BMW to Ferrari re: KERS: Sorry 'bout your lack of competitiveness

It must take guts to call out Ferrari, considering that the Italian marque has been a dominant force in both road-going supercars and in race-ready hardware. In fact, Ferrari managed to take home the coveted Constructors' Championship last year, ably defeating BMW, which finished in third position for the year. Regardless, BMW has some harsh words for Ferrari regarding the 2009 season and the use of the KERS energy-recovery hybrid drivetrain.

Recall that Ferrari has voiced some concerns over the system, suggesting that they are also testing cars for the '09 system without the KERS system installed - just in case. BMW, though, has called out its Italian competitor, with BMW motor sport director Mario Theissen saying "that argument not only speaks of a lack of competitiveness but also a reluctance to play a role in the bigger picture." Ouch, that hurts.

FIA president Max Mosley is also on BMW's side, arguing, "Could you imagine the great F1 engineers like Chapman or Duckworth saying 'I can't do that because it is too complicated'?" No, we can't, Max. And so we expect KERS to move forward as scheduled for the 2009 F1 season. Let the saga continue on the race track.

All-electric race car to be unveiled at Performance Racing Industry show

and KleenSpeed Technologies Inc. have teamed up and will unveil the first all-electric production race car at the We were wondering when someone would consider taking advantage of the potential for massive torque and wicked acceleration that a modern electric drivetrain can offer and build some race cars that could also boast some environmental credentials. We wonder no more. West Race CarsPerformance Racing Industry trade show this week. Yeah, we've told you about some other folks with electric racer plans in New Zealand and the UK but this is happening here in America and it isn't just a "one-off." According to West CEO Eric Vassian, "We are planning on an initial production run of five West WX10-T electric race cars for 2009, and have already sold the first one."

The new racer should look similar to West's gas-powered WX-10 (above) and be capable of hitting 150 mph. With the help of regenerative braking, the battery is said to be capable of duking it out for 45 minutes, though it is designed to be quickly swapped out so the car can compete in endurance racing events. The International Motorsports Association (IMSA) is also involved with the development of the WX10-T, giving the project some heavy duty bona fides and a good shot at success. Now all they need are some enviromentally-minded racecar drivers.

[Source: West Race Cars]