Skip to main content

I.D. R is Finally on Pikes Peak

Even though the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has been going on for 96 years and is one of the most famous motorsport events on earth, the track is actually just a public highway for most of the year. So there’s only a short window of time during which racers can test their cars before the locals get ornery.

That time is finally upon us, though. Romain Dumas and the I.D. R have finally run the course for the first time and the reports are good.

“The I.D. R Pikes Peak is the best car that I have ever driven up this mountain,” said Dumas. “The acceleration and cornering speed are really impressive, and on top of that, the car is very convenient. Thanks to the electric drive, I don’t need to change gears and can focus on the line instead.”

Sven Smeets, Volkswagen Motorsport’s Director was also complimentary about the car, saying that he was pleased with the performance.

“The news from Colorado is very positive,” said Smeets. “We are on schedule with the preparations for the I.D. R Pikes Peak and can now focus on the fine-tuning.” 

As you may recall, Dumas will leave the starting line with only enough power to get 80% of the way up the Colorado mountain. The rest he will generate along the way. And that’s what the team was testing during their first test in situ.

“Perfect energy management is one of the key factors for successfully attacking the record in the electric car category,” said François-Xavier Demaison, Technical Director at Volkswagen Motorsport. “The first test drive at Pikes Peak was successful. This shows that our computer simulations and the test drives in Europe were on point.” 

Still, there is ample room for improvement.

“It goes without saying that there is always room for improvements,” said Dumas. “In the remaining test drives, we will continue to optimize the tuning. I know the track at Pikes Peak like the back of my hand, but it is the first time I will be driving a racing car with electric drive. I am learning with every meter I drive in the cockpit of the I.D. R Pikes Peak.”

Learning how to drive the car perfectly will be crucial to the record. Because VW has hinged its plan on making a light car with less power than the record holder, a perfect run will be essential to getting to the peak in less than 8:57.118.

“You only get one shot,” said Dumas. “If even only the slightest thing goes wrong, a new e-record is highly unlikely.”

Dumas and the I.D. R will go for the record later this month, on June 24.

The post I.D. R is Finally on Pikes Peak appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex https://ift.tt/2Jm1ByQ
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Waterfest Moves to Atco Dragway

Waterfest 24 will be held at Atco Dragway, in Atco, New Jersey. The summer event will take place at its new venue on July 21 and 22. Long held in Englishtown, New Jersey, the festival has been such a large part of the VW scene that the latest iteration of the Golf even comes with optional “Englishtown” wheels . The new venue, however, is an NHRA drag track a scant 52 miles southwest of Englishtown. The ¼ mile drag track opened in 1960, which makes it the oldest drag strip in New Jersey. The announcement came today on a social media post that announced the new location. Waterfest is North America’s largest VW/Audi show. As many 20,000 people show up for the annual show, making the second largest show in the world—with Worthersee being number one. 2018 will be Waterfest’s 24 th year in existence. The post Waterfest Moves to Atco Dragway appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2GQjkuc via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

Macau Gets Messy with 16-Car Pileup

The Macau Grand Prix is always good for an accident or two or 16— you may remember Audi’s race ending crash last year —and this year’s event didn’t disappoint. It didn’t take long for things to get messy on the tight road circuit. On the opening lap of the qualifying race a 16-car pileup caused the race to be suspended. Things kicked off when Daniel Juncadella hit a wall on the exit of Police bend, one of the tightest parts of the already tight circuit. The following car of Raffaele Marciello was able to avoid the carnage, but Laurens Vanthoor, who was in the upside-down Audi that ended the race last year, could not avoid Juncadella and together they blocked up the road pretty much completely. “I couldn’t see him [Juncadella] at first. Then I saw the car standing still,” Vanthoor told Motorsport. “I tried to brake but it was just understeering and I couldn’t do anything. There’s room for one car there and you’re blind.” Fourteen more cars would eventually crash into the corner c
Post a Comment
Read more

The First of its Kind: Integrated Engineering Releases Highly-Anticipated IE450T MK6 Golf R Turbo Kit

After two long years of development, the team at Integrated Engineering has finally announced the release of their IE450T kit for the MK6 Golf R. With their turbo kit bolted on right out of the box, the sport AWD hatch is transformed into a 450bhp monster, with hardly any noticeable increase in spool time. In fact, 435 ft-lbs of torque are achieved at all four wheels, at a mere 3300rpm! By now you are probably asking yourself how this is even possible on a 2.0L engine that made nearly half that power from the factory. By employing true twin-scroll technology into the cast turbo manifold and pairing it with a state-of-the-art BorgWarner EFR turbocharger, IE was able to keep spool time at a minimum and bring the fastest-spooling big turbo setup to the market. “We wanted to offer a kit that would dramatically increase the power output without making the car lose its amazing street-friendly drivability,” mentioned one of the IE engineers. We are told the IE450T leaves the car driving jus
Post a Comment
Read more