Pure ETCR could headline all-electric events

The series director for the new Pure ETCR electric touring car series, which kicked off last weekend at Vallelunga, has said that the long-term plan is for all-electric racing weekends.

Eurosport Events’ Xavier Gavory said: “Our goal in the future is ideally to have 100% electric racing weekends, but today there are not so many electric racing series.”

He added: “Pure ETCR is on the top of the pyramid that does not exist for the moment, but will in the future. We have a world-class championship, but we want regional championships and national championships.”

HOW QUICK ARE THEY?

It’s tricky to be exact. Pure

ETCR ran its ‘Battles’ on a short layout of Vallelunga on Saturday, but used the old, pre-extension two-mile circuit for free practice on Friday and for its Sunday time trials and Superfinals.

In free practice, Mikel Azcona lapped his Cupra in 1m20.685s, and is thought to have used the full 500kw of power. For the last Super Touring event at the track in 2000, Peter Kox took pole in his Honda Accord at 1m14.075s – that’s a 6.610s difference, but Pure ETCR was using a chicane on the return straight to the stadium, potentially adding 3-4s.

At Thruxton, Jason Plato’s Super Touring pole record, set in his Vauxhall in 2000, stands at 1m12.562s. The standard for the BTCC’S current NGTC cars, set by Dan Cammish’s Honda in 2020, is 1m15.201s – 2.639s adrift of the Super Touring pace.

Notwithstanding the provisos of the chicane and weather conditions, that indicates that Pure ETCR is close to NGTC.