The hydrogen-powered HySE-X1 remains firmly on course to finish the 46th Dakar Rally after an excellent performance on the short 77km eighth stage between Al-Duwadimi and Ha’il in the north-central region of Saudi Arabia on Monday.
The HySE (Hydrogen Small mobility & Engine technology) has been entered in the new modern Dakar class (Mission 1000). This is an integral part of the Dakar Future Programme to encourage manufacturers to develop next-generation carbon-neutral powertrain technologies.
American driver Jamie Campbell and his Argentinean co-driver Bruno Jacomy had run out of fuel on the longer sandy stage on Sunday but executed the revised strategy to perfection on the firmer and faster tracks en route to Ha’il on Monday. The Overdrive Racing-built chassis and its ground-breaking hydrogen engine technology reached the finish ahead of the other cars in the group.
Jamie Campbell, Driver: “We had a great day today. It was more my style of racing, like back home in the desert with a lot of hard pack (hard ground), a lot of valleys and a few sand washes but not too bad. I felt really comfortable. Bruno was again on point with the navigation. We were cautious when we needed to slow down, fast when we needed to go fast and, overall, it was a fun day. We got to open up the car a little bit and go a little faster. We got the bonus (10 points) and finished as first four-wheel vehicle. I am super happy with that. The hydrogen engine was unbelievable. It was screaming, 9000 rpm. It was awesome hearing it behind us. It gave me motivation!”
Bruno Jacomy, Co-driver: “Today was another good day for the team. Thanks to the guys and the team at Overdrive. We made it and were pushing the whole stage. We started in the sixth position and then we finished first behind the bikes. That was good for us and we had good navigation.”
Keita Nakanishi, Project Leader of HySE Dakar Project: “Stage eight was a rather short stage at 77km. Based on the data and experience we’ve acquired in the Dakar so far, I asked Jamie and Bruno to run as fast as possible on today’s stage, while being careful about their remaining hydrogen levels. They executed this plan well and were able to finish earlier than the target time and earn 10 bonus points. I appreciate this. Tomorrow will be another long stage, 119km, so I want to plan our strategy well.”
After a much-needed rest day in Riyadh, on-stage action for the Mission 1000 category entrants continued with a demanding sandy stage of 112km between the Saudi capital and Al-Duwadimi on Sunday. The HySE-X1 ran out of fuel short of the stage finish, partly as a result of a minor navigational error that added five or six kilometers to the stage distance for the crew. The fuel capacity for the HySE-X1 is not extensive at this stage and team officials had thought it was 50/50 whether the car would finish the full stage in any case.
Source: Overdrive Racing's official press release
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