Toyota dealers in Japan race hybrids in Prius Cup
There is almost always a benefit to conserving fuel while racing, whether it means saving on pit stops or being able to stay on the gas longer in the last lap, but the ongoing Prius Cup series in Japan takes the practice of conservation in racing to a whole new level. The event was first organized back in 2007 and is designed to help train dealership staff how to work on the car. Now that there's a new model on the way for 2010, the event is once again pickup up some steam.
Unlike most racing series, the goal of the Prius Cup isn't to turn in fast lap times. Instead, the cars circle the track in agonizing fashion as they try and use as little fuel as possible. Once in the pits, though, the action picks up considerably as the teams compete to get their hybrids back on the track in as little time as possible. Sounds exciting! Well, not really, but we don't know of many other racing events where the winner scores nearly 70 mpg over the 20-lap event.
[Source: AutoWeek via Auto Fiends | Photo: Hans Greimel]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JGuan 5:13PM (2/04/2009)
lol
Reply
GoodCheer 5:23PM (2/04/2009)
I've proposed in the past a race where you can build any kind of car you want, but you have to cover your 100 laps (or whatever) with a fixed amount of fuel. That way there would be a true engineering challenge of building the most efficient cars possible, and (presumably) the technology developed would be of much greater use in 'trickling down' to street cars. All the crazy restrictions they put on the design of racing cars in the various classes, most notably NASCAR with their air-box restrictor plates, only V8s, all naturally aspirated, etc do nothing but harm to the evolution of the technology.
This is close I suppose, but how much do those pit crews really have to do on Prii being driven slowly?
Reply
Doug 5:46PM (2/04/2009)
BORING!!
Reply
BoneHeadOtto 11:12AM (2/05/2009)
Its a lot like Olympic walking.
Reply
moogy 8:48AM (2/05/2009)
They should spice things up and make a REAL Prius cup for the public eye.
Experimental batteries, new electric motors, etc...
Reply
Throwback 11:09AM (2/05/2009)
Sounds as exciting as watching paint dry.
Reply
Rick 2:17PM (2/05/2009)
hyper-miling is a thrill a minute
Reply
ben 2:44PM (2/05/2009)
Actually it is a lot like many NASCAR and Indy races in 2008, where the winner came down to who could stretch the most out of the last tank of gas without pitting. Some winners got a 20 second lead, and just drove around 20 MPH slower than the cars behind him. That is how the famous Danica Patrick got her 1st victory, since she is 100 pounds lighter than the rest of the drivers (and IRL does not adjust for the drivers' weight like NASCAR), she gets an advantage every race. I agree...BOOORING!
Reply
onlysublime 3:27PM (2/06/2009)
IndyCar officials instituted a driver/car weight rule this season so Danica Patrick weighed as much as the other drivers after weight was added to the car.
ben 2:06PM (2/11/2009)
So for 2009 Danica will be competing equitably with the other, normally sized drivers. In 2008, when she got her victory, she was not. I look forward to seeing her showcase her talent on a level (though banked!) playing field.
Corky Boyd 3:36PM (2/05/2009)
Good cheer
Restrictor plates on Nascar cars are for safety purposes. They only apply to two tracks, Daytona and Talladega and are there because these tracks are too fast for the standard setup used for other tracks. This happened when Nascar dropped stock bodies and and went to a race car setup using tube frames and smaller more streamlined bodies. The new cars lap the other tacks at under 180 mph, where they would run over 215 at the two high banked tracks without restrictor plates. Drivers, tire manufacturers and Nascar all felt 180 was the limit for safety.
Cost containment is another reason for tech restrictions. In Formula One, at least three teams, and more likely five, had budgets of over a half a billion dollars. That's a lot. Toyota had the largest with a reputed 700 million several years ago. With the loss of tobacco sponsorship (EU law), F1 knew they would have to make things less expensive. From the limitation on the number of engines used in a season to freezing engine specs to engines produced in 2007 and rev limiters (19,000rpm), cost control is a priority. With the economic downturn, money for racing is drying up. Honda is pulling out of F1 this year and trying to sell its team. Even with indirect government subsidies to F1 from European governments, this form of motor racing is in jeopardy. The super rich from mideast oil producing countries is keeping it alive temporarily. $45 oil won't keep these folks in the super rich category, only very rich. They won't be able to drop a couple of hundred million into a team for very long.
I like racing for its noise, speed and highly competitive flavor. Whether a car has 5 valves per cylinder and pneumaticvalve control, or is a derivative of a stock block V-8, they provide exciting racing.
Reply