Electric Vehicles FAQ

What Electric Vehicles are permitted at Motorsport Australia Events?

The initial roll out of EV regulations by Motorsport Australia will permit Series Production EV’s to participate in the EV permitted event types. A Series Production EV is defined as: an EV produced by a manufacturer, approved for and able to be registered for general road use which is used in a Competition.
Examples of Series Production EV’s includes:
Battery EV: Tesla, Nissan Leaf, MG ZS, Porsche Taycan
Hybrid EV: Toyota Corolla, Hyundai IONIQ, Ferrari 296 GTB
 

What about an EV that is not a Series Production EV – where can they compete?

This type of EV is defined as Competition EV as follows: an EV produced solely for the purpose of Competition or a Series Production EV in which the EV components, equipment and/or systems have been modified outside of the standard manufacturer specification/s.

Motorsport Australia is continuing to work on regulations to suit a Competition EV. As a base line this is being reviewed against the regulations established by the FIA. For the time being a Competition EV may be considered on application to Motorsport Australia. Any application will then be the subject of review by our EV Working Group. Any application must be submitted with sufficient time for a review to be conducted, and prior to entry to an event. Applications will need to be submitted to technical@motorsport.org.au including a brief of the vehicle’s specifications.
 

What Motorsport Australia event types will permit EV’s?

The initial roll out of EV regulations will permit Series Production EV’s in Autotest, Speed and suitable Rally/Road events.
 

What obligations are there on Event Organiser to permit EV’s?

Event Organisers will need to consider their requirements and obligations as detailed in the EV Standing Regulations. This includes, but not limited to:

• EV Safety Plan – a Safety Plan template will be available from Motorsport Australia in the EV Appendix
• Requirements for Officials involved in any incident response – have the Officials got access to the necessary PPE and other equipment to perform their roles when dealing with an EV
• Fire response – does the event have access to suitable fire response equipment including extinguishers with suitable extinguishant for EV’s or other suitable plan to deal with any EV fire
• Has the organiser confirmed that the venue or property owner/responsible persons have been advised on EV participation
• Have Officials briefings been revised for EV’s
• Has the organiser received or has access to any relevant Emergency Response Guides for specific EV’s
• Has a suitable EV charging plan been considered where relevant
   

The permitted Series Production EV’s are legal to be used on the road so why do organisers have these additional requirements?

The history of motorsport shows that incident and risk management has developed, in the traditional Internal Combustion engine vehicles, over a very long period and often as a result of an incident that caused injury or worse to either a competitor, an official or a spectator.

In our current times there are obligations on all parties involved to ensure that any risk is carefully considered and managed. Whilst it may seem that some of these risk management measures are a burden to those involved it is in the best interests of all involved to ensure that there are sufficient measures in place to provide the best possible outcome should an incident occur.

This is not to say that the risk of an EV is any greater than that of a conventional vehicle it is just different and therefore requires a different approach in incident management.

There are differing obligations regarding incident reporting that may also apply to EV’s depending on the jurisdiction (i.e. State or Territory or other authority) that the event is conducted in. Organisers must ensure that they are aware of any incident reporting obligations that may apply to their event including mandatory reporting under Workplace Health and Safety Regulations.
 

Why do we need the venue or property owner/responsible persons to confirm that they are aware that an EV is going to be at an event?

This ties in with those that have obligations at an Event, from Motorsport Australia to the Event Organiser and where relevant venue or property owner/responsible persons. It is important that all those who have responsibilities are informed so that they can complete their own risk assessment as necessary.

Is there additional training required for officials etc.?

Motorsport Australia has established a base Introduction to EV’s Officials Training Module that will be available through the Member Portal for all Officials. All Officials are encouraged to undertake this training through the online Member Portal, and especially those that will be operating in an incident response role.

Further Training Modules for more specific Officials roles will be introduced as the role out of EV regulations continues over the coming months.
 

Series Production EV’s will be required to hold a Motorsport Australia Log Book – why?

Motorsport Australia has mandated that all EV’s will require a Motorsport Australia Log Book. This is so that the usage of EV’s can be recorded from the start, and that Motorsport Australia can track matters specific to EV’s both in terms of incident management and so that other EV related matters can be validated by specific data. There are many useful ways that the recorded information can be used, be it understanding the number of EV’s that a regularly competing, assisting venues with understanding what facility upgrades may be required and ensure that we can provide data to other relevant authorities when it comes to negotiating outcomes to suit EV competitors and the venues that they compete at.

Motorsport Australia will work with Event Organisers at Permit application level to phase in Log Books for EV’s and will be able to offer a grace period for competitors as the introduction of EV to competition commences.
 

Information on F-500 Encapsulator Agent Extinguisher as a suitable fire response agent for EV Lithium-ion battery fires and suited to all general automotive fires including ethanol fuels. 

F-500 Enscapsultor Agent is a firefighting concentrate mixed with water. It is available pre-mixed in a range of portable extinguisher sizes and as the concentrate itself for use in firefighting appliances (i.e. firetruck) that carry their own volume of firefighting agent.

There is a range of information freely available on F-500 online, easily accessible through a search using the words “F-500 Encapsulator Agent Extinguisher”.

There are several Fire Equipment outlets in Australia that offer F-500 in portable extinguishers and as the concentrate for those venues/fire response providers that have their own firefighting appliances.

Hazard Control Technologies recently conducted a Webinar reviewing this technology.

Motorsport Australia Australia acknowledges that F-500 appears to offer a suitable fire extinguishant outcome for Lithium-ion fires associated with EV’s. Event Organisers and venue operators should undertake their own due diligence and investigations as part of the development of Event/Venue EV Safety Plans. Where there is suitable volume of F-500 available at an event it may negate the need for other EV specific fire response requirements where it can be deemed sufficient to support that event or venue.

Note: Motorsport Australia does not have any direct affiliation with Hazard Control Technologies or any specific supplier of fire response equipment. Motorsport Australia does acknowledge the assistance provided by Hazard Control Technologies in understanding the F-500 Encapsulator Agent and its uses.

Do the Motorsport Australia EV Standing Regulations affect Formula SAE® (FSAE) events and FSAE technical specifications in Australia?

FSAE has a strong history in Australia and operates under stringent regulations established worldwide by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). 

FSAE is described as an engineering education competition that requires performance demonstration of vehicles in a series of events, both off track and on track against the clock. Each competition gives teams the chance to demonstrate their creativity and engineering skills in comparison to teams from other universities around the world.

The FSAE regulations, and those related to their electric power systems, ensure that the EV systems are built to the highest standards, have inbuilt monitoring/failsafe systems and a specific program for the compliance inspections of these systems. 

Motorsport Australia will continue to permit the FSAE vehicles, including EV, in Australia that are constructed under and in accordance with the technical regulations for FSAE.

Motorsport Australia will work with the FSAE Event organisers to ensure that the relevant requirements for Event Organisers and Officials are met in accordance with the requirements for a Motorsport Australia Event Permit.

NOTE: FSAE constructed vehicles are specifically designed for FSAE competitions. By nature, a FSAE vehicle does not automatically comply with the minimum requirements of Motorsport Australia for competition under the Motorsport event disciplines including Autotest and Speed Events and are therefore not automatically eligible to compete at anything other than the FSAE events. Event Organisers should seek Motorsport Australia advice regarding the acceptance of any FSAE vehicle at a non FSAE event.