The ten second teaser videos SUCK!
The ten second teaser videos SUCK!
Well, this one is off to not such a good start. Official news from Formula D: "So the city of Long Beach, CA won't let Napoleon Motorsports run the EL1 (Electric Drift Car) Camaro this weekend in Formula Drift! DON'T WORRY... Travis Reeder will be piloting PLAN B, his 240sx, for his FD PRO1 Debut!"
Basically, Long Beach doesn't have a permit for electric competition vehicles and so the car can't be run in actual competition at this event. So they trucked the car out there for media day and showed it off, but have to pull his old 240SX out for today. Makes me wonder, are some of the other little tracks like Wall Speedway and Evergreen Speedway going to have the required permits to allow him to run it? Seems like this is something you should have checked before embarking down this path
I didn't even know that needing permits for electric competition was a thing...is this some kind of insurance issue? You'd think that if cars that run on explosions and carry around gallons of gas and ATF are allowed, EVs should be fine...
In reply to GameboyRMH :
I'm guessing that it has something to do with having the equipment to put out EV fires and contain spills, as well as having people trained to handle this. And I'm guessing they didn't have it. They probably already have the gasoline competition permit for Long Beach Grand Prix and all
Then the Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) stepped in and said they were uncomfortable, didn’t feel ready to deal with the car in an emergency situation.
ProDarwin said:Then the Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) stepped in and said they were uncomfortable, didn’t feel ready to deal with the car in an emergency situation.
Then the very next sentence is "The fact that Long Beach held two FIA FormulaE contests a few years ago makes the department’s statements suspect." Even stranger because the EV is built to FIA specifications and they used Formula E safety mechanisms as a template. And then the city changed their tune and said there is an ordinance preventing electric and gasoline cars from being on track together
NickD said:ProDarwin said:Then the Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) stepped in and said they were uncomfortable, didn’t feel ready to deal with the car in an emergency situation.
Then the very next sentence is "The fact that Long Beach held two FIA FormulaE contests a few years ago makes the department’s statements suspect." Even stranger because the EV is built to FIA specifications and they used Formula E safety mechanisms as a template. And then the city changed their tune and said there is an ordinance preventing electric and gasoline cars from being on track together
I just don't get WHY they'd do that...
bluej said:NickD said:ProDarwin said:Then the Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) stepped in and said they were uncomfortable, didn’t feel ready to deal with the car in an emergency situation.
Then the very next sentence is "The fact that Long Beach held two FIA FormulaE contests a few years ago makes the department’s statements suspect." Even stranger because the EV is built to FIA specifications and they used Formula E safety mechanisms as a template. And then the city changed their tune and said there is an ordinance preventing electric and gasoline cars from being on track together
I just don't get WHY they'd do that...
Who knows? It's California. Nothing they do makes sense. Considering they are pushing themselves as an environmentally-friendly state, you would think they'd be pushing an eco-friendly drift car
If you can tolerate a Youtube bro for 20 minutes, this vid has some interesting details about the car
While it sucked that Travis Reeder couldn't run this car, he did hold his own at Formula D Long Beach with his old 240SX. He had to face Alex Heilbrunn (who won Pro2 two years) in his supercharged LSX E46 coupe and won, after Heilbrunn made an error and spun. Then he had to face Piotr Wiecek, arguably one of the best pro drifters out there, in his 900hp 2JZ S15 Silvia. Wiecek won, but Reeder laid down a solid lead run and in the chase position practically glued his 240SX to Wiecek's door throughout the entire course, despite having only 500hp on tap. Can't wait to see what he can do with a more powerful car.
In reply to STM317 :
That was difficult, that's the worst YouTube Bro I've ever seen.
In reply to GameboyRMH :
Youtube is blocked at my work, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's Donut Media
GameboyRMH said:In reply to STM317 :
That was difficult, that's the worst YouTube Bro I've ever seen.
It turns out that the vid is only 15 minutes, but it sure felt like 20 to me when I posted that.
GameboyRMH said:In reply to STM317 :
That was difficult, that's the worst YouTube Bro I've ever seen.
I couldn't. I think it's supposed to be satirical, but not sure anymore. LOL
Dude is like Jack Black's even more annoying little brother.
I don't understand what the big deal is?
Race cars have been electric for 35 + years. 
Today is Pro qualifying for the second round of Formula D at Orlando Speed World (typically my least favorite event due to a trash venue with a lazy course layout) so I decided to check in on how the EL-1 was doing. And, uh, it's not running this event either. Not a legal technicality this time, mechanical issues that they couldn't solve in time. Per Napoleon Motorsports: " We experienced some issues with the EL-1 and it will not be able to compete in Orlando as the parts are not readily available. This is the nature at this level of innovation and is only an opportunity to continue to pioneer the path for electric motorsports! Time to pull out Travis' LS powered 240sx. Thank you for all the support!"
Its definitely very strange to be able to only hear tire noise.
In reply to NickD :
I've personally drifted OSW in my sister's S14, and it's a fun course in real life.
Sucks about the EL-1, I'm excited to see it enter. Hopefully it will be good by Seattle.
I didn't see it run in person, but I did see it in the flesh. Turns out that I know the mad scientist behind it....
Isn't the whole point of drift being stupid loud lookatme. Or maybe there is no point to drifting? lol
Another update. Last weekend was Formula Drift Atlanta. Road Atlanta was willing to let it run, so he got farther than Long Beach. No mechanical issues shut it down, so he got farther than Orlando. He qualified 31st out of 32, whcih had the misfortune of putting him against Chelsea Denofa in Top 32.
The car running and qualifying was a big win, but honestly, it needs a lot of work if it's going to be competitive. It seems very slow, compared to the competition, and it seems to instantly grip up as soon as he lets off the throttle. Not much angle either. I'm a little surprised they didn't take advantage of the rule that lets lower-ranked drivers bump down and do Pro2 events and run the Pro2 event on Friday night to try and get more seat time and tandem practice in the car.
I have to think the exhaust (and intake I suppose) noise has to help with drifting. Add to that the fact that no matter where you are in electric rpm’s, you’re only hearing the engine note of the other guy. That’s gotta throw you off.
Side note: The drone they are using to capture footage is very impressive.
In reply to ProDarwin :
they hired professional drone pilot to do the drone stuff. https://www.thedrive.com/news/27368/incredible-formula-drift-4k-drone-footage-is-a-sneak-peek-at-the-future-of-race-broadcasts
Got to see this thing in person this weekend at FD NJ.
It's definitely a very odd experience to watch it drifting. Every other car on the grid has some sort of screaming 2JZ or LS engine or NASCAR V8 banging off the rev limiter and there's turbo whistles, anti-lag cannon shots and supercharger whines. And then this car hits the track and it's just tire noise.
The first qualifying run was iffy, very low angle, very slow. It looked stronger the second run and qualified mid-pack. Unfortunately the bracket worked out to where he was running against Fredric Aasbo, the only three-time FD champion, in Top 32 and that sent him home. The big thing with the car, is that it just seems down on power. And Napoleon Motorsports says it's only making 500hp. Granted, an EV delivers that differently, but that's still half the horsepower of a lot of the cars in the grid, and when he's in the chase position, they just run away from him.
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