Last updated on February 27th, 2022 at 04:46 pm
British company McMurtry Automotive has developed the first electric track car to be approved for mixed motorsport test days in the UK.
The electric track car called the McMurtry Spéirling participated in a test day alongside combustion cars at Donington Park motorsport circuit in Derby.
While track days solely for EVs already exist, until now, EVs have not been allowed to race on mixed test days due to safety concerns with high voltage batteries impacting driver rescue and fire procedures.
Working closely with management and marshalling teams at MotorSport, McMurtry was able to have its Spéirling meet approval standards by producing training materials for the MSV marshals and adding additional safety features to the car.
Another reason why we have not seen EVs racing on tracks is due to their design. Many EVs do not have sufficient battery capacity and charging capabilities to make a track day worth it.
McMurtry said it overcame this issue “by designing a vehicle so small, light and efficient that it has great range on track and needs fewer breaks to recharge”.
The Spéirling’s full-carbon body is just 3.2m long, 1.05m high and 1.5m wide. Powered by a rear wheel drive two-motor e-axle system, the Spéirling has a 60kWh battery that gives a 350-mile WLTP road equivalent range and a top speed of over 200mph.
McMurtry discovered that the three-phase power found in most pit garages is enough to keep the car topped up between sessions. This meant the company did not experience any infrastructure problems during testing and did not need any DC rapid chargers.