I did it! I've won my first trophy ever in auto racing. Sure, it had nothing to do with my speed, let alone my driving skills, but I'm extremely proud nonetheless. Indeed, over the last weekend, I had the honor to win, together with my colleague and long-time racer Bertrand Godin, the inaugural Laurentian Alternative Energy Rally, an international event that made its North American debut.
As the name suggests, this competition was not about performance and drifting through corners. Instead, the focus was on regularity and fuel economy. The latter is probably the one thing that created the most headaches...
A unique event
Inspired from a similar rally held in the Monaco area, the concept of this challenge was brought to Canada by the people at the Centre for Electric Vehicle Experimentation in Quebec (CEVEQ), in the Laurentides region, where an international symposium on urban mobility and advanced transportation is organized every two years.
Only a few short months were needed to put everything in place for the two-day event, which covers 447 kilometers.
Sixteen crews, including some noteworthy vehicles, showed up at the starting line. There was the Cleanova, a Megane-based electric vehicle developed by Renault and Hydro-Québec (the latter uses it in urban areas). It was the first time ever that the Cleanova took part in a racing event and its performance was commendable despite a couple of technical difficulties, one of which resulted in the odometer no longer working.
Another notable vehicle belonged to Alain Saint-Yves: a 1994 Chevrolet Cavalier equipped with a homemade electric drivetrain. Sadly, the car could not complete the second phase of the rally, as its range proved to be insufficient to cover 300 kilometers.
Of course, there was also the entire fleet of electric hybrid vehicles available on the market, including the Toyota Prius and Highlander Hybrid, the Ford Escape Hybrid and the Honda Civic Hybrid. We drove the latter all the way to finish line... and the top of the podium.
A matter of time
The idea behind the Alternative Energy Rally is to demonstrate that greener vehicles can go through any trip or tackle any road condition like regular cars while burning less fuel.
For this inaugural rally, the 447-km route was divided into 30+ sections. Each crew, based on their starting time, had to gauge their speed to meet the target check-in time for each section. The difference between the ideal time and the actual check-in time was penalized. And the penalty for being too fast or too slow was significant: 60 points/minute (or 1 point/second). You should know that the entire rally was held in actual traffic, meaning crews had to factor in variable parameters when setting out their driving strategies.
As the name suggests, this competition was not about performance and drifting through corners. Instead, the focus was on regularity and fuel economy. The latter is probably the one thing that created the most headaches...
A unique event
Inspired from a similar rally held in the Monaco area, the concept of this challenge was brought to Canada by the people at the Centre for Electric Vehicle Experimentation in Quebec (CEVEQ), in the Laurentides region, where an international symposium on urban mobility and advanced transportation is organized every two years.
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| The winning team with their Honda Civic Hybrid. |
Only a few short months were needed to put everything in place for the two-day event, which covers 447 kilometers.
Sixteen crews, including some noteworthy vehicles, showed up at the starting line. There was the Cleanova, a Megane-based electric vehicle developed by Renault and Hydro-Québec (the latter uses it in urban areas). It was the first time ever that the Cleanova took part in a racing event and its performance was commendable despite a couple of technical difficulties, one of which resulted in the odometer no longer working.
Another notable vehicle belonged to Alain Saint-Yves: a 1994 Chevrolet Cavalier equipped with a homemade electric drivetrain. Sadly, the car could not complete the second phase of the rally, as its range proved to be insufficient to cover 300 kilometers.
Of course, there was also the entire fleet of electric hybrid vehicles available on the market, including the Toyota Prius and Highlander Hybrid, the Ford Escape Hybrid and the Honda Civic Hybrid. We drove the latter all the way to finish line... and the top of the podium.
A matter of time
The idea behind the Alternative Energy Rally is to demonstrate that greener vehicles can go through any trip or tackle any road condition like regular cars while burning less fuel.
For this inaugural rally, the 447-km route was divided into 30+ sections. Each crew, based on their starting time, had to gauge their speed to meet the target check-in time for each section. The difference between the ideal time and the actual check-in time was penalized. And the penalty for being too fast or too slow was significant: 60 points/minute (or 1 point/second). You should know that the entire rally was held in actual traffic, meaning crews had to factor in variable parameters when setting out their driving strategies.