Autovolt Magazine

Rio Replaces Hong Kong in Updated Formula E Calendar Amongst Other Date Alterations

Formula E Holdings, promoters of the new FIA Formula E Championship, has confirmed its 2014/2015 calendar featuring 10 city-centre events spanning four continents.

The calendar was submitted to the FIA during its World Motor Sport Council in Paris, France, and will run from September 2014 to June 2015. Beijing will remain as the host venue for the world’s first ever fully-electric race commencing on 13th September 2014 – one week earlier than previously planned.

After the opening round in Beijing, the 10 teams and 20 drivers will remain in Asia for Round 2 with Putrajaya, the federal administrative centre of Malaysia on 18th October 2014. Round 3 will now see the championship head to Rio de Janeiro, the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro and the second largest city of Brazil. Rio replaces Hong Kong which will instead be considered as a candidate city for the following Formula E seasons.

From here, the series continues in South America with Round 4 in Punta del Este, Uruguay, on 13th December 2014 before starting the New Year in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for Round 5 on 10th January. The championship then heads to North America for Rounds 6 and 7 with Los Angeles on 14th February 2015 and Miami now brought forward to 14th March 2015.

The season then moves to Europe for the final three rounds beginning with Monte Carlo, Monaco, on 9th May 2015 followed by the German capital of Berlin on 30th May 2015 where the former airport of Tempelhof has already been revealed as the circuit location. The inaugural season then reaches its climax in London, United Kingdom, on 27th June 2015.

Rio de Janeiro will now feature as one of the 10 host cities.

Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E Holdings, said:

“It’s a great feeling to be able to confirm our calendar for the inaugural Formula E season and we’re very thankful to all the cities, and candidate cities, for showing their commitment to sustainable mobility. The level of interest we have received from cities all over the globe has been overwhelming and choosing the final 10 has been a challenging and meticulous process. We’re confident our final 10 cities will provide an array of fantastic backdrops to showcase electric cars in their favoured urban environments, as well as allow us to put on a great spectacle for the fans.”

All Formula E events will feature a free practice session, qualifying session, one-hour race and live music concert taking place in a single day (Saturday) in order to minimise disruption to the city and its surrounding areas. Precise circuit layouts for each venue will be revealed at a later stage but all will use city-centre locations. Tickets for the first rounds will go on sale in 2014.

Formula E is a new FIA championship featuring Formula cars powered exclusively by electric energy –representing a vision for the future and serving as a framework for research and development around the electric vehicle. For the first season only, all 10 teams – each with two drivers – will compete using the new Spark-Renault SRT_01E car which completed its successful test debut last month.

  1. Beijing, China – 13th September 2014
  2. Putrajaya, Malaysia – 18th October 2014
  3. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 15th November 2014
  4. Punta del Este, Uruguay – 13th December 2014
  5. Buenos Aires, Argentina – 10th January 2015
  6. Los Angeles, California, USA – 14th February 2015
  7. Miami, Florida, USA – 14th March 2015
  8. Monte Carlo, Monaco – 9th May 2015
  9. Berlin, Germany – 30th May 2015
  10. London, UK – 27th June 2015

The final 2014-2015 FIA Formula E Championship calendar unveiled.

Source; FIA Formula E