Race lines: how Oliver Webb is preparing for ETCR Car News

Tiny reach but enormous power

At the Pure ETCR launch event last February, organizers made it clear that their goal was not to “save the planet” – a pointed reference to Extreme E’s crusade on climate change. Instead, Williams Advanced Engineering, which is also providing the battery for Extreme E and will do so for the upcoming Gen3 Formula E car, has been tasked with contributing to a bespoke system that puts power into the powertrain.

Range is too obvious a lack of electric vehicles, so forget about trying to create a ‘normal’ motorsport: Pure ETCR makes its limits a virtue, hence the flashing race plan and you will miss it. At the request of Marcello Lotti, the mastermind behind conventional TCR racing, WAE came up with engines offering 402 hp continuous power and a peak of 670 hp, as well as a 62 kWh battery that can be charged from 10 to 90%. in just under an hour by the series. ‘portable hydrogen fuel cell chargers.

“I was shocked at how much power he has,” Webb says of his first impressions. “Yes, it’s a touring car and it’s bigger and heavier than a Formula E car, but these make 335 hp, and that’s almost 700 hp. That’s a lot of grunt.

“And the format of the race is exciting. These high intensity rallycross style “battles” are a great idea. People will appreciate that they don’t try to pretend it’s the same as gasoline racing. Their approach is “let’s make it exciting with technology that also saves the planet” rather than “we aim to save the planet, and we hope the race is also exciting”.

Stay very busy

While Pure ETCR’s lineup is limited, the same certainly can’t be said for Webb. He must be one of the busiest professional runners around. Besides his EV quest, Webb also joined ARC Bratislava for a return to the LMP2 class in WEC.

“We insist on getting an Oreca, because it is the fastest chassis, but Ligier supports the team, because it is the only one [it supplies] on the grid, ”he explains. “We will do our best. “