Innovation get together addresses sustainability transition plans
During the season finale of the 2021 FIA European Truck Racing Championship, the ADAC Mittelrhein together with the promoter ETRA hosted a Get-Together event, which was joined by representatives from the FIA and the event organisers as well as partners such as Iveco, Ford and Goodyear, to talk about the sustainability transition of the series and the plans to reach net zero by 2038 the latest.
Dr. Klaus Manns, chairman of the ADAC Mittelrhein, the shareholder of ETRA and organiser of the Truck Grand Prix, welcomed everyone at the track in Misano.
“With its sustainability roadmap ETRA wants to be a role model and show, that sustainability in motorsport and big events don’t have to be in conflict with climate protection,” said Dr. Manns.
FIA president Jean Todt, who joined the get-together remotely via video message from Paris, welcomed “the switch of the FIA ETRC to a fuel fully originated from renewable sources (HVO biofuel), becoming the first ever FIA-regulated championship to do so.”
This was a first important step into a new era and proof, that it is possible to take actions for lower GHG emissions with commercial vehicles on the road, which is demonstrated on the track.
“The event at Misano has been a great opportunity to talk about our sustainability plans and underline our commitment to reach net zero by 2038 the latest,” said ETRA managing director Georg Fuchs. “The platform of truck racing unifies and emotionally bonds hundreds of thousands of truck and motor sport fans and industry partners.
As such the FIA ETRC is in a unique position to showcase existing technologies and prototypes and drive the acceptance of more sustainable solutions amongst professional truck drivers forward, which will directly benefit the wider transportation industry.
“With the HVO biofuel in all race trucks since the 2021 season and the IVECO pace truck powered by bio-LNG, we already have two sustainable technologies and we welcome any new technologies to the grid.” FIA Truck Racing Commission President Manuel Vidal reiterated, that the introduction of sustainable energies to motor sport is one of the key strategic objectives of the FIA for the years to come. “The FIA Truck Racing Commission has set the objective that the FIA ETRC becomes the leading platform for sustainable technologies in the road haulage industry,” explained Vidal.
Marek Nawarecki, FIA Director of Sport and Touring Cars Department, was also present and gave insights into the progress by outlining details and milestones for the technical transformation of the series. “The FIA Truck Racing Commission is currently investigating the feasibility of the introduction of new forms of energy to the championship,” Nawarecki said. “The targets of the studies will focus on the following topics: technical feasibility, budget and road relevancy for each energy. The objective of the future technical regulations of the FIA ETRC is to remain open to different types of technologies,” he concluded.
Dr. Gerd Ennser, president Sport of the ADAC, which is the biggest player in motorsport in Germany with 21 million members, underlined the significance of sustainability in motorsport for the ADAC. Prof. Dr. Dirk Engelhardt, chief executive of the BGL, the biggest professional organisation for freight haulage and logistics in Germany, brought in the perspective from logistics companies and drivers concerning image improvement and sustainability in the road haulage industry.
The FIA ETRC is underway to be a role model in the road haulage industry, underlining its commitment through becoming a signatory of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, to help implement the Paris Agreement and to accelerate the transformative change needed to reach greenhouse gas emission neutrality.
The framework for sustainability transition in the FIA ETRC is in place, with different technologies and measures as well as a roadmap to reach net zero by 2038 on and off the track.
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