Insight wins class in Formula 1000 Rally Championship.

[Paul Andrews]

Hi Chaps,

Haven't been round the forum for a while.
We have had a very successful year with the Insight rally car and won our class on 3 of the special stage rallies we have competed in this year, recently being confirmed as F1000 Class A champions.

We have latterly run the car on E85 bio ethanol without problem, and fitted a MIMA system from Mike to the CVT car which has given us a clear hike in performance, confirmed in testing but not yet rallied. The cars, we have 2, have been faultlessly reliable all year and taken an unbelievable amount of hammer with nothing breaking.

Last week we demonstrated the cars to a group of 12 journalists at the GM Millbrook proving ground and then took the rally car to Silverstone to the British Touring Car meeting where the were 33,000 race fans.

For more info see http://www.eemsonline.co.uk where there is a large gallery of action pictures and also http://www.green-car-guide.com who are supporters of the project.

[Tranquility]

Congratulations!

I wouldn't have thought of the Insight as a racer given its little motor.

[NoPetrol]

Vegetarian weightlifting.

Congrats...

?: What did you do to the wheels/hubcaps. They look green like they were treated and now match the car color. I've seen someone with a red paint job of some sort on the wheels... but that was solid... this looked like a tint of some sort. Do tell!

[Paul Andrews]

Depends which picture you are looking at. On the first rallies in 2005 we used some CRX wheels painted gold but this year we have reverted to standard forged Insight wheels because they are so much lighter.

However under very heavy use the wheels were becoming so hot that it was baking the laquer which gives the uncanny green tint. What was impressive was we never suffered brake fade despite lots of left foot braking (braking whilst on the throttle to balance the car in a high speed corner).

We need to address brake temperature issues next year, ideally by getting more of that wasted heat energy back into the electrical energy store, but also by ducting cool air onto the discs.

The Insight is competitive because we compete in a 1000cc class against Nissan Micra, Toyota Yaris, GM Corsa, Peugeot 106 etc etc.

[Mike Dabrowski 2000]

Hi Paul
Congratulations on a great year.
I am curious as to your MPG for a typical rally.
I have found that it is difficult to get less than 40 MPG even when pushing hard, but expect that you are pushing much harder than I.

[Paul Andrews]

You are not going to like this.

Worst ever over a single special stage in the manual car...... wait for it 13.6 mpg and over a full rally 15.8. The reason for this is the hopelessly unsuitable gear ratios for a very tight twisty course where you have say 7 miles of roads which read something like,

100yds hairpin right 50yards fast left tightens into immediate 90 right 300yds tight 90 left (caution kerb on apex) into 60 right opens e....etc etc

This is a typical extract from my co-drivers pace notes.

It means that the car tends to sit a lot on its rev limiter in first gear, second is often too high and 3rd rarely used at all.

With the CVT we are always in the right ratio and the car is quicker and far more economical as a result. Mid twenties/pushing thirty with the CVT and I think MIMA will improve that further.

The gist of our program with the Insight is more efficient use of energy in motorsport plus achieving performance without compromising on exhaust emissions. A typical stage rally car maybe does 6 mpg and pollutes mercilessly.

[Rick]

Congratulations! It's a bit of a suprise seeing an Insight with all those decals on the car.

[Mike Dabrowski 2000]

WOW you really are pushing the envelope.
It is interesting that the CVT does better with MPG in this type of extreeme driving.
Not only did you win the 1000CC Championship, but you win the rally MPG credits as well.
Cool

[bretthans]

Nicely done!

What a way to make a green statement. I'm glad to see the car and your efforts getting some publicity and maybe changing the thinking of some people.


Cheers,