On Friday, July 3rd 2015 Wiley-VCH editors Michael Reubold, Martin Friedrich, Roy Fox and I were hosted by chemical company Evonik at the Hockenheim Ring to attend the DMV Gran Turismo Touring Car Cup, in which Evonik’s Roding Roadster Race Car would participate.

In the morning CHEManager met the Bremotion-Evonik Motorsports team and they were accompanied to the team’s tent. Around noon, we were taken to attend the first qualifying race. Unfortunately, the Roding Roadster had a technical problem and could only run for one lap.

After returning to the team area, we were also able to talk with the pilot. Then one of Evonik’s Automotive Industry team explained which parts of the Roding Roadster were made by Evonik itself, showing some parts in detail thank to models at hand. Some of the new technologies included carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) parts, lightweight fuel lines, Plexiglas windscreen, side windows and rear window and processed parts made of other high performance polymer materials or composites. Thanks to these new technologies the car is lighter, more flexible and, at the same time, tougher.

Meanwhile, another member of the Evonik team arrived driving a Lotus Elise cabriolet. Green mobility is the common trend of the automotive industry and Evonik’s Elise-E, an electric driven, lightweight vehicle with a wide range of Evonik materials implemented, perfectly fits this concept. The body panels use Rohacell, a rigid foam core material sandwiched between thin carbon fiber epoxy skins, which provide a significant weight reduction. Side- and rear windows are made from Plexiglas, leading to a weight reduction of up to 50% compared to conventional glazing. Moreover, the transparency as well as its resistance, acoustic properties and formability open up new design possibilities.

They then let us try it out and you could either drive the Elise-E yourself or be a passenger. The route was about 5km long, so that you did not feel the absence of comfort that usual cars have and it was all done to make the driver/passenger feel closer to a racing driver. This was also the reason for the car to have no luxury, as even the carbonfiber seats were not meant to be comfortable.

I tried Evonik’s Elise-E and I enjoyed it. The car itself was not as loud as a normal car usually is and the sound of the wind, especially when going fast, was a nice sensation. I did not pay any attention to the seats or the comforts missing as I concentrated on the feelings transmitted to me by this short trip and I really felt like I was on a race (although the speed was not the same).

Back from our test drive we saw first-hand how technical problems are resolved during a race, as the Bremotion-Evonik Motorsports team was able to fix the Roding Roadster just in time for the second qualifying race, although the car was only able to run for the last two laps, but scored a decent time.

It was an interesting experience and a beautiful opportunity to watch “live” the preparations and the race itself, plus a demonstration of solving car problems.

CHEManager thanks Evonik for this opportunity.