Equipment and personnel will be transported by electric “Capri” and “E-Transit Custom”, as well as the plug-in hybrid “Ranger”. Last week, for a routine race route check to Tartu, they set off with a cargo “E-Transit Custom”.
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Picking up the transit from the Ford dealership, race organizer Darius Grinberg joked that it would “suffer” on such a long trip. Ford declares it can cover about 340 km on a single charge. But we all know that electric cars and WLTP measurements don’t really get along. On the other hand, knowing that the maximum speed in Latvia and Estonia is limited to 90 km/h, he was optimistic.
“It’s almost 540 kilometers to Tartu. I left Vilnius with a 100% charge, but it was clear that the highway to Panevėžys would consume almost all of it.
The electric Transit’s maximum speed is 120 km/h, and at that speed, energy consumption is about 34 kWh, so I knew I would definitely have to charge at the Panevėžys bypass.
I drove early in the morning and planned to have breakfast during the first charging. The plan worked; while I was having breakfast, the electric car charged up to 80%. From the Panevėžys bypass to Tartu, the maximum speed is 90 km/h, so energy consumption dropped to 21 kWh.
I stopped once more in Latvia, in the town of Placis. There is an “Ignitis On” charging station and the legendary Berzi café, famous for its huge schnitzels. Even the smallest was too big for me, so I settled for soup.
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While I was eating, the battery charged enough so that I didn’t need to stop until Tartu. A very similar driving and charging schedule was followed on the way back to Vilnius. This year, I have already traveled to Tartu for the race four times.
Before that, I tried “Renault Scenic”, “KIA EV4”, “Renault 5” – all electric cars. I can only confirm once again that with proper planning, traveling by electric car is not longer than traveling by a car with an internal combustion engine. During the “Ignitis ON” electric car race, the “Ford E-Transit Custom” with the organizers’ equipment will only go as far as Cēsis, so only one charging stop and lunch for the staff will be enough,” said D. Grinberg after the trip.
This year, the “Ignitis ON” electric car race will start in Kaunas at the “Science Island”, stop in Cēsis at the “Cosmos Discovery Center”, and finish in Tartu at the “Ahhaa” science center. Participants and spectators will enjoy special presentations, experiments, and up to 70 of the newest electric cars at the science centers.
Anyone interested can participate in the “Ignitis ON” electric car race. Rules and registration can be found at www.evrace.lt
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