2.92km circuit around Battersea Park.
news.sky.com/story/1430659
I'll be going :)
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>> 2.92km circuit around Battersea Park.
Very boringly shaped circuit though. Not convoluted enough.
I'm not against these milk float racers at all. They have phenomenal acceleration. Just like trolleybuses in the old days.
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>> 2.92km circuit around Battersea Park.
>>
>> news.sky.com/story/1430659
>>
>> I'll be going :)
To see second rate drivers driving second rate cars that make no noise or smell round a second rate track, cars so useless they need two to complete the race?
I'll not.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 20 Feb 15 at 07:26
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Quote from Boris:-
"The atmosphere will quite literally be electric and Battersea, which is already booming with the buzz of regeneration, will be alive with the excitement that this new, world-class event will no doubt spark.â€
Somehow, I don't think so.
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People seem to be carping about this Formula E on the grounds that it isn't the same as F1. That seems a bit moronic to me. It's the response of a 'sport enthusiast', not a car enthusiast.
I won't be going to watch it live, but that's because I'm poor and curmudgeonly and hate going to things. I look forward to seeing it on the tube though. I hope it gets proper coverage on some channel.
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They're being covered on ITV4:
itv.calreply.net/fia-formula-e-championship
Some discussion previously:
www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?t=17783&v=f
'Prost's son & Nick Heidfeld clash in Formula E'
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While in principle Formula E is a good idea, the fact a race cannot be completed with the same car makes it very silly.
Battery electric cars have been around since the dawn of motoring and there are even Brighton run eligible ones, ie 1904 or earlier. They, like their modern equivalents are ultimately limited by battery capacity. Unless somebody comes up with a better way of storing electricity, the pure electric car is going to remain a curio only suited for local trips.
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>> the fact a race cannot be completed with the same car makes it very silly.
Rubbish Sp (with the greatest respect). Motor racing is a team sport and spare cars were frequently used in the fifties and sixties, when the best of the surviving team cars would often be handed over to the fastest pilot if he had broken his own.
No doubt a quick-change battery pack could be designed, but I have a feeling that might make the cars too porky and lumbering. Personally I have no objection at all to a race being run by two cars in succession. You could even say it would have an interesting side.
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Rubbish Sp (with the greatest respect). Motor racing is a team sport and spare cars were frequently used in the fifties and sixties, when the best of the surviving team cars would often be handed over to the fastest pilot if he had broken his own.
No doubt a quick-change battery pack could be designed, but I have a feeling that might make the cars too porky and lumbering. Personally I have no objection at all to a race being run by two cars in succession. You could even say it would have an interesting side.
You're comparing apples to pears. It is true a driver could hand-over his car in the past, but in theory at least, all the entered vehicles were capable of going to the chequered flag. Not so with Formula E.
Don't get me wrong, I do want to see the electric vehicle become more mainstream, but I rather doubt they are the future even so.
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>> Don't get me wrong, I do want to see the electric vehicle become more mainstream, but I rather doubt they are the future even so.
I hope I don't get you wrong. You certainly merit respect as a car person. I too doubt that electric cars will be 'the future', but they surely can be part of the future.
The thing that worries me is that the proposed circuit looks boring. We shall see how this new greenish development shapes up though. There will be considerable money behind it from makers of the kit...
The other thing that worries me is the possibility that there won't be real racing and this will be turned into a childish put-up job, like some other branches of motor sport sometimes.
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Understandably electric cars need a lot of development to be able to compete with current petrol or diesel cars. Hopefully money invested in the Formula E cars lead to innovation that will find its way in to road cars in the same way that turbos and abs from Formula 1 did.
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I've absolutely no intention of watching it due to the 'fan boost' facility.
So-called fans can vote to give their favourite an extra boost of power.
I wonder if they have to dial a premium rate number and who gets the revenue?
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>> So-called fans can vote to give their favourite an extra boost of power.
That's just the sort of thing I meant, childish popcorn-guzzler rubbish. Let's hope it doesn't happen.
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>> Battery electric cars have been around since the dawn of motoring and there are even
>> Brighton run eligible ones, ie 1904 or earlier. They, like their modern equivalents are ultimately
>> limited by battery capacity. Unless somebody comes up with a better way of storing electricity,
>> the pure electric car is going to remain a curio only suited for local trips.
>>
If there was a better compact, mobile, inexpensive way of storing electricity we would have it by now. We can't even power a phone / micro computer for more than a few hours. Battey powered cars are a stop gap until fuel cells become viable along with the hydrogen infrastructure to supply them.
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>> If there was a better compact, mobile, inexpensive way of storing electricity we would have
>> it by now. We can't even power a phone / micro computer for more than a few hours. Battey powered cars are a stop gap until fuel cells become viable along with the hydrogen infrastructure to supply them.
>>
Exactly that.
Plus they are no 'cleaner' than internal combustion engines, when you consider the generating of electricity plus the manufacturing and disposal of the batteries.....
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>> they are no 'cleaner' than internal combustion engines, when you consider the generating of electricity plus the manufacturing and disposal of the batteries.....
If cars were covered in photovoltaic cells they'd be pretty clean electrically. (I believe a photovoltaic sheet metal is being developed that can be pressed into body panels, although there's been a bit of a silence since I read that. Perhaps it isn't very efficient). And small modern i/c engines are clean by old-jalopy standards.
People care about this stuff nowadays but I find it hard to give much of a damn. That's what it's like being a relic. Of course I don't mind being swept along by progress, or saving money thanks to greater efficiency, but I worry a bit about cars becoming hopelessly slow and bon enfant.
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"If cars were covered in photovoltaic cells they'd be pretty clean electrically."
Like the Solar Impulse plane that has been stuck in Japan for 4 weeks because of the weather?
That's not a dig at you, AC, but the efforts of the Greens to convince us that we can run everything with solar panels (the PV ones) and windmills does irk me, when their intermittency means that you have to have 100% backup from other, more reliable, sources...
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>> Like the Solar Impulse plane that has been stuck in Japan for 4 weeks because
>> of the weather?
FWIW it's on its way again:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33244912
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"FWIW it's on its way again"
So I gather. My cutting remark must have tipped the balance... :-)
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>> FWIW it's on its way again:
>> www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33244912
Touchdown, after 7200km and 118 hours in the air (= 61kph). Must have got through a fair few in-flight movies:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33392739
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"If there was a better compact, mobile, inexpensive way of storing electricity we would have it by now."
Indeed. Lithium-ion cells are already close to the limit of what is possible with chemistry - there may be some minor improvements with packaging and durability, but not with power density.
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>>I'll be going :)
I was treated to a visit.
There were lots of folks there including many young children.
I suspect the low entrance fee, the London catchment area and the park setting encouraged a family outing.
The whole set up seemed to be a bit cobbled together and some of the simple basics were missing. No excuses as they so obvious.
Viewing was difficult only eased a little if like us you had a "standing only" stand ticket.
All stands were close to the track and lots of plane trees restricting sight lines.
Commentary was quite good but IMO wrecked by load "music" booming out over the same speakers.
Interesting sounds from the cars that were not as quiet as I expected.
Being not familiar with the team colours and total absence of roving programme sellers make it a little more difficult to follow.
The track was very narrow and as reported in some of the press the first corner was considered so bad after one car broke its suspension that big concrete barriers were installed during the day to divert cars through the very narrow remaining gap.
Because of this track restriction the race was started behind the safety car.
Not very exciting and I will give it a miss in future so sorry Mr Branson but I do not believe your predictions.
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I watched it on the TV, and frankly its a complete farce. Its akin to watching wide mobility scooters, ridden by aged reject racing drivers through a caged in rat run.
Complete cobblers.
It is however very important in the development of alternative motive power, nothing inovates faster than money competition and the chance of glory.
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Instead of using batteries why don't they put slots along the road with metal edges through which could be fed mains electricity. The cars could have a small guide underneath that fits into the slot and a couple of brushes either side to pick up the current.
I'm sure it would work.
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They could make it safer for the drivers by letting them control the cars remotely.
Costs could be reduced by miniaturising it all...................................................................
.
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It even succeeds in making F1 look exciting!
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F1 is positively exciting in comparison. Quite a shock
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 28 Jun 15 at 14:39
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>> F1 is positively exciting in comparison. Quite a shock
>>
The crowd certainly did not appear to be very excited.
I did see one larger Indian flag being waved.
There appeared to be more excitement from the fans from the secondary schools who had built small electric cars to race each other.
There were other entertainments and trade stands to view.
A vast number of different electric bikes plus Renault and BMW car stands.
I had a climb in a BMW i3 with its rear hinged rear doors.
The BMW i8 was firmly locked so just kicked the tyres.
I did note they claimed 22 miles on the battery but I also read 15 miles is more likely.
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Formula E London race 27/28 June - Armel Coussine
