(Jim Rogaski is a member of SCCA’s Electrified Vehicle Advisory Committee, a group tasked with the development and potential implementation of rules based around electric vehicles within the SCCA.)

There’s one constant in the automotive manufacturing industry, and that is change. We have seen wooden wheels, wire wheels, solid steel wheels, alloy wheels, and carbon fiber wheels. We have gone from mechanical friction brakes to hydraulic drum brakes to hydraulic disc brakes. We have used carburetors and fuel injection, and gone from magnetos to computerized ignitions. We have seen engines that are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 16 cylinders, and let’s not forget zero cylinders with the rotary engine. And now we have electric motors.

The Sports Car Club of America® has also evolved over its 80-plus year span from a club interested in automobiles to a nationwide organization of motorsport enthusiasts. We are continually adapting the Club to the constant change in the automotive industry, adopting new programs and making adjustments to the rules to address changes in the vehicles we drive daily and in competition. In all of this, electrified vehicles (EVs) have become more and more popular as daily drivers.

EVs are now also being used in several professional racing series. Several of SCCA’s Regions have adopted local Regional-only SCCA Road Racing classes for EVs. SCCA’s National Solo program has also recognized the need to allow our members to participate in their series by including them in some Street classes as well as developing classes specifically for EVs.

In order to bring consistency to the implementation of rules specific to EVs, the SCCA Board of Directors created the Electrified Vehicle Advisory Committee (EVAC). The EVAC’s mission and goal is to create a centralized set of guidelines and policies that each SCCA program (Solo®, Road Racing, Race Experience, RallyCross®, RoadRally, and Time Trials) can draw from their respective programs. The EVAC, working with EV industry professionals, developed the Supplemental Competition Rules for Electrified Vehicles (SCREV). The SCREV is a broad-based document intended to cover all program needs. It is not expected for all programs to fully utilize all the elements it contains. Rather, each program can select the relevant components from the SCREV for their form of competition. To learn more about the SCREV, follow this link.

In addition to creating the SCREV, the EVAC also developed a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document to address common questions about EVs in motorsports. It defines what an EV is and provides recommendations on how to prepare for EV competition at events. It is a helpful guide for competitors, Regions, and venues alike. The FAQ can be found here.

For the SCCA Road Racing program, the SCREV has been working with some of the other Club Racing Advisory Committees to develop EV-specific classes for a Touring-based class and a Prototype-based class.

The Electric Touring Car rules can be found in section 9.1.9.3 of the General Competition Rules (GCR), with the Prototype Electric rules appearing in section 9.1.8.H.

The EVAC recognizes that the documents above are just a starting point for SCCA’s competition programs, and these rules packages will evolve over time as EVs become more plentiful and sophisticated in their design.

If you wish to share your thoughts and ideas with the EVAC, letters and comments can be submitted via this link.

Photo by Andy Shultz