e-miglia 2010 on the road for an emission-free Alpine journey
Munich/Füssen - e-miglia 2010, the first international rally for electric vehicles, is en route for the Alps. At 9 am sharp on Tuesday, Rudolf Graf von der Schulenburg, President of the German Automobile Club (AvD), and Richard Schalber, e-miglia rally manager, waved off the first vehicles from the TÜV SÜD premises in Munich. The 25 competitors in the exhaust-free fleet of vehicles now face a total of 560 gruelling kilometres, crossing the Alps in four daily legs to cross the finishing line at Rovereto, Italy, on 6 August.
The destination of the first leg was Füssen. Along the route to this city of royal castles, the competitors were also faced with the special task of completing the 3.4 kilometres from Hohenpeißenberg to Monte Rigi in a time as close to five minutes as possible. The priority of e-miglia is not speed, but consistency and reliability - as demonstrated by the vehicle of the SFC-Hiendlmayer team, the Mega Multitruck Van. The compact, boxy van, designed for use at large-scale company premises, literally ran out of juice just before Weilheim, but the service vehicle was on the spot immediately as planned, with a newly charged battery on board. The "pit stop" while the battery was changed by crane drew quite a crowd.
The batteries of the other competitors were recharged in every sense on the summit of Monte Rigi, where the 40 contestants enjoyed a hearty snack at an altitude of 1,000 metres while the vehicles were plugged into mobile charging points set up especially for e-miglia.
When the cars arrived in Füssen in the afternoon, the majority of the spectators' applause went to the victor of the day, Tim Ruhoff from Munich - the second youngest competitor at 25 - and his co-driver Steven Hoffmann (20).
Driving a Tesla Roadster Sport, they mastered the 120 or so kilometres in eight hours and 0.8 seconds. "This is my very first rally - I'm absolutely electrified!" enthused Ruhoff at the destination. Ruhoff missed the five-minute target time for the special test by a mere 0.8 seconds. In fact none of the competitors had to be penalized for overstepping or undercutting the required time. In second and third place were Patrick Zankl/Professor Gerhard Reichert (8:00:00.96) and Carlo Bermes/Wulf Biebinger (8:00:01.16), also in Tesla e-sports cars.
Event promoter Christian Herles was extremely satisfied with the start of e-miglia 2010, saying, "The cars and charging stations worked perfectly, and the competitors are having a ball. We can start the second leg with a smile." Dr. Axel Stepken, CEO and President of TÜV SÜD AG, which is supporting e-miglia 2010 as technical partner, was impressed with the performance of his own noiseless vehicle, and stated, "I'm thoroughly enjoying driving the Karabag 500e, the great atmosphere during the rally and the companionship between the teams. I really should do this more often!"
Surprise visit - from Hungary
On Tuesday morning at the TÜV SÜD premises, a special welcome was given to Dr. András Bednár, lawyer, economist and e-mobility enthusiast, who had found out about e-miglia at the last minute from his sole sponsor, an Austrian company. He quickly hitched up his trailer and reached Munich at 6 am on Tuesday - just in time for the start of e-miglia 2010, but without an official registration. The organizers welcomed the 57-year-old and his ELMA 2, a Suzuki Swift with asynchronous three-phase motor, with open arms and accepted Bednár as an unofficial contestant.
"Powerful demonstration of the performance that electric vehicles are capable of"
The actual launch of e-miglia 2010 took place on Monday with the presentation of the teams and drivers. " e-miglia not only brings the legendary 'Mille Miglia'’ cult race into the 21st century, but also serves as a powerful demonstration of the competitiveness and high performance of electric vehicles today. I am convinced that an event as exciting and spectacular as a rally can make a major contribution towards winning people over to the opportunities and chances offered by electromobility", said Minister of State Siegfried Schneider, head of the Bavarian State Chancellery, in his welcome speech.
Tomorrow's leg leads from Füssen to Innsbruck, with the next special test scheduled for shortly after the start. More information about the competitors and vehicles and pictures are available at www.e-miglia.com
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