Gearing up for Formula E

The wheels of summer have ground to a halt but an event tomorrow has Briefing looking beyond an empty August events calendar to an event that ushers a new racing format.

The event in question is the first Formula E race in Beijing, which takes place on September 13, 2014 and will be preceded tomorrow by the final pre-season tests at Donington Park.

To summarise, FIA Formula E – or ePrix - involves 10 international teams with two drivers who have two cars each (that’s four cars per team). The all-electric cars will race on 10 city-centre venues around the world, including London on June 27, 2015.

On race days, the 10 teams and 20 drivers will have two non-qualifying sessions in the morning – lasting 45 minutes and 30 minutes - followed by a qualifying session split into four groups of five cars with the order selected at random beforehand. The race itself will last approximately 60 minutes with the exact number of laps determined on the day.

The Engineer has published numerous articles about FIA Formula E and you can familiarise yourself with all aspects of the series, including rules and regulations, by clicking here.

Two full event simulations have already been completed at the East Midlands racing circuit, where a temporary pitlane and pitboxes were assembled to mimic those that will be in place at the city street circuits the series will visit.

Anyone doubting all-electric racing as a spectator sport might want to ponder this statistic: 4,000 people have pre-registered their interest for tomorrow’s event, which also sees the debut of the wirelessly charged Qualcomm Safety Car.

Qualcomm’s Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event.

No stranger to the pages of The Engineer, WEVC and similar technology can be studied in depth by clicking here.

Formula E sets out to be a showcase for low-carbon transportation and similar technology is being brought to London’s Square Mile early next month when the Technology Strategy Board and the Motorsport Industry Association host the High Performance Low Carbon Technology & Engineering Investment Showcase.

TSB says the event will showcase the innovative technology and capability of selected companies from Motorsport Valley in the heart of England, adding ‘We want to create connections directly between the investment community and these exciting companies to help…identify potential future investment opportunities and to help them to achieve their growth ambitions.’

A number of companies exhibiting and presenting are winners in the Technology Strategy Board’s £1.14m Motorsport Valley Launchpad competition and ‘have offers of grants to carry out R&D projects to develop new products and services that will have applications in motorsports, wider automotive, aerospace and marine markets of the future.’