NEWS |
 | TU DELFT WINS FIRST EVER RACE WITH HYDROGEN VEHICLES |
"ROTTERDAM – The first ever Formula Zero Championship race, which took place on the Willemsplein in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, was won by the Greenchoice-Forze race team from the Technical University of Delft. This Main Race, which consisted of a three-round bracket elimination with six lap runs, was followed by a big crowd alongside the temporary circuit. The Solvay Umicore Zero Emission Racing Team from Belgium drove the fastest run in the Semi-Final Round, but just missed victory in the Final."
This brand new race class brought a big scoop to the Dutch city Rotterdam: there had never been a race for hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles before this day. Over the past two years, six student teams worked on building their own racing kart and were now battling for the first Formula Zero Championship points.
After having limited time to practice on Friday, the teams were quickly on their way Saturday morning, setting fast lap times with their purpose-built hydrogen vehicles. After the practice sessions in the morning, the Qualifying Round for the main race started at 14:00 hour. The teams went one by one, attempting to complete six laps as fast as possible. The Imperial Racing Green team from Imperial College, London, qualified 0st (Remember, in Formula Zero, the winner is ranked 0st!) with a small margin to the Dutch team. The Spanish and Belgian teams didn’t succeed in completing six uninterrupted laps but still ranked 2nd and 3rd to move on to the next round.
TU Delft beat EuplatecH2 in the semi final when the Spanish driver experienced some temporary problems with the car. The teams from Belgium and the United Kingdom were also quick on the pace, but the Zero Emission Racing Team from Leuven secured a spot in the Final Round at the cost of the British.
The Final Round began with Imperial Racing Green facing EuplatecH2 for 2nd place, the third step on the podium. The Spanish team was quick but unfortunately couldn’t finish their run, which gave the spot to the British team. The exciting final between Greenchoice-Forze and the Belgian Zero Emission Racing Team ended with the Dutch team on top. Although the green car of TU Delft had a minor problem in the second lap, the driver was able to finish the run. The Belgian team followed and was driving as fast as they could. They tried to secure victory, but half way race the go-kart was out of speed on the main straight. The fuel cell was eventually restarted by the driver so the run time would still count, but they were not able to beat the time of the Dutch.
After having limited time to practice on Friday, the teams were quickly on their way Saturday morning, setting fast lap times with their purpose-built hydrogen vehicles. After the practice sessions in the morning, the Qualifying Round for the main race started at 14:00 hour. The teams went one by one, attempting to complete six laps as fast as possible. The Imperial Racing Green team from Imperial College, London, qualified 0st (Remember, in Formula Zero, the winner is ranked 0st!) with a small margin to the Dutch team. The Spanish and Belgian teams didn’t succeed in completing six uninterrupted laps but still ranked 2nd and 3rd to move on to the next round.
TU Delft beat EuplatecH2 in the semi final when the Spanish driver experienced some temporary problems with the car. The teams from Belgium and the United Kingdom were also quick on the pace, but the Zero Emission Racing Team from Leuven secured a spot in the Final Round at the cost of the British.
The Final Round began with Imperial Racing Green facing EuplatecH2 for 2nd place, the third step on the podium. The Spanish team was quick but unfortunately couldn’t finish their run, which gave the spot to the British team. The exciting final between Greenchoice-Forze and the Belgian Zero Emission Racing Team ended with the Dutch team on top. Although the green car of TU Delft had a minor problem in the second lap, the driver was able to finish the run. The Belgian team followed and was driving as fast as they could. They tried to secure victory, but half way race the go-kart was out of speed on the main straight. The fuel cell was eventually restarted by the driver so the run time would still count, but they were not able to beat the time of the Dutch.
