|
 COLORADO
SPRINGS, CO (July 9) -- While setting records is nothing new to the
Hoosier brand, setting them in an electric powered car with a member
of the famed Unser family driving is. The record setting performance
occurred at the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in
beautiful Colorado. The historic 12.42-mile run was a result of the
combination of Hoosier race tires, a battery-powered race car, and the
skill of driver Jeri Unser, daughter of famous race car driver Bobby
Unser. When it was all over, the previous record mark was crushed by
over 45 seconds.
The credit for the record setting run was a collective
effort and can be shared by many--not least of which was the car,
named the Electric Racecar 3 (ER3). The ER3 is powered by 450 lithium
ion battery cells and was jointly developed by LG Chem in Korea and
Compact Power Inc in Colorado.
The ER3 actually smashed its own record set in last
year's race. The red, white and blue #92 climbed the Pikes Peak Hill
in 14 minutes and 33.12 seconds breaking the old pure-electric record
by more than 45 seconds. The race
tests the latest battery technology under extreme driving conditions.
LG Chem's Battery R&D team, under the guidance of Dr. M.H. Kim
also develops low weight, high capacity, and high power batteries for
laptop and cell phone applications. Success on Pikes Peak also serves
notice that LG Chem is a legitimate competitor in the automotive
advanced battery market required by hybrid
electric vehicles requiring batteries that last up to 15 years.
The driver Jeri Unser, daughter of 3-time Indy 500
winner (1968, 1975, 1981) Bobby Unser, masterfully navigated the
electric racer up the 156 turns climbing over 4,708 feet in just 12.42
miles en route to the record setting run.
The tires were selected with the input of Hoosier Road
Racing Product Manager Bruce Foss and Randy Ruyle of Ruyle Racing
Services who helped prep the car for competition. The two decided upon
Hoosier's 20.0 x 6.5 -13 WET (Catalog # 44140) race tires for the
front and 22.0 x 9.0-13 WET (Catalog #44217) race tires for the rear.
Mr. Foss commented, "While we didn't have anything specifically
designed for this application, we felt the aggressive WET tread design
and the softer compound would be well suited to the rigors of the
Pikes Peak climb and the record setting run speaks for
itself."
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is the second
oldest car race in the United States going back some 80 years.
Hoosier Racing Tire is proud to have played a part in the
record-setting run of the ER3 at this year's Pikes Peak International
Hill Climb.
|
