Going electric at the Breslau Rally next year !

The Belgian ASAP Truck Rally Team has made a commitment to participate at the Breslau Rally 2012 with a fully electric rally truck. To achieve this ecological challenge, the Solar Rally Truck organisation has been set-up. This team brings together innovative minds that want to create sustainable and ecological innovations in rally’s such as the Breslau.

The Belgian ASAP Truck Rally Team has been participating at the Breslau Rally for 4 years. A few years back, participants Joris Peumans and Frank Van Dooren decided to face a new challenge: the creation of an ecologically sound rally truck that will drive electrically. To realise this dream, they gathered a team of innovative engineers and specialists under the name Solar Rally Truck.

e-Unimog Prototype 1
On the 18th of June, the official ‘lift-off’ for the e-Unimog Prototype 1 was given in the Belgian city of Genk. This first prototype will start from an existing Mercedes Unimog U416 frame to guarantee a positive homologation at the rally. Joris Peumans: “To keep the project feasible, we will focus on keeping the whole original drivetrain operational (gearbox, axles and transferboxes). The OM352 diesel engine will be replaced by an electric motor. Beside this the team will add the electric steering and a battery management system to manage 1000kg of batteries. The battery bank will be loaded by a small range extender. This prototype must be ready for competition at next year’s Breslau edition.”

Separate competition?
The ASAP Truck Rally team would like the Breslau organization to introduce a separate competition for green rally cars and trucks or eg to lower the entrance fee for green teams. By assimilating innovative and green technologies into a competitive environment, the rally-sport will show it’s taking responsibility towards the environment. Furthermore, the rally-sport is an ideal platform to test new and sustainable materials and techniques in extreme conditions. This will create goodwill towards the sport. ASAP Truck Rally Team wants to pioneer in this domain.