Of the 270 vehicles that started the gruelling San Felipe 250 desert race on Saturday, only 187 completed the course and a modified version of the Lordstown-made Endurance was not one of the finishers.
According to SCORE International, the E414 driven by Matthew Blanchard of Salem traveled 39.8 miles before dropping out of the 280-mile course in Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.
The Endurance was one of only two vehicles in the Baja-e electric class entered in the race, neither of which finished.
The other Baja-e class vehicle, driven by Kyle Seggelin, completed 157 miles of the course.
According to an LMC Facebook post, military veterans, brothers Matt and Tony Blanchard were the official drivers for the race.
“They know what it really means to be tested in battle in the most extreme conditions. Both Matt & Tony have gone through extensive training to prepare for the ultimate race of endurance,” according to the Facebook post which also said that team member Chuck Dempsey has been involved in the off-road industry for over 40 years, with over 20 years of professional racing experience, including running the Baja 1000 more than 25 times.
Eighty-three vehicles in all did not complete the entire race. Twenty-seven other starters completed even fewer miles of the course than the Endurance.
Lordstown Motors issued a statement after the race saying that the Endurance’s hub motors, battery pack, and software performed well.
“Everything we did and experienced in Mexico has provided us with valuable insights into how the Endurance’s technology performed and responded to the demanding and treacherous conditions,” according to the statement. “We are stopping here and taking our incredible learnings back to Lordstown.”
The company says lessons learned during the race will become part of the pickup truck’s DNA and help them meet performance expectations and requirements.
The company last week began sending Endurance beta prototypes for crash, engineering, and validation testing.
Reproduced from an article in WFMJ.com
