Hear the Exact Moment This Hybrid Endurance Race Car Switches From Electric to Gas

This video captures the exact moment an endurance racing car switches from electric to gas. The video was made by a fan back in 2015 when hybrid endurance racing was a relatively new racing category. 

Despite a few years on the track, some experts believe the hybrid technology isn’t quite ready for the really famous endurance races just yet. Last year Toyota president Akio Toyoda questioned if the famous endurance race at Le Mans was too hard on the hybrid drivetrain. 

“While the hybrid technology that has advanced through competition in the FIA World Endurance Championship puts its abilities on display in six-hour races,” Toyoda said, “it might be that it is not yet ready for the long distance of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.” 

The hybrid cars in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) generate electrical power under braking, as well as from a turbine in the exhaust stream. The power generated by braking in a turn is immediately available to exit out of it. 

There are strict rules in the WEC about how much electric power can be used per lap, as well as how much fuel. At Le Mans, it’s roughly 2.2-kilowatt-hours per lap, and teams can be penalized if this number is exceeded. 

But if you use less and the car runs the risk of a slower lap time. Toyota suffered lengthy delays during last years 24 Hours of Le Mans which prompted the president to question the suitability of the cars. 

“Both even the winning car #2 and our #8, which completed the race, were forced to undergo time-consuming, trouble-caused repairs, before struggling to cross the finish line,” Toyota president Toyoda said after the 2017 race. "Because of the drivetrain problems, I was not able to allow [the drivers] to drive all out."

Via: Jon VD