Hybrid outlasts the 'Ring

We wanted to take a moment and quickly update our readers regarding our previous post about the hybrid Apollo that competed over the weekend in the Nürburgring 24 hour race in Germany.

In a press release following the race, Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur said, "In front of over 200,000 motorsport fans, the Apollo showed that hybrid technology has good prospects in motorsport. At 3pm, the Apollo, piloted by Heinz-Harald Frentzen, crossed the finish line, powered only by the electric engine. Frentzen was assisted by Dirk Müller, Dominik Schwager and Mark Engels."

Making headlines here is, of course, a hybrid-powered race car. The only thing that has come close in recent history is Audi's diesel-powered R10. No, the Audi's not a hybrid but it doesn't use conventional racing fuels either.

Hats off to a race team willing to try something new but, even more so, a team willing to take on the big boys. They didn't have the technical and financial backing of the manufacturer-backed teams yet they competed and finished. Impressive.