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Porsche Taycan plays important role in Formula E as Official Safety Car

Besides having a works team in the Formula E World Championship for single-seater all-electric racing cars, Porsche also has a second car that sometimes leads in the races. It’s a Taycan which the sportscar maker has supplied for use as the Official Safety Car and it’s most appropriate since it too has a fully electric powertrain.

As the Official Safety Car, the Taycan is deployed from the pitlane whenever there is an incident to manage the cars on the track. This is to allow marshals to remove a car that has had an accident or to carry out other duties in safety, and the cars must follow behind the Safety Car.

First season for the Taycan
Porsche supplied two units of the Taycan Turbo S which began their duties at the first round of the latest season in Saudi Arabia in January. It is designed to be more than just the Formula E Safety Car and the striking paintwork flies the colours of all 11 teams competing in the championship, as well as the colours of the FIA and Formula E. The number 22 acknowledges the performance of the 22 drivers who contest the series this season.

“We’re proud that Formula E has entrusted a Porsche with this task – one that is important for the safety of its drivers,” said Thomas Laudenbach, Vice-President Porsche Motorsport. “With the Taycan Turbo S as the Official Safety Car, we’re making an important contribution to track safety and also underlining the importance of Formula E for Porsche Motorsport. The distinctive design illustrates our commitment to the successful future of this innovative racing series. Although we’re rivals out on the track, we’re spreading this message to the world together. What’s more, we hope that this also enables us to appeal to a younger target audience who are not yet motorsport fans.”

High performance necessary for Safety Car
A Safety Car must have a level of performance which enables it to lead the racing cars around at a brisk pace, and also have driving dynamics that allows it to negotiate a track at high speeds. The Taycan definitely meets this requirement with its driveability as well as its output of up to 560 kW (761 ps). With Launch Control, the flagship model of the Taycan range can go from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 260 km/h.

To prepare the Taycan Turbo S for its role as a Safety Car required the installation of a roll-cage and racing bucket seats with 6-point seatbelts for the crew. Additionally, wire harnesses for the Safety Car lighting and the Marelli Logger System were needed and flashing lights were integrated into the bumpers. The new workplace of Bruno Correia, the long-standing Formula E Safety Car driver, was also equipped with a fire extinguisher and a high-tech communications system.

Porsche team on home ground
The Porsche Taycan Safety Car will be seen at the historic Tempelhof airport in Berlin this weekend, on standby at rounds 7 and 8 of Season 8 of the Formula E World Championship. TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team drivers Pascal Wehrlein and Andre Lotterer will be aiming to build on the historic 1-2 achieved at round 3 in Mexico City, the first ever win for the team.

“For us as a German team, the races in Berlin are the most important of the year. I have good memories of the event and was already on the podium there,” said Lotterer. “Driving races at home and especially in front of the home fans is a very special motivation. It would be fantastic to get another win, this time on home soil,” added Wehrlein.

*In earlier years, the BMW i8 (above) was used as the Official Safety Car and more recently, the MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW (below) took on the role.*

Formula E Gen3 racing car unveiled, to be used from Season 9 in 2023

BMW M2 CS Racing Is Official Safety Car of 2022 MotoGP

Since 1999, BMW M has been a partner of MotoGP and that commitment continues in 2022 with a new Official Car. It is a first in the BMW M safety car fleet as the M2 CS Racing is the first thoroughbred racing car to be used as the lead car in the series. It heads the fleet of powerful BMW M safety cars in the 2022 season which begins on March 6 with the Grand Prix of Qatar.

“M stands for Motorsport – something we are underlining with the new BMW M2 CS Racing MotoGP Safety Car,” said Franciscus van Meel, CEO of BMW M GmbH. “BMW M GmbH combines high-performance production automobiles and motorsport under one roof. It is for this reason that we selected a race car from our BMW M Motorsport range to be the new MotoGP Safety Car – an appropriate choice to mark the 50th anniversary.”

“The BMW M2 CS Racing has been successful in a wide range of championships – and, as a thoroughbred race car, is perfectly suited to leading the field as the safety car in the pinnacle of motorcycle racing. We are looking forward to our 24th season as ‘Official Car of MotoGP’ and to seeing the BMW M2 CS Racing in action as a safety car for the first time in Qatar,” he added.

The M2 CS Racing is part of BMW M Motorsport’s extensive range of racing cars. It is successful in championships around the world, and there are also multiple international and national one-make cups featuring the car. BMW M Motorsport drivers and teams also score points towards the BMW Sports Trophy on their outings with the M2 CS Racing.

As well as an engine generating up to 450 ps (depending on the version), the racing car also has motorsport-specific driving aids like ABS and DSC, a mechanical limited-slip differential with pre-load and separate cooling, as well as specially manufactured drive shafts and a carbonfibre roof.

For its role as the MotoGP Safety Car, the M2 CS Racing only required modifications in a few areas, including the addition of light bars and front lights. The livery of the new safety car is a reference to the 50th anniversary and based on the anniversary logo of BMW M GmbH.

Completing the BMW M fleet for the 2022 MotoGP season are the M3 Competition Safety Car, the M4 Competition Safety Car, the M5 CS Safety Car, the M8 Competition Gran Coupe Safety Car, the X5 M Competition Medical Car, and two M 1000 RR Safety Bikes. The fully-electric i4 M50 Safety Car will also lead the field in the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup, the electric motorcycle series held on the MotoGP support programme.

BMW M to unveil i4 M50 as new Safety Car for MotoE World Cup

MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW is the new Formula E Safety Car

*Visit www.bhpetrol.com.my for more information.*

After providing a BMW i8 as the Official Safety Car for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship since 2014, the BMW Group is now providing a new car as the i8 is no longer in production. The i8 was an appropriate car for the all-electric single-seater series as it was world’s bestselling plug-in electric sportscar, with over 20,000 units sold worldwide.

*BMW i8 Safety Car leading Formula E cars during a race.*

For the new Safety Car, the MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW will be used. The car was created out of the new MINI Cooper SE as part of an unprecedented collaboration between MINI Design, BMW Motorsport, the FIA and the Formula E. It connects the brand’s electrified future with the rich racing history of John Cooper Works.

The new Safety Car will see action for the first time in Rome on April 10 at the second event (Race 3) of Formula E’s 2021 season.

“We have already shown how well driving fun and electric mobility go together with the MINI Electric,” says Bernd Korber, Head of MINI. “However, the MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW goes at least a step further and blends the performance character of the John Cooper Works brand with electric mobility.”

He added that this extreme version of the MINI Electric has been developed as the Safety Car for Formula E, and is clearly not intended for use on public roads. “But it does reveal one of the directions we could take with the electrification of the JCW brand. For me, the message is clear: electrification and John Cooper Works are a good fit,” said Korber.

Dynamism maximised
The exterior of the MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW has been purpose-built for life on the racetrack and represents the most dynamic interpretation yet of a MINI with all-electric power. “The design is an exciting symbiosis of technical precision and emotion,” explained Oliver Heilmer, Head of MINI Design. “Here, function dictates form, and many design elements have been shaped by technical considerations. For example, we worked closely with our colleagues at BMW Motorsport to develop the form of the wheel arches and front and rear aprons, and the optimisation programme for them included weight-saving measures. This visually striking, technically precise design language gives the car its pervasive sense of emotional engagement and excitement.”

Signature JCW elements, such as wheelarches adapted to the car’s track width and the deep front apron with additional front splitters to the left and right enhance the sporting visuals of the front end. The blanked off ‘radiator grille’ and MINI Electric logo point to the electric ‘heart’ of the Safety Car.

As virtually no drive system cooling is required through the upper area of the grille, the front end is largely enclosed to aid aerodynamics. The only exceptions are the area below the grille and the eye-catching, almost squared-off apertures for brake cooling. The Safety Car’s white flashing lights are integrated harmoniously into the bonnet. Characteristic MINI bonnet stripes extend over the roof to the rear end.

Showcasing MINI’s racing genes
The interplay of geometrically accentuated spats (with carefully placed aero edges) and sporty side skirts gives the car the appearance of powering forward. Together with the increased-diameter wheels, which almost fill the wheelarches, these elements strengthen the time-honoured MINI ‘stance on the wheels’.

The spats and spoilers are made – or more precisely 3D-printed from recycled. Yellow accent lines and surfaces on the aero elements (eg the spats, skirts and rear wing) provide a nod to the airflow optimisation taking place in these areas and add a visual flourish to the air deflectors and aero edges. The lightweight 18-inch forged wheels in bi-colour black-neon/orange design bring significant visual depth and added intricacy to the 4-spoke items from the MINI John Cooper Works GP.

The respective colour worlds of the MINI Electric and John Cooper Works brand merge into a single statement. The main body colour is a matt silver which extends back beyond the centrepoint of the car. A high-gloss wrap with a 2-stage colour gradient – from Highspeed Orange to Curbside Red – then covers the rest of the body to the rear. The contrast between matt and gloss surfaces brings extra smoothness to the silhouette, while the clear, diagonal separation lines between the different colours injects further dynamism.

On the flanks, a chequered flag-inspired pattern shares the stage with a large MINI Electric logo, which can also be found in the radiator grille, on the roof and at the rear end. The Safety Car brief also brings regulations-specific and sponsor-related graphics, which add further visual intensity to the car’s racing character.

Broad eye-catching rear
The rear end in black and Curbside Red met. uses yellow accent surfaces to extend the eye-catching design language from the front end and flanks. The prominent roof-mounted rear wing with air through-flow and yellow accent lines also integrates the signal light unit and was 3D-printed at the MINI factory in England. The rear apron has cut-outs around the wheels, clearing the view to the higher-grip racing tyres. Between the wheels sits an unadorned diffuser. When the car is viewed from this angle, the accents in Energetic Yellow and lack of exhaust tailpipes identify this as a car powered by an electric drive system.

Maximum reduction inside
As with racing cars, the interior is stripped to the absolute essentials and only the front seats remain. The driver’s area consists of a certified seat with 6-point belt approved for both racing and road use, a steering wheel with minimalist-design carbonfibre impact absorber and a digital instrument cluster. The central information display makes way for a carbonfibre cover here to further reduce weight. The centre console houses the gearshift lever, handbrake and controls for the necessary signal lights – all in exposed carbonfibre. The minimally trimmed carbonfibre door panels with window and door openers contain cloth straps to make closing the doors easier.

Another central feature of the interior is the welded-in roll cage, which maximises safety. And the remainder of the almost bare interior structure is also painted in typical racing white (for functional reasons).

Light and very powerful
Rigorous adherence to lightweight design principles gives the Safety Car a kerb weight of approximately 1,230 kgs – which makes it about 130 kgs lighter than the standard Cooper SE. The drive system – also based on that found in the Cooper SE – produces 135 kW (equivalent to about 185 ps) and 280 Nm, which enables the car to sprint go from standstill to 100 km/h in a claimed 6.7 seconds. As with the Safety Car in Formula 1, the MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW will have to be capable of a high speed if it is leading the racing cars around the track.