YANBU (SAUDI ARABIA) – Friday, January 19: The ground-breaking hydrogen-powered HySE-X1 cruised faultlessly through the short final stage to complete the team’s objective of finishing the 46th Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
The HySE (Hydrogen Small mobility & Engine technology) has been entered in the new modern Dakar class (Mission 1000). This is an integral part of the Dakar Future Programme to encourage manufacturers to develop next-generation carbon-neutral powertrain technologies.
The crew of American driver Jamie Campbell and Argentinean co-driver Bruno Jacomy went into attack mode on the final stage of 45.03km and picked up 10 additional bonus points for their day’s performance. The result fulfilled the team behind the hydrogen project’s objective of reaching the finish before the ceremonial conclusion to proceedings in Yanbu, adjacent to the Red Sea, on Friday evening.
Quotes after Stage 12 on Friday, January 19th
Jamie Campbell, Driver:
“It was a good day. I just want to thank the crew and all the guys who have been involved in this project. I want to thank the team members and supporting staff. Today was an awesome day. We got to go almost full gas and we had our best time of the rally. I want to thank my co-driver Bruno Jacomy. He taught me a lot over 12 days of racing. I could not have done this without him. I hope that the data is collected and the HySE team are happy with that we have delivered.”
Bruno Jacomy, Co-driver:
“I want to thank the whole HySE team and Overdrive. They were amazing with us. Jamie’s driving was very important to achieve this goal and we are very happy to be here and going to the podium to take this new technology and this new car to this moment. It was amazing to navigate in this car of the future. It was an amazing experience.”
Keita Nakanishi, Project Leader of HySE Dakar Project:
“The final stage of the Dakar has arrived. Today was a short 45km stage, so we asked Jamie and Bruno to go as fast as possible from the start to the finish. The crew ran splendidly and crossed the finish line of the Dakar Rally. During the competition period, we asked them to perform various driving conditions. So, I would like to thank them once again for their faithful performance and efforts in collecting data that will serve the foundation for future HySE research. This year’s Dakar has come to an end, but we are now at the starting line for hydrogen engine research. When we return to Japan, we will analyse the data we acquired this time and advance basic research on hydrogen engines.
“Next year, we will bring a hydrogen engine with even higher performance to the Dakar and show everyone the possibilities and appeal of hydrogen engines. It was a two-wheel challenge and we would like to thank everyone involved, including the organisers, for their cooperation.” The penultimate stage 11 for the Mission 1000 entrants ran for 69km through the desert between Al-Ula and Yanbu on the Red Sea. The HySE-X1 was excellent on the more compact road surface, despite picking up a puncture during the last seven kilometres. The crew were able to push a little harder on the sections that were easier to navigate and were able to provide excellent additional data for the team engineers.
Quotes after Stage 11 on Thursday, January 18th
Jamie Campbell, Driver:
“Today was rocky and hard-pack (compact) twisty roads and rocky washes. It was awesome for me. It is more my style of racing, so we had a great time and were able to go as hard as we wanted to and manage the car to complete the day. We didn’t want to push 100% but we were able to push to an extent and it was a lot of fun. There was some really tricky navigation in some of the rock washes where you couldn’t see the piste. That was interesting. I got off course once and Bruno got me back. It was a really fun stage and I finally got to open the engine up a little bit. Tomorrow, is the final stage and it’s short. Hopefully, we can let it rip…!”
Bruno Jacomy, Co-driver:
“Today’s stage 11, we were really happy. We pushed a little bit but not in the navigation zones because we were afraid to get lost. There we slowed down. Jamie was great with the driving and a change of rhythm. When we could push, we pushed. The engine is perfect. We are really happy. This is not finished yet and we need to take care but tomorrow is going to be the last match…”
Keita Nakanishi, Project Leader of HySE Dakar Project:
“Two days left on the Dakar. Today’s stage was 69km long and we had received advanced information that the road surface would be hard, so the engineers, Jamie, Bruno and I discussed and decided to go aggressively from the start to the finish. I stood at the 55km point and checked the performance of the HySE-X1. Even before I could see the car from a distance, I was moved by the sound of the hydrogen engine that was really audible. We were able to obtain good data during high-load operation. Tomorrow’s final stage is an even shorter distance, so I would like the crew to drive even more aggressively than today and show everyone the appeal of hydrogen engines.”
The HySE-X1 SSV is a joint project between the Japanese automotive manufacturers – Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Toyota and Yamaha – and utilises a chassis built by Overdrive Racing. The chassis has been modified to accommodate three hydrogen fuel tanks and fuel supply system powering a 998cc, four-stroke supercharged motorcycle engine being used in research and development.