Volkswagen has begun testing of the ID R in preparation for the OEM’s record attempt at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. After having claimed the Pikes Peak record, driver Romain Dumas will be attempting to break the Nürburgring current all-electric time this summer.
At Circuit de Almeria in Andalucía, the car completed its first test runs for the attempt, running on Bridgestone tires.
“After the shakedown in Oschersleben, the first test runs in Spain have also gone as planned,” said Volkswagen Motorsport director Sven Smeets.
“After its record outing on Pike Peak, it’s really exciting now to witness the ID R on a real racetrack. The optimization of an electric sports car for Nürburgring is a great challenge for the whole team.
“We’re all really looking forward to demonstrating the strength of electric mobility once more, this time on the legendary Nordschleife.”
The four-day testing focused on adaptation of the ID R’s onboard software – which controls the balance between the mechanical brake and battery recuperation.
“On a secured racetrack such as the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, you can push much closer to the limit than somewhere like the hill climb at Pikes Peak,” explained Dumas.
“I can brake harder and more aggressively. By adapting the software, the performance of the electric motors will be tuned for our new record attempt.”
The VW team also had its first opportunity to run the ID R on Potenza tires from new partner Bridgestone.
“Working together with Bridgestone has gone really smoothly from the get-go,” said Smeets. “We have tested various versions of the Potenza Sports tires in order to find the optimal one for the record attempt on the Nordschleife.”
