Season 3 episode 3 - Motor racing: laboratory for tomorrow's mobility

ROMAIN:

I grew up in an environment where racing was something normal

I was born in Les Mans. My parents worked around the track, and that was kind of my DNA.

And probably because I was not good behind the wheel it was easier to be an engineer.

Endurance racing is very specific. We like to say it is the most difficult race.

It's not just about speed, it’s about endurance, durability, and efficiency.

The first feeling when we tried to introduce the sustainable fuel was scary.

Will the fuel be good enough? Will we have enough time?

The fuel we have developed today will contribute to advanced sustainability on roads worldwide.

ROMAIN:

A lot of things about Sebring are unique. A lot of people can have access to the grid, pitlane or even the paddock.

The track itself is hard. In Sebring they say, "respect the bumps".

It's the first team reaching one thousand miles, or there will be a limit of 8 hours of race.

I joined TotalEnergies in 2008. I moved to the motorsport division and tried to push the technology to be on the edge and bring the latest and most improved product on track.

It's now more than twenty-five years of TotalEnergies support partnership with Peugeot.

They've got a long knowledge of endurance racing, very good team spirit, good engineers, good mechanics.

So, we decided in 2022 to introduce a new sustainable racing fuel called the "Excellium Racing 100".

Developed from biomass coming from agricultural waste or wine residue.

We have the same performance, the same cleanliness as any other racing fuels.

We're supplying the same fuel for all the competitors. We need to check they are not adding anything.

So, on track we bring a mobile laboratory where we can use the fingerprint of the fuel, and then we can take a sample from all the teams on the podium.

We need to make sure they are using the proper "Excellium Racing 100".

SAFT is an affiliate of TotalEnergies. A very innovative company, and a high knowledge in terms of batteries.

Definitely endurance racing is a strong challenge for the battery. We're using it from eight hours to twenty-four hours.

The SAFT team were able to optimize the battery to be as light as possible and also as small as possible for Peugeot on their car.

ALEX BYNUM:

It's important that you look at the data after each race. We're looking at data that compares energy density and durability.

We want the most performance, but the most performance that will last over a whole series.

ROMAIN:

We are prepared for a long race of 8 hours.

We all like to watch the race as a spectator but that's never the case. Even if everything is going well.

During the race we continually exchange with the Peugeot engineers focusing on the battery on the engine, so yeah, it's a tough race.

Well, I would say the track is our lab. Being an engineer is trying to find the little improvement we can bring to the car.

We've got the same brains working on the road car applications or on the racing applications.

Meaning that even if we are working on sustainable fuel, on battery or even on hydrogen, we will be able to transfer it to the next generation of road cars.