GREAT EV ROAD TRIP 2019 - THE DIARY
By The BETTER NZ TRUST
Leading The Charge

by Rachelle Tilsley and contributors

Day Thirty-One: Kerikeri and Cape Reinga

After the very low-key event at the Kerikeri Retirement Home, we decided to pull a last minute last gig at the Kerikeri Packhouse Markets. We were unadvertised, but thought it was worth a last shot.

And the moment the market opened, the crowds poured in. We were kept constantly busy with the eVolve camper particularly so. With the big drive to the tip in the back of our minds, we had planned to only stay an hour and a half. But the enormous popularity of the cars kept us there well past that time. We managed to give away our remaining #LeadingTheCharge resuseable bags, filled to the brim with goodies, such as EV Talk magazines, Repco vouchers, EECA brochures, and stickers.

The bubble man entertained us before the market opened. Here we said goodbye to Chelsea Sexton who has a flight back, and to Sean Dick in the Tesla Model S. We are also saying goodbye to the Britz eVolve camper and to our 24kWh LEAF.

The rest of us are heading to the tip of the country - just because, why not?  With trips to Milford Sound and across the charging desert, we've certainly proven that modern EVs can go virtually anywhere; but they can’t drive beyond Cape Reinga.

So once we reach the tip, we’ll all be heading back to Waitiki Landing campground for a final celebratory dinner before heading for home the following day. Some of us driving all the way to Southland and Christchurch. Others, just too Auckland.

The fiery red model X, with it's gull wings always fluttering on high, was certainly a crowd pleaser wherever she went.

Day Thirty: Kerikeri

There is a sense amongst us that we are nearly done, and the past month's travelling has worn us out. Fortunately, it's an easy drive from Whangarei to Kerikeri with charging options aplenty. So we each did side tours according to our own schedules. Some of us visited their marae for the first time ever, others went on a heritage trail of a different kind, looking for ancestors.

local signatories Treaty of Waitangi

Tauwhara Marae

A few visited Paihia or called in to see friends. 

We all agreed that driver-ability in Kawakawa and Kerikeri was poor, and impatient compared to other parts of the country. But it doesn't help when the train suddenly appears beside you, and the car in front refuses to move over until the train driver stops beside him and talks him through moving his vehicle enough for me to get off the tracks.

We all joined together again in Kerikeri for a small event at the Retirement Home. Here, we mostly attracted other EV owners who had come to say hello or to get advice about their EVs.  We said goodbye to one of the grey KONAs.

Afterwards, we met up for pre-dinner drinks and then, thanks to our sober drivers Lex and Greg, headed into town for an excellent meal with live music at Diablos Mexican Hut.

Click the read more link below to see the previous days' diaries.

Taupo turned on glorious weather for the 2019 Road Trippers.

After the cancellation of the Rotorua Night Market due to inclement weather, the Great EV Road Trip 2019 began at stop 2 – Taupo – on the Colonel Roberts Reserve, right in the heart of the eating quarter of Taupo – and on the waterfront. 

BREAKING NEWS: AFTER A PENALTY, THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE IN PODIUM PLACINGS (SEE END)

Race 5 of the season was the 50^th Formula E race and it was therefore fitting that the series was back in China where the very first Formula E race was held. Although that race was in Beijing while this 5^th race of Season 5 was on the waterfront streets of downtown Hong Kong. It was also the 50^th Formula E race for veteran Brazilian driver, Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler)

The rain held off yet again, but the track was in various degrees of wet and dry from an earlier downpour, making driving tricky especially over the painted areas of the street track which become like ice when wet.  The track had 10 turns, six to the right and four to the left with mixed surfaces.

It was a game of cat and mouse between German, Andre Lotterer driving for DS Techeetah and Briton Sam Bird of Envision Virgin Racing, which ultimately ended in contact with Bird's claws causing a tyre blow-out.

London Wins Right to Host Formula E Next Season

It's Official. While Auckland was twiddling its thumbs on the subject, London has streaked ahead and scored the Series that this year is proving to be so much more popular than it has in the past.

Set to take place around the city's iconic Royal Docks and ExCeL London, the drivers will navigate their way around a one-of-a-kind track indoor/outdoor 2.4km clockwise circuit around Royal Victoria Dock. 

Consisting of 23 corners, the track layout will see the drivers run along the Thames waterfront for the season finale double-header of the 2019/20 campaign on July 25 & 26 2020 - subject to circuit homologation and approval of the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

British driver Sam Bird wins at Santiago for the Envision Virgin Racing team, making him the only driver to have a win in every season of Formula E.  Unaware that he was under investigation for being underweight during his post-race weigh-in, he accepted his trophy and fortunately was eventually cleared.

On the podium it was (1^st) Sam Bird (Envisage Virgin Racing), (2^nd) Pascal Wehrlein (Mahindra Racing), (3^rd) Daniel Abt (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler). Abt also got the points for fastest lap, and received one of the five fanboosts.

It was anybody's game in Marrakesh during the 2nd Race of the 2019 ABB FIA Formula E Series last night. 

Attack Activation Zone in the forefront of this image of the Marrakesh Street Track. Drivers need to turn on attack mode and activate it by taking the corner wide passing over the red and blue lines. Attack mode at Marrakesh lasts 4 minutes and gives an extra 25kW power.

New Zealander, Mitch Evans, got off to a great start, winning a practice race and breaking the track record with a time of 1.17.22. While he didn’t get the extra series point that he would have if he’d won fastest lap during the main race, it was enough for him to comfortably make it into the top six for the qualifying races. In these he just managed to retain a spot in the top six and was therefore eligible to compete in the Julius Baer Super Pole shoot out.

From that point on nothing went right for the Panasonic Jaguar team. In the Super Pole race, Evans overshot the braking-point unable to make the corner at turn six and driving off track into the skate way. By the time he got back on track, he trailed a miserable 17+ seconds behind the pole position. Having already qualified in the top six, Evans still retained his third-row starting post alongside BMW i Andretti Motorsport's Alex Sims who made good time but placed 5th in the Super Pole.

Evan's teammate, Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jn was starting in ninth position followed by Mahindra Racing's Jerome d'Ambrosio.

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW

Unable to wait on government, Vector has begun publishing its own series of Guides on EV Charging. The first much-needed guide will be aimed at multi-dwelling complexes. This how-to guide is designed to make it easier for tenants and residents of business, commercial and apartment buildings to install EV charging facilities. 

Lines company, Vector Limited is New Zealand's leading electricity distributor and is largely owned by Auckland householders, via Entrust.

“EV popularity continues to skyrocket, with the number of EVs on New Zealand roads almost doubling year-on-year,” said Vector’s Head of Engineering, Cristiano Marantes.

“By demystifying the process and making it easier for people to charge their EVs, we expect to see to see more businesses adopt them as part of their company fleet,” he said. 

NZ EV Registrations: Just Shy of 12K mark

Figures released yesterday by the Ministry of Transport have final numbers of electric vehicles registered in NZ as of 2018 year-end at 11,748. This comfortably exceeds the Government's target of 8,000. 

Continuing the trend, light electric far outweighs heavy EV. Interestingly though, BEV has more than double the number of registrations as PHEV on an increasing trend year on year.

SAUDIA Ad Diriyah

With just 3 days to go until the start of the 2018/19 racing season, FELIPE MASSA, one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, drove deep into the deserts of Saudi Arabia to test his skills against the fastest animal on earth.

It’s not the first time the fully-electric Formula E car has been pitted against a member of the animal kingdom, with reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne running side-by-side with a cheetah on the Western Cape of South Africa last year.

Vergne narrowly edged out the fastest land mammal, but fans asked for a rematch - this time together with a more demanding competitor. Listening to the feedback of fans on social media, it became the turn of the peregrine falcon, which is capable of reaching speeds in excess of 350 km/h (217 mph) when diving through the skies.

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[Rachelle Tilsley - Better NZ Trust - 12 Dec 2018]

Yoogo Share has won first place in the "Smarter Transport" category of the 2018 NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards. 

Right to left: Yoogo Share Development Manager, Tracey Jay. Yoogo Share General Manager, Kirsten Corson. Waste Management National Manager Customer First, Marsha Cadman. Waste Management Sustainability Manager, Adam Weller.
Image Credit: Sustainable Business Network

650 people attended the black-tie NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards dinner in Auckland last Thursday night to find out which businesses were leading sustainability in the country. Yoogo Share was up against Waste Management NZ, Civic Contractors, Enviro NZ, Tranzit Group, Yoogo Share and Mevo for the Smarter Transport Award.