Day 3 of the e-miglia 2011: Bolzano – St. Moritz Precision driving by Tim Ruhoff in the Safety Park

Day 3 of the e-miglia 2011: Bolzano – St. Moritz Precision driving by Tim Ruhoff in the Safety Park                   

• Rally for electric vehicles August 1st - 5th, 2011
• The finish is within reach 
• The 31 protagonists: C-Zero, Electric RaceAbout, eMini, E-M3, eRuf, i-Miev, iON, Jetcar, Mega Van, Nissan Leaf, Raleigh Dover, Smart, Stromos, Tesla, Think, Tazzari, Twike
• Constancy rally through four alpine countries: D-AUT-I-CH
• Equal-zero emission: 800 km from Munich, over the Grossglockner and Bolzano to St. Moritz

Freshly re-charged into the circuit

Thursday, August 4th in Bolzano. After a long and difficult stage across the Grossglockner, the e-migliaisti left for the Safety Park in the morning. The constancy test on the driving safety premises is coming up. All participants become acquainted with the circuit. Afterwards everyone does two additional rounds individually.  The first round determines the time, which the driver has to exactly repeat in the second round. For Kurt Sigl from Team Bundesverband eMobilität (Starting no. 31) this test is the highlight of the rally. "The circuit is really fun. I've already driven some rallies, but never a constancy rally. It's difficult to discipline yourself. Sigl’s credo is, remain calm and drive with a stop watch. His son supports him as his co-driver, presses down and tells the time. As the President of BEM, he wishes to unveil the topic e-mobility, which is also the reason why he's participating today. He wasn't able to hold on to the second place, but he's still well positioned in third. Jetcar (Starting no. 14) has gotten better. Last year, they were unfortunately eliminated due to "water damage". This year, Lars Krueger and Christian Wenger-Rosenau moved into second position on the third day of the e-miglia 2011. They missed their circuit time by only two hundredth. A bit of luck played a part here, because this test was new to the Jetcar Team, so they had never practiced before. The orange vehicle which visually reminds one of a glider, has definitely improved. A range up to 250 km and a maximum speed of 180 kmh offer the driver a lot of driving fun at zero-emission!  

Durchmarsch?

Unchanged, titleholder Tim Ruhoff, Team Energiebau/NextGM is in the lead. Precise driving, good preparation and lots of training together with the co-pilot pay off. In the Safety Park he hit his self-determined time precisely, so that the professional time keepers of the AvD gave respectful kudos. Ruhoff: "My co-pilot Stephan Willemsen does 95% here, he keeps me on track, I just follow his readings. Of course I am hoping to drive poised and very economical on the final day, so that we win, but we're not safe yet." Close on his heels is Eric Comas, who has driven himself from 12th into 5th place. Will the former Formula 1 driver become dangerous to Ruhoff on the last day?

"The biker is degrading us all" 

These words were said with joy and respect by Walter Fuzzy Kofler, Team Autotest Motorsport from South Tyrol. He doesn't have to take cover either with his current excellent 4th place. The biker, none other than Michael Buse, has recovered from yesterday's strains and managed the route across the Ofen Pass to St. Moritz.

In der last round, the route leads into the Engadin across beautiful passes and gorgeous nature, which won't be polluted by the quiet and clean rally troop. 

The results on 4.8.2011 / Day 3:

1. Tim Ruhoff, Team Energiebau/NextGM, Tesla - the titleholder 
2. Lars Krüger, Team Jetcar, Jetcar
3. Kurt Sigl, Team Bundesverband eMobilität, Tesla 
4. Fuzzy Walter Kofler, Team Autotest Motorsport, Think City
5. Eric Comas, Team Green Cars Challenge, Tesla

Upcoming: Engadin - St. Moritz on August 5th, the final day of the e-miglia 2011.

More information, the entire list of results and extensive TV, as well as image material at: www.e-miglia.com

____________________________________________________________________________________ The e-miglia is the first international e-rally for electric vehicles exclusively. She originated in 2010 with the goal to demonstrate to the world the efficiency and attractiveness of e-mobility in an exciting as well as emotional environment. The e-miglia is an initiative of the Rebel Group and the Schalber Event GmbH. In 2010 e-miglia meant: at least 560 km through three Alpine countries on four days across many passes and in any weather. A task   no e-mobile had to perform in a sportive competition until then. The second e-miglia, from August 1st through the 5th, 2011, will make even   more demands on the participants.  In addition, the e-miglia offers a future-oriented platform for companies and service providers from all   segments of e-mobility to portray themselves positively and powerfully, so that consumption interest and buying incentive are created within   the general public. The e-miglia combines the look of classic rallies with the technology of the future. The concept of the e-miglia was first presented at the trade show in Friedrichshafen in 2009 as part of the-electric-avenue Expo, which   celebrated its premiere there as the world’s first independent expo for sustainable mobility. She combines all aspects, branches of trade and   industry sectors of electric mobility into an integrated concept and is the first purely electric vehicle trade show. The tea expo is an initiative   and registered trademark of the Rebel Media Group.