch on-demand by registering here.
Episode 35 of the Green Sports Blog podcast featured Dr. Madeleine ‘Maddy’ Orr, Author of ‘Warming Up: How Climate Change Is Changing Sport.’
Games canceled or postponed due to flooding or unhealthy orange-hued skies filled with wildfire ash. Increased injuries, illness, and even deaths suffered by athletes from extreme heat, avalanches and more. Significant economic and cultural losses.
These are just some of the impacts climate change is having on global sport now that are delved into in ‘Warming Up: How Climate Change Is Changing Sport,’ the deeply researched and illuminating new book by Dr. Maddy Orr, assistant professor of sport ecology at the University of Toronto, and published by Bloomsbury.
You can listen to the podcast here.
Getting to the Track Sustainably
Getting to the Track Sustainably is my occasional segment on developments in sustainable transportation that could have some application to motorsport. Since most carbon emissions come from logistics and transportation, this topic is of utmost importance as motorsport works to make itself more sustainable. Here are two developments you may find of interest.
British Airways has become the first airline to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced on a commercial scale in the UK. The carrier announced it has taken delivery of the first batch of SAF produced at the Phillips 66 Humber Refinery near Immingham, Lincolnshire.
“Our supplies of SAF from Phillips 66 Limited will allow us to progress with our ambitious road map to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner and will play a role in our commitment, as part of International Airlines Group (IAG), to power 10% of flights with SAF by 2030. Progressing the development and commercial scale-up of sustainable aviation fuel will be a game changer and crucial to reducing the aviation sector’s reliance on fossil fuels and improving the UK’s energy supply resilience.”
Tesla’s Senior Manager for Semi truck engineering, Dan Priestley, was on stage at the ACT Expo 2024 in Las Vegas, one of the most influential clean transportation events in the world, to give a technical update on the new Class 8 long-haul truck from Tesla and reveals unladen weight of the the new truck is less than 10 tonnes.
“In a presentation of around 30 minutes, he also indicated the 6×4 tractor unit in “standard” form, offering 300 mile (480km) range tips the scales at less than 20,000lbs (9072kg), the longer range 500 mile version is a bit heavier, due to its extra batteries coming in at 23,000lbs (10433kg). In both cases, Tesla appears to have an astonishingly light truck in its line-up, significantly ahead of its US competition. By comparison, a European specification Volvo FH Electric Globetrotter in 4×2 configuration tips the scales at 11,000kg.”
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a former lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.
