Julian Turner - Westfield Sportscars Ltd Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 CAR DELAY FORCES EVCUP TO PULL THE PLUG ON 2011 RACE SERIES LAUNCH London (October 7, 2011) - Organisers of the EVCUP, the world’s first zero emission circuit electric car race series, have been forced to pull the plug on their plans to start racing in California at the end of this year. Delays in final production of the electric cars to be used for the pioneering race series have left EVCUP with no choice but to abandon plans for this year. The news comes just four months after the series had to call off its European races for the same reason. EVCUP Managing Director Sylvain Filippi said: “We are bitterly disappointed to have to take this decision but we felt it was the only practical decision we could take given delays in finalisation of cars which would need to be shipped from the UK. “We have done all we can to make these events possible but we could not go ahead with an event when we do not have full confidence in the cars being used to operate at the highest level of performance and reliability. It would do harm to everyone’s interests including those of our commercial partners. We will now refocus our energies to the future.” It was at the UK based Autosport International exhibition in January that the EVCUP series was first launched. The plan was for zero emission race days based on Think city cars and high performance Westfield iRacers together with other prototype cars. Julian Turner, Managing Director of UK based Westfield Sportscars, explained: “We are breaking new ground in producing high performance EVs and want to ensure the cars have unquestionable reliability and performance.” EVCUP had races planned at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on November 26 and Auto Club Speedway, Los Angeles on December 17. Future plans will be announced in due course. ends ABOUT EV CUP Electric Vehicle Cup (EVCUP) presents the world’s first circuit racing series based totally around zero-emission electric cars, providing the platform for sustainable motorsport. www.evcup.com FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Stuart Higgins: stuart@stuart-higgins.com Freddie Abrahams: freddie@stuart-higgins.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Loudon - Sponsorship Liaison Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Pull the plug! - love it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lippydave Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Pull the plug! - love it Do you think the news came as a shock?.....(Groan!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asterix Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Pull the plug! - love it Do you think the news came as a shock?.....(Groan!) Ohm my god Hope the organisers don't face any more resistance in the current financial climate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SootySport Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Should be some Short races when the series evetually starts, could race Alternating years, gives them a chance to charge up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott beeland Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 So Westfield didn't get the cars ready in time then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark (smokey mow) Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 So Westfield didn't get the cars ready in time then If my understanding of this is correct, the regulations for racing in the US were changed at the last minute leaving little time for the cars to be adapted and tested in rediness for their reliability and competiveness. It's unfortunate this seasons events had to be cancelled but I can understand a decison that a manufacturer and the series organiser would not want to be developing a car in public and the potential for any bad press this may attract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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