Electric cars banned from Australian drag racing due to safety concerns

Australians, please don’t take your Tesla Model S Plaid, Porsche Taycan Turbo GT or Hyundai Ioniq 5 N to Willowbank Raceway – the doors are closed

Electric car owners in Queensland, Australia, just lost entry to Willowbank Drag Race. The circuit’s operators have announced a blanket ban on all racing and testing of “road-registered electric vehicles”, citing safety concerns in the event of an accident. Interestingly, the door is still open for hybrids.

Willowbank Raceway, a fixture outside Ipswich in Queensland since 1985, announced the news via a press release but left no room for explanation. Starting today, electric cars are persona non grata on the Las Vegas Strip. reasoning? The circuit’s owners looked to Motorsport Australia, NEDRA guidelines and various emergency response protocols to conclude that electric vehicles present risks they are not equipped to manage.

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“After careful consideration and investigation, Willowbank Raceway has decided that we can no longer allow road-registered fully electric vehicles to race or test at Willowbank Raceway,” track owners said in a statement.

“We have been reviewing the regulations of Motorsport Australia, NEDRA and vehicle-specific emergency response procedures and based on information provided by these authorities we have determined that the risks associated with racing and testing electric vehicles are too high,” the company added.

The advisory mentions the following security issues:

• Batteries may release toxic and flammable gases after collision
• First responders may not be able to confirm that the car is “off”
• Doors may not be unlocked from the outside after a collision
• If the driver becomes unconscious after an accident, including a medical incident, the chassis may become live and removing the driver would put responding personnel at risk
• The car may not roll with the power disconnected, and towing the car is impossible with the equipment we have
• Electric vehicles require specific fire suppression systems, such as water baths.

While these points are true to an extent, some believe they only tell part of the story. For example, some internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles equipped with power door locks face the same post-crash unlocking issue. What about electric supercars like the Ferrari SF90 Stradale, McLaren Artura or Lamborghini Revuelto? The vehicles include EV modes but appear to have escaped scrutiny for fully electric vehicles.

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Regardless, the track’s comments highlighted that dealing with accidents involving electric vehicles often requires specialized training and equipment. The same applies to electric vehicle fires. Although recent research shows that electric vehicles are far less likely to catch fire than internal combustion or hybrid vehicles, their batteries that constantly catch fire present a more complex challenge.

According to Australia’s Drive.com.au, the decision triggered a predictable variety of reactions online. Some EV owners suspected foul play, joking that drivers of combustion engine cars were simply “tired of being blackened by high-torque Teslas and other EVs in drag races.” Others are delighted with the change as they prefer watching the races between V8-powered Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons rather than “racing appliances”.

It’s worth noting that Willowbank isn’t the first track to take this stance. Summit Point Raceway in West Virginia implemented a similar ban on electric vehicles in 2023, and Wales’ Anglesey Circuit followed suit earlier in 2024. However, both tracks have extended their bans to include hybrid cars, a move that at least avoids the current selective logic that lies at Yanagigan.