8/4/09

Formula One energy efficiency systems planned for the WRC

FIA President Max Mosley has revealed that energy recovery systems being developed in Formula One will later be adapted for cars in the World Rally Championship.

Speaking during Rally Portugal, Mosley said his preferred route to lessen the environmental impact of rallying was to use energy more efficiently, via systems like the Formula One Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), rather than using alternative fuel sources, such as biofuels.

“The approach we have taken in Formula One - and we intend to take in the future in the WRC - is to try to encourage efficient use of energy rather than to dictate which source of energy it should be,” explained Mosley. “Because if you can get more work from a given quantity of energy (i.e. fuel), then that’s precisely the direction the car industry is going and needs to go.

“The KERS system is an example of that. Other examples are the recovery of energy from exhausts and even from the cooling system, both of which will come into Formula One in 2013,” he added.

Mosley said that while some environmental steps had already been taken in the WRC - notably Citroen’s hybrid-powered C4 WRC HYmotion4 concept car - Formula One would be the test-bed for a new generation of energy efficiency systems.

“Formula One is developing systems that are capable of absorbing all the energy but at the same time are very small and very light - that’s something we’d like to see coming in to rallies.” said Mosley.

“One of the manufacturers has already produced an example of a car with that technology. But we ought to just see just how it develops in Formula One before we put it in rallies. We don’t want to make any mistakes. We’ve learned a great deal about these systems in the three years they’ve been coming into Formula One and I think we’ll know a lot more in the next six months.”

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