While Formula E in Germany was held in Berlin on 24 and 25 May 2019 with purely battery-operated racing cars, preparatory measures are currently underway elsewhere to ensure that hydrogen cars can also take part in races in the future. On 28 March 2019, the LMPH2G prototype completed its first laps at Le Mans with driver Emmanuel Collard and prominent co-driver Bertrand Piccard.
After its maiden run in Spa-Francorchamps in the run-up to the European ELMS long-distance race and the demonstration at the Paris Motor Show, this was the third appearance of the H2 racing car. The trials that now took place on the Bugatti circuit with the adventurer and circumnavigator Piccard took place during the Les Assises de l’Automobile conference organised by the French Automobile Club ACO (Automobile Club de l’Ouest). The LMPH2G prototype has three H2 tanks and four PEM fuel cells (drive power: 480 kW).
Within the framework of the MissionH24, launched in September 2018, the French-Swiss team of GreenGT is currently working on being able to start its own class for H2 vehicles at the Le Mans 24-hour race from 2024. To this end, ACO and GreenGT initiated the formation of an H24Racing team at the beginning of February 2019. A corresponding infrastructure with tank facilities and its own boxes is to be completed by the centenary of 2023.
“I am elated and very enthusiastic because this is the future – clean mobility. It already exists – and it works. […] With electric drive, fuel cell, hydrogen – that’s the future, that’s how things have to develop.”
Bertrand Piccard, Managing Director of Solar Impulse
“A new team promises excitement, enthusiasm, expectation and confidence. I must admit that with the announcement of the arrival of H24Racing I feel a sense of fulfilment. […] Personally, I’m probably not the only one who doesn’t believe in battery-powered systems as the ultimate, comprehensive solution.”
ACO President Pierre Fillon
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read more in H2-international July 2019
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