Rock Engineering’s ‘RockClimber’ powerchair debuted at Donington Park in September. Powered by battery and motors, it has the potential to replace petrol-fuelled quadbikes that teams currently use to tow cars and transport equipment around the paddock.
In a nutshell, what is RockClimber?
RockClimber™ is an extreme off-road, high capability powerchair. It is specifically designed as a technical demonstrator, one showing the ‘art of the possible’ with advanced engineering and manufacturing methods.
It features:
• Four 2kw independent motors
• Four 100:1 reduction gearboxes
• Independent suspension with 300mm of travel
• Hydraulic steering
• Two 2Kwh Lithium-ion batteries
• Bonded and riveted aluminium chassis
How can RockClimber be used in motorsports?
The technology developed for RockClimber™ could be used for all towing needs over a race weekend.
The development of RockClimber™ has resulted in many new innovations showing how with the right level of engineering an electric drivetrain can produce enough force to pull anything, from a Ginetta GT4 car to a 2.5 tonne van. And the latest lithium-ion battery technology holds enough energy to last for a full racing weekend.
Can you tell us more about RockClimber’s emission reduction potential related to SRO’s paddock?
Currently, teams rely upon off-road quadbikes to tow cars, tyre trollies and other pit equipment around the paddock. These petrol engine quads are designed for navigating farmland and as such are highly inefficient, polluting and cumbersome in a tightly packed paddock. Rock Engineering have taken the technology used in RockClimber™ and incorporated it into an all-new electric paddock vehicle concept that would replace these vehicles with a highly efficient, low-cost alternative. RockClimber™ would match the pulling performance of the quad, exceed the movability, and eliminate the noise and pollution.
RockClimber was recently showcased at a British GT event, how did that go?
The event was better than could have been expected. We had fantastic comments from spectators, team members and drivers. British GT events draw such an enthusiastic and knowledgeable crowd, the technical questions and interest that people were showing towards RockClimber™ indicated that it was popular amongst a motorsport crowd and stood out as not just any powerchair.
Allowing our driver Nick access to the grid walk was unexpected and greatly appreciated. This was something he could never have done in his everyday wheelchair as it struggles to negotiate grass which was still slightly wet at the time.
Finally, the staff at Ginetta allowing us to pull one of their cars was a perfect end to the day and a real showcase of RockClimber’s™ capability.
In which fields do you see Rock Engineering working together with SRO on building a sustainable future for motorsports?
Rock Engineering shares SRO’s ambitious targets in reducing carbon emissions, with the end goal being a net zero carbon output. We can help achieve this goal both with the paddock vehicle, as well as by working with SRO to identify other engineering projects where we can use our proven track record of providing design solutions that lead to products giving measurable decreases in carbon emissions.