Green racing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló

Montmeló (ACN).- The Circuit de Catalunya track, in the town of Montmeló in Barcelona’s Metropolitan Area, hosted last Sunday the fourth race of ECO series 2011 tour. It is the first championship founded on the basis of efficient, energy saving driving and alternative energy to be held in the whole of Europe. Sponsored by Catalan-based company Ficosa (manufacturing car components), with the support of the Catalan Institute of Energy, Barcelona’s City Council and working with the platform LIVEBarcelona, the race has had a record participation. Over thirty classic series vehicles, either hybrids or alternative energy users, participated. The winner is not the fastest but the most energy efficient driver.

In the electric cars category, the winner was a Mercedes A-Class E-CELL. In the efficiency category the winner was a BMW 320D, driven by Joan Dalmau and Luís Miguel Reyes; while first place in the Regularity class was a Nissan Micra LPG, driven by Iván Cano.

The ECO series is an unusual car championship that aims to establish a precedent in the world of racing. This year consists of six races, five of them in Catalonia. The competition includes two levels of entry: Efficiency, which gives priority to finding a compromise between performance and consumption, and Regularity, which aims for consistency over time and includes a category of electric vehicles. This initiative emphasises Barcelona’s push for the electric vehicle.