Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website Ferratum Team adds Projekt E to World RX
october 01, 2020 - Projekt E

Ferratum Team adds Projekt E to World RX

Ferratum Team will continue in Projekt E when the series resumes in Belgium and Germany, having now taken delivery of the STARD Ford Fiesta ERX raced by Janis Baumanis in Riga. The Projekt E car will be run in addition to the team's World RX Supercar raced in the first six FIA World Rallycross Championship events by Jani Paasonen.

The driver or drivers of the car for the remaining two Projekt E rounds will be revealed closer to the events but Ferratum Team has already been busy with the car, running it for promotional days with clients in Latvia and in Finland.

BESPOKE FINANCING FOR ELECTRIC MOTOR SPORT
Through its CapitalBox brand, fintech specialist Ferratum is working on bespoke finance solutions to help teams transition to electric motor sport through Projekt E. The first true EV customer racing series, Projekt E represents the perfect environment for this as maintenance and operation costs of the all-electric cars are significantly lower than for petrol-engined equivalents.

"Sustainability and innovative, cutting edge technology are core values of CapitalBox and our services, which is why we entered a cooperation with STARD to support its forward-thinking activity in the EV sector in 2019," said Scott Donnelly, Managing Director CapitalBox. "We learned a lot from last year´s activity and are now working to take it to the next level by means of financial services for teams, drivers and businesses to enable them to cover the initial investment of cars and powertrain systems.

"Initially we will focus on Projekt E where we will evaluate the various options of such services together with customers," he added. "In the EV motor sport landscape, Projekt E offers unmatched affordability and accessibility which makes it the best place to start our portfolio."
The first Projekt E car was revealed in Riga in September 2019 and the first event for the FIA International Series took place in Sweden in August 2020. Three cars took part in the first event, won by American Ken Block in a Ford Performance-backed Fiesta. 

Four cars took part in the second Projekt E event in Latvia where Frenchman Cyril Raymond won in a Citroen C3 supported by Citroen Racing.

"The interest from teams and drivers for Projekt E has been growing since the launch of the first car," said STARD CEO Michael Sakowicz. "Teams and drivers understand the cost efficiency of the technical concept and are attracted by running costs that are around 60% lower than for the equivalent internal combustion-engined car. Financing solutions to help smooth the transition to new technologies makes sense and we are convinced that this innovative approach will be well received throughout the motor sport market."

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS OFFER GREATER ROI
Projekt E cars have been used in National Championship events in Austria, Hungary and Norway this year by STARD and clients. They are also now approved for use in Italy with a handful of other ASNs currently in discussion to permit the cars to compete at national level.
Projekt E is an FIA approved International Series. It is the first all-electric series in rallycross and is pioneering connections with manufacturer customer racing programmes through Ford Performance and Citroen Racing. Access to off-the-shelf components like those used in manufacturer's R5 programmes can allow a Projekt E car to be built faster and more cost effectively than a petrol-engined equivalent.

All cars in the series use the all-electric three-motor, 450kW, 1000Nm REVelution powertrain developed by STARD. The newest of rallycross cars, Projekt E also remains true to the traditional rallycross spirit of relatively free engineering by allowing teams to build their own cars which can be based on almost any production model.

Underpinned by stable technical regulations and manageable operating costs, the increasing number of markets in which the cars can be used means Projekt E offers teams a viable return on investment, while also providing a wide-range of possibilities when it comes to car type and construction method.