The third stage of the 2011 e-miglia was staged between Bolzano and St. Moritz.After a long and difficult stage across the Grossglockner for Day Two, the e-migliaisti were aiming for a test of their car’s consistency, but it was yet another test of performance that pushed both man and machine to their limits.
Crews also had to race around a circuit twice. The first round was used to determine the time that it took the driver to exactly repeat in the second round: this is precision consistency. For Kurt Sigl of Team Bundesverband eMobilität (start number 31), this test is the highlight of his rally: “The circuit is really fun. I’ve already driven some rallies, but never an efficiency rally. It’s difficult to discipline yourself.”
Sigl’s credo is to remain calm and drive to the stopwatch. His son supports him as his co-driver, and pressures him to stick to the time. As the President of BEM, he wishes to unveil the topic e-mobility, which is also the reason why he’s participating. He wasn’t able to hold on to the second place, but he’s still well positioned in third. Jetcar (start number 14) has improved. Last year they were unfortunately eliminated due to water damage.
This year, Lars Krueger and Christian Wenger-Rosenau moved into second position on the third day of the e-miglia 2011. They missed their circuit time by only two hundredth of a second. A bit of luck played a part though, as this test was new to the Jetcar Team so they had never practiced this aspect of the event before. The orange vehicle, which visually reminds one of a glider, has definitely improved. Its battery range has increased to 250km and a maximum speed of 180km/h offers the driver a lot of driving fun at zero-emissions!
Unchanged, the reigning champion Tim Ruhoff of Team Energiebau/NextGM, remains in the lead. Precise driving, good preparation and lots of training together with an experienced co-pilot pay off well for the team in 2011. Ruhoff said: “My co-pilot Stephan Willemsen does 95% here, he keeps me on track, I just follow his readings. Of course, I am hoping to drive poised and very economical on the final day, so that we win, but we’re not safe yet.”
Close on his heels is Eric Comas, who has moved himself up the leader board from 12th into 5th place. Will the former Formula 1 driver become dangerous to Ruhoff on the last day?
The results:
1. Tim Ruhoff, Team Energiebau/NextGM, Tesla – the titleholder
2. Lars Krüger, Team Jetcar, Jetcar
3. Kurt Sigl, Team Bundesverband eMobilität, Tesla
4. Fuzzy Walter Kofler, Team Autotest Motorsport, Think City
5. Eric Comas, Team Green Cars Challenge, Tesla
