The ELE Rally will go on an electric tour this weekend. In addition to the traditional races, electric cars are also being driven for the first time. The racing event in the southeast of Brabant thus has a Dutch first. A ‘home rally’ for driver Jari van Hoof (19) from Wintelre.
Jari is the son of rally driver Piet van Hoof from Wintelre. Senior has won the ELE Rally twice in the past. Now his son is going to try it in the electric variant with his Opel Corsa-e.
Last year Van Hoof junior made his debut in the ‘normal’ class of the ELE. “The car doesn’t matter to me. I want to get from A to B as quickly as possible, whether that is with an electric car or another.”
“This could be the future.”
Due to a crash last year during the ELE, his father cannot participate this year, but according to Jari he is on the side to encourage him. “He is very fanatical and does not want to miss it. He also likes the electric class. It’s innovation, it’s the future, so we’re going with it.”
They are very proud of the scoop when organizing the ELE-rally. “This could be the future. Experience gained here is used for the car of later. It is fantastic that we, as an event in Brabant, can contribute to this,” says ELE chairman Radboud van Hoek.
“During the rally, we will use as much electricity as about a thousand households.”
But for such an electric race, a little more has to be organized than cordoning off a stretch of road or an area. The electric cars cannot cover such long distances.
That is why a complete mobile charging station for charging eighteen cars at the same time has been built on the industrial estate in Best. A power guzzler that has to fill up the electric cars quickly. “The cars have to be charged in twenty to thirty minutes in order to be able to drive 160 kilometers again. To make a comparison: during the rally we use as much electricity as about a thousand households.”
A test that may soon be within reach for everyone with an electric car. “The technology that is being tested here can be applied in everyone’s home in one or two years. The intention is that we will soon be able to fully charge the car at home within twenty minutes.”
“They can even make a V8 sound in it if they want.”
Racing is about speed and the sound of a roaring engine. But the experience of the sound is taken away with the electric cars. “The sound is gone. We often hear that. And people are somewhat right about that.”
But they found a solution: “These cars make an artificial sound. There is a speaker in it, both for safety and for the racing experience. They can even make the sound of a V8 engine in it if they want,” the chairman says with a laugh.
At the ELE they are completely ready for the new (rally) driving. A fully electric ELE in ten years? Van Hoekt thinks not. “It will be a mix of electric driving, with fuel and hydrogen.”
