Corvette E-Ray banned from competition by NCCC
The Corvette E-Ray is a hybrid, with a drivetrain that powers the front axle via an on-board battery and single electric drive motor. That has put it on the wrong side of the National Council of Corvette Clubs competition rulebook, rendering the E-Ray unwelcome at future track events organized by NCCC. The ban even extends to those who just want to spectate.
This news, reported on CorvetteForum.com, highlights the quickly-evolving landscape that the push for more battery-electric and hybrid powertrain vehicles has created. The specific rule that was amended in the 2022–23 competition rulebook is in section 1.8.1 number 14, and it outlines that any vehicles that possess a “lithium-type battery pack” are to be excluded from competition.
The NCCC’s Michigan website says there are “234 Clubs, in 16 regions, both east and west of the Mississippi … comprised of approximately 17,500 members. The Council’s competition database for 2023 includes mostly low-speed autocross events, but also various types of concours, rallies, cruises, and a handful of time trials.
The second part of this amendment even goes so far as to require that if these vehicles are driven to events, they can’t park with the other Corvettes:
NCCC’s rulebook may strike some as overly cautious or even a little extreme. As CorvetteForum.com points out, however, they’re not operating in a vacuum. Summit Point Motorsports Park in West Virginia recently put a “tactical pause” on hybrid and electric vehicles, “purely based on ensuring we establish an EMS response policy and procedure based on technical knowledge provided by the electric and hybrid electric vehicle industry community,” said the track’s Director of Motorsports Operations.
Many Corvette owners are also keenly aware of Chevrolet’s recent recall efforts regarding Bolt EV fires. Like the Bolt, the E-Ray uses lithium-ion pouch-type batteries sourced from LG Chem. Two years ago the National Transportation Safety Board released a statement regarding the risk posed to first responders handling an incident involving high-voltage lithium-ion batteries. The statement outlined not only the shock risk but also the thermal runaway potential that can lead to re-ignition of what was thought to be a controlled or extinguished fire.
Statistics confirm that gasoline cars actually experience a higher incident rate of fire than pure battery-electric vehicles, but hybrids fare the worst. Perhaps the bigger concern is that our present ability to control and extinguish a gasoline-fueled fire considerably exceeds that of battery fires; until the technology and equipment readily available to first responders catches up, organizers may further amend rules and regulations to fill the gap. We expect hybrid and EV proponents, not to mention E-Ray owners, may in the meantime feel that such policies represent a disproportionate reaction to the degree of risk.
The conditions of track use may subject the electric portion of the Corvette E-Ray’s drivetrain to rapid charging and discharging. Of course, it would be hard to believe that Chevrolet engineers did not account for this when crafting a 655-horsepower supercar that they expect some drivers to bring to the track. How the E-Ray behaves long-term and in the real world will become clearer when the first production examples reach customer hands later this year.
***
Check out the Hagerty Media homepage so you don’t miss a single story, or better yet, bookmark it. To get our best stories delivered right to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletters.
If a potential car to car fire is really the motive for the ban, it’s bogus. Simply move the battery carrying vehicles a safe distance from other competitors. If the fire is on the track, let it burn until a fire department shows up. Fire injuries are real, and can happen as a result of batteries or gas, or ethanol, or God knows what my fellow racers slip into their tanks. All that said, the NCCC is not know as a leading edge group. I’ll be more interested in how the NHRA and others handle the Vettes.
John Hudson ????
NHRA has an all electric car class in the Summit Bracket racing series right now & its nationwide. With all the complaining from the traditional Vette crowd against the C8 in the 1st place, this is another thing to complain about
Bunch of whiney scaredy cat old men. BOO HOO EVs are coming, BOO HOO
by this rule if you replaced your normal 12v lead acid with a Li Battery you can’t attend.
If one side in this debate is reluctant to embrace change, the other side is equally reluctant to accept the risks of out of control battery fires. These fires burn extremely hot, require special firefighting equipment and pose risks to firefighters, nearby cars and structures and persons. They burst into flames with no warning. It seems prudent to contain the risks associated thereto, but I would provide a separate parking lot for them and let people choose accordingly.
Shortsighted…….
This technology is coming quickly. Better get onboard.
This does not surprise me. If you have ever witnessed a Lithium battery get punctured and start burning you would quickly understand the reasoning behind this decision. When Lithium burns it will not extinguish until the lithium is either completely spent OR all of the oxygen has been removed. When you douse a Lithium battery with anything and the fire goes out, it will combust and start burning as soon as air is reintroduced. It makes sense as one lithium fire would completely shut down the track for the rest of the day.
I am all for EV exclusion in ever shape or form, segregate parking, separate and not equal!
So now the desire is to not only let electric Corvettes in but also 4 wheel drive Corvettes. The safety concerns are real. It takes special equipment and training to deal with electric vehicles. EMTs and firefighters all over the country have to deal with these issues. At this point it isn’t even widely known how to put out a lithium fire.
I have to agree with PDMRACING as far as the fire issue. Hybrids are beginning to make a gradually larger part of racing, and as such, it’s hard to imagine that race teams and sanctioning bodies, haven’t made preparations for fire extinguishing protocols? Hey, let go race these hybrid race cars and not have anyway to put out a fire? It doesn’t seem to make any sense…
Exactly F1 , IMSA , WEC & F E & Porsche raced a hybrid 911 in the ALMS days (a decade ago) all have hybrid cars for years all with Lithium Ion batteries . Lemans & F1 speeds over 200 mph with some hi G crashes. Most Vette owners never even knew Zora wanted a mid engine Vette from the minute he could draw one. The bean counters stopped him in the early 70’s. Just another bunch of grey beards screaming about something they do not understand. Oh & I’m a grey beard & have owned at least 20 Vettes including 2 63 splits, many C3 & C4’s & a base C8 that I paid 59,900 for. The performance car bargain of the century.
They need to change the name of their organization from the National Council of Corvette Clubs to the National Bunch of Whiny Old Men.
I have a mutual understanding with late model Corvette owners at car events.
They don’t want me to park my old hot rod within 30 ft of their cars (brings down the property value).
I don’t want to park my hot rod within 30 ft of their “precious” (I feel like I’m in a late model used car lot).
But obviously Corvette owners love their cars. If they want to create a club rule that insures their safety, so be it.
The NCCC’s new rules make perfect sense to me because once they’ve caught fire, polyester leisure suits can sometimes burn for hours.
Once again I find it funny that my fellow Americans don’t seem aware of what happens in the rest of the world. They have been racing EVs and Hybrids for years already. Yes, once there is a fire it’s harder to put out, but fires are rare. Maybe the NCCC can call up European countries and find out how they deal with this issue. America is falling behind because we have become a country that claims things can’t be done when others are already doing it.
Who is Clark Cable didn’t you mean Comcast?