Month: December 2022

Klara Andersson and Nasser Al-Attiyah have won the Extreme E season finale in Uruguay. The much-celebrated triumph was the first victory for Team ABT CUPRA XE in the young championship for all-electric off-road racing cars and the perfect end to a season of ups and downs. In the final, the Swedish-Qatari team beat new champion Sébastien Loeb, among others, in only their second weekend together.

“Today is a day full of emotions for me,” says Klara Andersson. “I’ve been following Extreme E for a long time and was hoping for my chance – now I’ve got it in this great team, and I’ve given everything to make the most of it. The success belongs to the entire team, who welcomed me so warmly and supported me together with Nasser.” Klara Andersson had only spontaneously stepped in for regular driver Jutta Kleinschmidt at the last event on Saturday morning and has now completed her first full race weekend with ABT CUPRA XE in Uruguay. Her times in each session were among the fastest among the female drivers and also among some male drivers.

Nasser Al-Attiyah, who has won the legendary Dakar Rally four times in his long career, among others, pressed a big kiss on the cheek of his 22-year-old teammate while still on the podium. “I’m just happy that we finally have our first win under our belt. We’ve been fast all season, but it has never all come together,” said Al-Attiyah. “Klara did a fantastic job, was fast, aggressive at the right moments and always stayed cool.”

The road to the first off-road victory in ABT’s recent history was not without challenges: Although Andersson and Al-Attiyah finished both qualifying sessions in first place, they were set back by controversial time penalties and therefore had to fight their way into the final through the more competitive semi-final. There they met, among others, the new champions of Lewis Hamilton’s Team X44. Already at the start, Al-Attiyah prevailed against the four competitors with brave manoeuvres and handed over the CUPRA Tavascan XE in first position to Andersson. She left no stone unturned in her seven or so kilometres, extending her lead and taking the win.

“Congratulations to Klara, Nasser and the entire team in Uruguay. This triumph was overdue and highly deserved,” said ABT CEO Thomas Biermaier. “Our whole company watched the race at home and cheered along. This was the perfect conclusion to our second Extreme E season. It’s nice to see how the series is always evolving, breaking new ground and attracting more and more attention.”

ABT’s team for the company’s Formula E comeback is coming together: These days, the latest addition, Frederic Espinos, is experiencing his first working days at the Kempten Motorsport Center – he is the new Sporting Director at ABT and responsible for all sporting matters of the team in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The Frenchman was the Sporting Director of the Formula E organization for a good four years, and before that, he had accompanied the series as an FIA manager since its inception. Espinos’ counterpart as Technical Director is Marc Wewel, who moved from Audi to ABT and serves as Formula E Project Leader.

“We have valued Fred as a trustworthy, open and absolutely competent partner since the founding days of Formula E – regardless of the constellation in which we have worked together,” says ABT CEO Thomas Biermaier. “That’s why we are happy that we managed to get him to join us for our comeback. He knows the series with all its challenges inside out. The same goes for Marc, whom we have known well for a long time and who fits in perfectly to the squad. Both will play central roles in our team with their experience and skills.”

Fred Espinos, who will be working mainly from Kempten from now on, felt at home from the first moment. “You can immediately sense the successful history at ABT and with what passion motorsport is lived by everyone. Everyone puts their heart and soul into their work,” says Espinos. “For me, the start of a new Formula E era is the perfect time for this new challenge. I’ve been warmly welcomed and am delighted to now be able to join in the excitement and fight for success as part of a racing team.”

Marc Wewel has been a member of the ABT Motorsport family since the beginning of July. Exciting months lie behind him. “I was one of the first new employees after the comeback was announced. That’s why the first thing was to build and form a strong team,” says Wewel, who was previously with Audi in the LMP and Formula E projects. “It’s a lot of fun to work with this small but agile and decisive squad at ABT. We still have a long to-do list ahead of us before we go to the official testing and then the first race, but you can feel the anticipation growing in everyone.”

Finale of a season with ups and downs: This weekend, ABT CUPRA XE will start in Punta del Este (Uruguay) for the last race of the second Extreme E season. As was the case last time out in Chile, 22-year-old Swede Klara Andersson will compete alongside Nasser Al-Attiyah in the CUPRA Tavascan XE. A new feature of the season finale: For the first time, up to 10,000 fans will be at the track.

“Punta is a great location for the finale – especially because we will even have fans there for the first time,” says ABT CEO Thomas Biermaier. “In sporting terms, we want to end this season on a high and take a sense of achievement into the short winter break. A place on the podium and fighting for victory is our goal for Uruguay.”

The so-called Energy X Prix will be held on a course about a 20-minute drive northeast of downtown Punta del Este. The surface is a mixture of grass and gravel, and it can quickly become muddy when it rains. Only a road separates the track and the paddock from the kilometre-long beach.

In Extreme E, ten teams – including the teams of former Formula 1 world champions Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg – battle to win the championship. In each case, a woman and a man take turns at the wheel. After the season opener in Saudi Arabia in February, two races in July on Sardinia and the debut in Chile’s Atacama Desert in September, Uruguay will be the venue for the finale.

ABT Sportsline has good memories of Punta del Este: ABT driver Lucas di Grassi has already stood on the podium there during the early years of Formula E. The backdrop of the coastal town with its rough surf, which is popular with tourists throughout South America, is unique. An additional highlight: on the Thursday before the race, all ten teams drive through the town in their race cars to promote the weekend’s event and Extreme E.

Vans with combustion engines emit considerable amounts of CO2. Although battery-based electric drives are locally emission-free, they are only an alternative within certain range limits and recharging takes a lot of time. After all, daily distances of 800 km are common in express logistics, for example, which would require battery sizes of 300 kWh without a charging stop. A comparison with the passenger car sector shows that this is not feasible in the van class. There, electric cars rarely have battery capacities of more than 100 kWh, even in the premium segment. “We therefore see a sensible area of application for the hydrogen fuel cell in long-distance logistics,” says Eric Plekkepoel, CEO of ABT e-Line GmbH, a subsidiary of the ABT Group that specialises in alternative drives. The company has gained a lot of experience in the integration of fuel cell drives in two large Tier 1 projects in the last three years. In the next step, two series-produced e-transporters were converted as demonstrator vehicles with this technology. These were presented for the first time at the IAA Transportation trade fair in Hanover at the end of September. The market demand is so great that ABT e-Line decided to start series development with partners.

When setting up the demonstrator vehicles, the Kempten-based company took over the vehicle integration of the fuel cell system, the safety concept of the entire vehicle, the complete manufacturing process and the road approval. Furthermore, a 700-bar hydrogen tank system was integrated. Two to seven storage tanks can be refuelled in a few minutes. Due to the vehicle architecture and the available installation space, the conversions were a challenge. However, the effort was more than worth it: by implementing the new drive concept, a range increase of several hundred kilometres was achieved. Refuelling is now even necessary later than with comparable diesel models.
Even if the future of mobility will be predominantly battery-electric for efficiency reasons, the fuel cell offers enormous potential for niche applications, especially in the van sector. The energy density typical of hydrogen, which is far from being possible with current battery technology, is a real USP here when range is important. In addition, refuelling is much quicker than recharging batteries. ABT e-Line takes on the role of a technology driver and expert for the conception and realisation of market-ready small series for fuel cell drives.

Webcon is delighted to announce the introduction of two superb quality fuel pressure gauges.

Both gauges are liquid filled to ensure consistent results, and feature 1/8 NPT threaded
adaptors to fit most gauge adaptors and fuel pressure regulators on the market.

The gauges are Webcon branded to distinguish them from lesser quality units and are extremely
competitively priced.

Both gauges are available from stock, and order details are as follows:

Part No: WFR150 • System type: Carburettor • Pressure Range: 0-15 PSI • Price (excl vat): £19.79
Part No: WFR151 • System type: EFI • Pressure Range: 0-8 bar • Price (excl vat): £20.89

Available directly from Webcon and from appointed Webcon dealers around the world.
For further details contact Webcon UK on +44 (0)1932 787100 or visit www.webcon.co.uk

Webcon has a limited quantity of top cover assemblies for the Weber Marelli 34CFM throttle body as fitted to the following Ford models:
• Fiesta • Escort • Orion • Transit

The assembly is supplied complete with:
• Fuel injector type IWM025 blue top
• Injector harness
• Air temperature sensor
• Fuel pressure regulator assembly.

Fuel injectors have not been available for these applications for many years, so this assembly will provide a very cost effective method of effectively overhauling a faulty throttle body.
Part number is 3170624402 and is available from stock priced at £251.16 plus VAT.

Available directly from Webcon and from appointed Webcon dealers around the world.
For further details contact Webcon UK on +44 (0)1932 787100 or visit www.webcon.co.uk

Mini Spares can now offer Evolution electronic distributors that are specifically designed to match the Mini Spares Evolution001 cam profiles on modified and updated classic Minis.

There are three types available:

C-27H7701 – For standard to 276 lift profiles up to Mini Spares Evolution Cam MDM276
and Piper equivalent Retail price: £99.00 incl. VAT
C-27H7702 – For 285 – 296 lift profiles. Retail price: £90.00 incl. VAT
C-27H7703 – For 310 – 315 racing lift profiles. Retail price: £97.20 incl. VAT

Mini Spares Evolution001 cam prices start at £95.04 inc. VAT

For more details contact Mini Spares on
+44 1707 607700 or visit their website: www.minispares.com

Mini Spares special baulk rings are CNC grooved and precision machined for concentricity. They use the original type fixings to ensure that the correct areas receive heat treatment. They are similar to the pre 2000 Genuine Rover product in terms of performance and reliability and are better and cheaper than the later Rover product which proved to be unreliable in service.

This type of baulk (synchro) ring has been the same since 1962 except for changing from steel to sintered. The rings slow down the gears to ensure that they mesh without crashing. They have a friction surface that is the first thing to engage with the next gear when shifting. The height that the ring sits proud of the cone surface indicates the wear, but the common sense approach is to replace them sooner rather than later.

Order as 22G2033EVO. Retail price £15.66 inc VAT each. Four are required per car.

NB: These are the Mini Spares version of the genuine Rover sintered type but for a metal upgrade based on the original type used on 1960’s Coopers, Mini Spares can supply part number C-22A1741.

For more details contact Mini Spares on
+44 1707 607700 or visit their website: www.minispares.com

Alpina is widely known as the ‘factory recognised’ source of BMW tuning and M-Style is proud to be able to offer this genuine Alpina G30 front splitter.

The splitter Is made of ABS plastic and naturally comes with a complete fitting kit.

The Alpina front splitter fits all BMW G30 / G31 pre-LCI SE models and as you would expect from Alpina the fit is superb. (Alpina also offer a different splitter for the LCI facelift versions). These are brand new products and prices were not available at time of printing.
Please contact M-Style or see website for price.
­For further details e-mail info@mstyle.co.uk or call 0208 598 9115

The MGF was fitted with a ‘Hydragas’ suspension system employing interconnected fluid and gas displacers which provided a surprisingly compliant ride and could be tuned to provide good handling characteristics. However, it must have had its problems because when the MGF was replaced by the MG TF in 2002 the Hydragas suspension was replaced by conventional coil springs.

MGF owners can now have the relability of conventional dampers combined with the benefit of bump and rebound adjustability by fitting GAZ GT adjustable dampers.

GAZ fully adjustable GT dampers enable the damping bump and rebound rate to be adjusted to suit the conditions and driving style by means of an easily accessible knob on the side.

GAZ can set the dampers up with valving for general road use, but they will also be suitable for the occasional track slalom and sprint use; alternatively, they can be set up for serious racing use if you so wish.

GAZ GT dampers feature a zinc plated body and have a protective plastic sleeve to keep them looking good and working well for long into the future.

All units are individually tested before leaving the factory and are covered by a two year warranty

GAZ adjustable dampers for all models of the MGF from 1995 on:
Order as GT2-4621 – Front and GT2-4621- Rear. Both retail at £63.73 each + carriage & VAT.

For further details visit the GAZ website: www.gazshocks.com