Mustang Advanced Engineering (MAE), a US-based manufacturer of testing equipment and dynamometers, has recently installed a custom-designed test cell for research and development purposes at a power-sport vehicle manufacturer. The test cell was specifically created to meet the needs of this manufacturer, which produces motorcycles, ATVs and side-by-side vehicles.

The customer required a facility capable of testing a wide range of four-wheeled solutions with 4×2 and 4×4 drivetrains, and the test cell includes several advanced features tailored to the manufacturer’s requirements. It is equipped with 1m-diameter flame-spray coated rollers, two large 600hp asynchronous AC dynamometers and a high-capacity tire cooling system with variable speed control. The system also features removable roller-bump profiles for performing bump tests and a 75,500 l/sec, 250hp frontal cooling fan system synchronized with vehicle speed.

The post Mustang Advanced Engineering designs R&D test cell for development of power-sport vehicles appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

Ariel Motor Company, a UK-based manufacturer of lightweight vehicles, has introduced the E-Nomad concept, an all-electric version of its off-road sportscar. The E-Nomad, weighing 896kg, features a new 450-volt 41kWh battery system and has a power output of 210kW (281bhp). Ariel says the vehicle can accelerate from 0 to 60mph in 3.4 seconds and perform across a range of terrains, including off-road rock crawling and rally stages.

The E-Nomad’s body is constructed from flax fiber biocomposite panels, which are 9% lighter than carbon fiber and result in a 73% reduction in CO₂ emissions during production, according to the company. These panels were developed with composite manufacturer Bamd Composites and contribute to a 30% reduction in drag compared to the standard Nomad.

Powertrain

Developed in partnership with automotive and motorsport engineering specialist Rockfort Engineering and supported by the UK government’s Advanced Propulsion Centre and Niche Vehicle Network, the E-Nomad is part of Ariel’s broader Zero Emission for Low Volume program. The vehicle’s battery pack, weighing under 300kg, incorporates advanced cooling and heating systems to improve performance in various conditions. The powertrain, managed by a Rockfort Engineering control system, provides adjustable power delivery and regenerative braking, with modes for both Eco and Sport driving.

The 450-volt battery pack features Rockfort’s all-new Pegasus V3 modules that use high-energy lithium-ion pouch cells. The E-Nomad uses 12 Pegasus V3 modules with a total capacity of 41kW and power output of 210kW.

The E-Nomad uses a Cascadia Motion iDM 190 combined motor, gearbox and DX inverter drive unit. Powering the rear wheels is a Borg Warner eDM motor spinning to 12,000rpm and single-speed transmission with reduction gearing of 8.28:1. A limited slip differential and parking lock are also part of the vehicle’s specification. The drive unit is water-cooled via a secondary system, independent of the battery, from the front-mounted, split-circuit radiator.

Situated behind the driver, the single battery pack is capable of AC (Type 2) and DC (CCS2) fast-charging. Ariel says this enables the E-Nomad to be charged at home on a normal domestic supply, or via a dedicated fast charger in under 25 minutes from 20% to 80%.

A revised power delivery management electrical system also manages battery power states, enabling the system to automatically ‘wake’ or ‘sleep’ for charging and battery management.

Simon Saunders, Ariel’s director, commented, “While the E-Nomad is a concept, it does show production intent for the vehicle and hints at just a small part of Ariel’s future. Once it has been through our usual, grueling testing regime we could opt to add the E-Nomad alongside its ICE Nomad 2 sibling, so we’ll take great interest in customer feedback on the concept car.”

Ariel plans to showcase the E-Nomad at the Cenex Expo 2024 at UTAC Millbrook on September 4. Although the E-Nomad is not currently available for purchase, Ariel says it will use the event to gauge public interest and guide future developments. The company intends to conduct extensive testing of the prototype to explore its potential applications.

The post Electric sportscar concept unveiled by Ariel Motor Company appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

Mattia Binotto, COO and CTO of Sauber Motorsport and the Audi F1 factory team, said, “Bringing Florian onboard helps us put another important piece of the puzzle in place, as Sauber continues growing into the Audi factory team which will debut in 2026. His approach, experience and drive will be fundamental as we not only communicate our activities but, mainly, we tell our story and our values to the growing audience of Formula 1.”

Büngener added, “The Audi F1 project is one of the most exciting developments in motorsport, if not in the whole sport industry at this stage, and I am pleased and determined to help it as it enters a pivotal moment ahead of 2026. The team has already moved on the path toward progressive and customer-centric communication beyond the racetrack, and I’m focused on accelerating this process ahead of the debut of Audi’s factory entry.”

The post Sauber Motorsport appoints Florian Büngener as CCO ahead of Audi F1 transition appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

The new funding will also support Revolution’s mission to provide competitive and durable vehicles to motorsport circuits and racing schools worldwide.

Phil Abbott, co-founder of Revolution Race Cars, commented, “With this new investment and leadership, we’re poised to introduce exciting new models and push the boundaries of performance.”  

Cabotage Corporation has acquired full ownership of Abbott Automotive, the company behind Revolution Race Cars. Along with the investment, a new management structure will be implemented. As part of this, Zac Moseley will become chairman and Nigel Redwood will join as managing director. Phil Abbott will remain as operations director, focusing on race car design and development, while James Abbott will continue as head of product development. The restructuring will enable the Abbott family to concentrate on developing race cars while Redwood manages the commercial aspects of the business. Additionally, Zac Moseley, Jessica Moseley and Marc Russell will join the board of Abbott Automotive.

This strategic shift enhances Revolution’s reach in the USA, particularly as Classic Car Club Racing, the East Coast dealer for Revolution, is now integrated with Abbott Automotive. Revolution Race Cars expressed gratitude to its outgoing directors and investors, including Marcel Aebi, Michel Frey, Jean Gandar and Romain Rousseaux, for their support in the company’s early stages.

Moseley explained, “The motorsport industry has experienced colossal growth in the US market over the past 10 years. More than a dozen new racing circuits are currently under construction across America, access to motorsport academies is at an all-time high and the explosion of interest in Formula 1 and other racing series is driving Americans from the golf course to the racetrack.

Marc Russell, a long-time Revolution customer and investor, added, “I am truly excited to invest in this team and contribute to expanding Revolution’s reach across North America. The team’s plans for the model line-up are impressive, and I believe they will offer a broad range of cars that will appeal to a wide market.”

The post Revolution Race Cars receives American investment and undergoes leadership changes appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

The post Gevo to supply renewable low-carbon racing fuel to Shell appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

The FIA is expanding its Women in Motorsport Mentorship program following strong interest during the first application cycle. The program, launched in June 2024, received over 850 applications from women seeking or building careers in motorsport.

In response to this demand, the Women in Motorsport Commission will offer 500 mentorship places for the second application cycle starting in 2025 – 200 places more than this year.

The mentorship program aims to provide tailored support to women in various areas of the motorsport industry, including engineering, communications and logistics. Mentees will be paired with experienced professionals to help them advance in their careers. Women within and outside the FIA ecosystem are supported, with some mentorship opportunities reserved for those already working in FIA member clubs.

Sara Mariani, FIA sustainability, diversity and inclusion director, said, “Here at the FIA, we are passionate about growing opportunities for women in every role and stage of their motorsport journey. In June, we announced that we hope to achieve gender parity across motorsport by 2030 – and we are confident that programs like this one will help us achieve our goal.”

Details of the expansion were shared during the FIA’s American Congress, an annual gathering of member clubs from across the Americas and the Caribbean.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem added, “We are pleased to expand this program, following the success of our first application cycle. The FIA is dedicated to creating equal opportunities and increasing diversity within motorsport. This program will provide a key opportunity for the ongoing growth and success of our sport.”

Applications for the current cycle have closed, and the selected mentees are expected to be announced in late September.

The post FIA expands Women in Motorsport Mentorship program appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

Bridgestone has been selected as the exclusive tire partner for Lamborghini’s new Temerario supercar, which will debut in 2025.

“The Temerario is a new benchmark in the super sportscar segment, offering the highest levels of performance and comfort, and Bridgestone is the perfect partner to help us maximize its potential,” said Cristian Mastro, marketing director at Lamborghini.

The partnership, continuing an existing long-term collaboration, involves the development of three custom-engineered tire fitments for the hybrid high-performance electrified vehicle (HPEV). These include the Potenza Sport and Potenza Race tires for summer and track conditions, and the Blizzak LM005 tire for winter driving.

The tires, designed to optimize the supercar’s performance across various conditions, were developed using Bridgestone’s virtual tire development (VTD) technology. This technology, used at Bridgestone’s R&D center in Italy, aims to enhance efficiency and sustainability by reducing the need for physical prototypes and vehicle tests, thus lowering raw material consumption and CO₂ emissions during the development process.

“After the Lamborghini Huracán STO, Tecnica, Sterrato, Huracán EVO and the V12 Hybrid HPEV Lamborghini Revuelto, the Temerario is the latest Lamborghini super sportscar to be equipped with bespoke Bridgestone tires as original equipment,” explained Steven De Bock, vice president original equipment at Bridgestone EMEA.

“Its twin-turbo V8 hybrid powertrain with three electric motors makes the Temerario part of a new generation of hybrid HPEVs offering class-beating performance. As Lamborghini’s official technical partner, we’re very excited to continue our journey together as we push the boundaries of electrification and advance a new era of sustainable motorsports.”

The tires will be available in eight sizes across 20” and 21” dimensions and will be manufactured in Europe.

The post Bridgestone will supply tires for Lamborghini’s Temerario supercar appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

The Touring and Automobile Club of Peru (TACP) has received the FIA’s José Abed Award, in recognition of its safe driving program Vía Rápida a la Seguridad.

The award was introduced in 2023, in memory of José Abed, the former president of Omdai and Mexico F1 promoter. Each year, the award is given to a motorsport club that has driven progress across knowledge-promotion, motor sport participation, regional empowerment, or sport and mobility synergy within North and South America.

TACP’s program – Vía Rápida a la Seguridad – provides training for school-aged karting drivers. Judges of the awards noted that the program helps to encourage synergies between sport and mobility.

The award was presented during the FIA’s American Congress, an annual event held for mobility and motorsport clubs within North and South America. Brazilian Club CBA and TACP Paraguay were also finalists for the award.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who presented the award, said, “I am delighted to present the second annual Jose Abed award, in memory of my great friend and colleague. TACP’s spectacular work promoting safe driving is a spectacular tribute to Mr Abed, and his lifetime of hard work within the sector.”

Iván Dibós, president of TACP, said, “We feel truly proud of what we have achieved. We are sharing experiences with other clubs and that is reflected in our results.”

The post FIA José Abed award presented to Touring and Automobile Club of Peru for safe driving program appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

Please see the video, with English subtitles, describing the partnership and Ituran’s technology

Vehicle telematics company Ituran Location and Control has partnered with Microsoft and Porsche to bring real-time data telemetry technology to the 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup. This collaboration leverages real-time data collection, transmission and cloud-based analysis, enabling racing teams to optimize performance during races.

The Porsche Carrera Cup is a motor racing series dedicated to Porsche sports cars, focusing on Porsche 911 GT3 vehicles. All the vehicles competing are identical, meaning that success largely depends on the skill of the driver and the strategy of the team and its engineers.

The partnership has enabled live data telemetry from all racing vehicles, which is collected and transmitted via the public mobile network in real time to the Microsoft Azure cloud, through an Ituran telematics device installed and connected inductively to the Porsche sportscar’s data network.

Porsche engineering teams can use the data to make fast and informed decisions during races. The technology also enables teams to increase safety by diagnosing vehicle malfunctions during races, to prevent damage to cars and potential driver injury.

Eyal Sheratzky, CEO of Ituran, said, “We see the transformative impact of this technology to the Porsche Carrera Cup, by empowering the racing teams to make key real-time strategic decisions through instant, data-driven insights that can determine the outcome of a race. This project reflects our vision for the future, continually innovating for the connected-car and bringing the very latest technologies to Ituran’s products and services. We are already looking to leverage the new capabilities developed for this project throughout our business.”

The technology was tested throughout the 2023 season in Brazil, and for the current 2024 season of the Porsche Carrera Cup it is currently fully operational in Brazil, Argentina and Portugal.

“We are incredibly proud to be part of this pioneering initiative, working with leading car manufacturer Porsche, as well as the world’s leading software company, Microsoft. Furthermore, motorsports represent the cutting-edge of what is possible in 2024 and the fact that Ituran technology is the heart of the Porsche racing car telemetry system, demonstrates our technological leadership,” Sheratzky added.

The post Real-time telemetry technology introduced to Porsche Carrera Cup appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

BMW M Motorsport is currently developing a new entry-level car to expand its portfolio of customer racing vehicles. This new model, to be used from the 2026 season, will join the ranks of the BMW M235i Racing, BMW M240i Racing, and BMW M2 CS Racing, which have been engineered to provide a technically advanced entry point into motorsport.

Björn Lellmann, head of customer racing at BMW M Motorsport, said, “Proximity to our customers is one of the maxims we pursue at BMW M Motorsport. From our point of view, this also includes offering a car for grassroots racing that teams and newcomers to racing can afford and that at the same time offers them BMW M Motorsport technology at the highest level.

“Accordingly, we are delighted to be able to announce a successor model to the BMW M235i Racing, BMW M240i Racing, and BMW M2 CS Racing at this point. Our engineers are already working intensively at this early stage of development to optimally prepare the car for customer use.”

Further details about the new entry-level car will be announced at a later date.

The post BMW M Motorsport develops new entry-level racing model appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.