The Apex Racing Team EV has taken first place at this year’s Cairo Rally for Electric Vehicles.
Egypt’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khaled Abdel Ghaffar last week inaugurated the rally’s third season, sponsored by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. The event took place in front of the Giza Pyramids. A total of 30 universities have participated this year. They were filtered to 19 teams, and they witnessed about 300 training hours over a period of 9 months.
Apex leader Ibrahim Al-Saadani said the group was established in 2018, and initially worked on all products without focusing on cars alone. However, with the emergence of the Electric Vehicle Rally (EVER) Egypt competition, the team decided to compete.
He added that the competition presented a great opportunity for the group to gain much knowledge about electric cars. This comes in addition to the fact that the competition is entirely funded by the Academy of Scientific Research, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and Ain Shams University.
He pointed out that the group’s first goal in the competition’s first year was to gain greater knowledge and experience in creating electric cars, and learn new skills in this field. They manufactured a car that they called MAGNUM, which won third place at the competition. In the second year, Apex Racing Team EV managed to secure first place using their THUNDER BULLET car.
The team has also competed in other events, including the Formula Student Egypt. The competition is divided into two classes, Class 1 and 2.
Class 1 is the main event, where teams compete with the cars they have designed and built. Teams are judged across 6 categories, including design, cost and sustainability, business presentation, technical inspection as static events, in addition to acceleration, skid pad, endurance, and autocross/sprint as dynamic events. The team won 15th place in this competition.
As for Class 2, it is a concept competition for teams who only have a project and plan for a Class 1 car. Teams are judged on business presentation, cost, and design. The Apex Racing Team EV won 3rd place in this competition.
Another leader from the team, Mohamed Sami, confirmed that the team’s orientation towards EV racing came as part of the state’s plans to move towards electric vehicles. It also takes into account the country’s future vision of launching electric cars at the beginning of 2020.
Sami said that the team is entirely involved in the creation of each car they make, starting with the design stage and all the way through to the manufacturing stages. The car battery is located on the outside of the vehicle, due to the difficulty of its manufacture at the present time in Egypt.
He added that the cars used in the EVER Egypt competition come with an engine that accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 6 seconds. However, the car used in the formula student competition had an engine torque of 100 kms, with an acceleration time from 0 to 70 km/h in 3 seconds.
Sami pointed out that the formula student competition aims to educate students, but who do not have the required financial funding to manufacture the car.
To get around their own financial constraints, the Apex Racing Team EV searched for a financier, with the marketing team looking to reach the largest number of companies from whom to obtain funding for their projects.
He said that the manufacture of a single car costs EGP 595,000, which makes it difficult to manufacture the car at the students’ own expense. He also pointed out that this matter is the biggest challenge the team goes through.
On the part of the marketing team, marketing team leader Mohamed Maged said that Apex Racing Team EV makes 3D designs, and follows innovative marketing tools to reach funding.
