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Tickets on sale for Formula E Beijing ePrix

August 22, 2014 in China, Electric Vehicles, EV enthusiast, EV News, FIA Formula E

Photo courtesy of Formula E

Photo courtesy of Formula E

Fans of the new all-electric FIA Formula E Championship can now purchase tickets to attend the first ever race in Beijing on September 13 2014.

Raceday tickets, all of which offer reserved grandstand seating, can be obtained from one of three outlets. Local fans can use the www.shuiniaoticket.com platform, whilst spectators outside of China can visit the official website www.fiaformulae.com or global ticketing leader Ticketmaster – Formula E’s official ticketing provider. Ticketmaster will also provide ticketing technology solutions and project management for the championship, and become the exclusive ticketing partner in the countries where Ticketmaster already has a presence.

For the Beijing ePrix – which will see the 10 teams and 20 drivers compete on a temporary street circuit around the iconic Olympic ‘Bird’s Nest’ Stadium – organisers are offering two pricing options – Gold and Platinum priced at 488 RMB and 688 RMB (55 and 85 Euros respectively), dependent on the view of the track. Children under five will have free entry to the Beijing ePrix – as with all Formula E races (if accompanied by an adult) – with Beijing also having a limited amount of free trackside access. Tickets can also be brought at the track on the day.

Commenting on the collaboration, Ticketmaster International’s President, Mark Yovich said: “We are thrilled to be working with Formula E. Ticketmaster’s broad experience, and the global reach we offer to millions of sports fans, positions us perfectly to work with Formula E to grow this exciting new motorsport. We look forward to working with the team at the FIA Formula E Championship and providing the best possible service for motorsport fans.”

Francesca Triossi, Formula E’s Ticketing and Merchandising Manager, added: “Fans have been able to pre-register for tickets for several weeks now, but it’s great to have them officially on sale. We believe the first ever Formula E race in Beijing is going to be a fantastic spectacle with 20 top drivers racing around the ‘Bird’s Nest’ stadium and we hope fans, both in China and from overseas, will join us in celebrating a new era of motorsport.

“We’re also very pleased to be working with Ticketmaster as they are the only ticketing provider that had the capabilities to serve our global business. Their world-class technology and service, coupled with their distribution and reach will be beneficial not only to our business, but to fans of Formula E and motor racing across the world.”

Formula E is the FIA’s new fully-electric single-seater championship designed to appeal to a new generation of motorsport fans, whilst accelerating the interest in electric vehicles and promoting sustainability. Competing entirely on city-centre circuits – with races in China, Malaysia, Uruguay, Argentina, US, Monaco, Germany and the UK – it uses cars capable of speeds in excess of 150mph (225kph). Its 10 teams feature some of the leading international names in motorsport including Alain Prost and Michael Andretti, along with high-profile environmental supporters such as Sir Richard Branson.

Prices, further details and sale dates on forthcoming races will be announced shortly.

This article is a repost, credit: Formula E. Video courtesy of Formula E.

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Formula E course cars to be equipped with Qualcomm wireless charging

August 19, 2014 in BMW, BMW i3, Electric Vehicles, EV charging, EV enthusiast, EV News, FIA Formula E

Photo courtesy of Formula E

Photo courtesy of Formula E

The all-electric FIA Formula E Championship has today confirmed that its course cars for the inaugural season will be fitted with Qualcomm Halo™ wireless charging technology – an inductive charging system which allows the car’s battery to be charged without the use of cables.

With the final specification of car set to be announced shortly, the championship’s technical team took advantage of today’s final test at Donington Park to trial two BMW i8 and two BMW i3 models with the aim to evaluate them for the series’ official course cars. Earlier this year, the German marque was part of the Global Launch event of the Formula E in London.

All four BMWs have been specifically modified to meet FIA requirements, with one of the BMW i3 models featuring an inductive charging system from Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), with the remaining three vehicles set to be adapted at a later stage. The technology has been developed by San Diego-based Qualcomm Incorporated, one of the official Founding and Technology Partners of the series and a global leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies. The Qualcomm Halo™ technology uses resonant magnetic induction to transfer energy between a ground-based pad and a charging pad fitted to the underside of the vehicle. The cars can then simply park over the base pad for charging to start automatically.

The chosen safety car – which will be officially entitled the Qualcomm Safety Car – will be driven by experienced driver Bruno Correia, whilst the medical and extraction cars will be overseen by FIA Medical Delegate Dr Phil Rayner and his team. The cars will be positioned at the end of the pitlane, charging wirelessly and ready to be rapidly deployed as required during each practice, qualifying and race.

Steve Pazol, GM, Wireless Charging at Qualcomm Incorporated, said: “Qualcomm is honoured to be an integral part of FIA’s Formula E Championship. As electric vehicles become more ubiquitous, charging them wirelessly is an obvious next step in the EV evolution and we are excited to showcase this in Formula E. Motorsport is a known proving ground for new technologies, and in addition to our wireless EV charging technology, Qualcomm will be bringing more of its technologies to bear as the series goes forward.”

Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E, said: “Qualcomm’s wireless charging system is ground-breaking technology and represents an exciting evolution for charging electric vehicles. Wireless charging has the potential to radically improve the electric vehicle driver experience and Formula E provides the perfect platform in which to develop, test and showcase this exciting new technology.”

Formula E is the FIA’s new fully-electric single-seater championship designed to appeal to a new generation of motorsport fans, whilst accelerating the interest in electric vehicles and promoting sustainability. Competing entirely on city-centre circuits – with races also in China, Malaysia, Uruguay, USA, Monaco, Germany and the UK – it uses cars capable of speeds in excess of 150mph (225kph). Its 10 teams and 20 drivers feature some of the leading international names in motorsport including Alain Prost and Michael Andretti, along with high-profile environmental supporters including Sir Richard Branson.

This article is a repost, credit: Formula E.

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CANAL+ to televise Formula E live for three seasons

August 14, 2014 in Electric Vehicles, EV enthusiast, EV News, FIA Formula E

Photo courtesy of Formula E

Photo courtesy of Formula E

Leading French sports channel CANAL+ is to televise live coverage of all races in the new all-electric FIA Formula E Championship for the next three seasons.

In a deal brokered by the international media company MP & Silva, the leading premium content pay-TV company in France will have exclusive broadcasting rights for live races covering the entire French region, along with Andorra and Monaco.

In addition, they will air a delayed highlights programme reviewing the Formula E action together with pre-race build up, podium celebrations and driver interviews.

Ali Russell, Director of Media, said: “I’m delighted to announce this new broadcast deal with CANAL+. We want to ensure audiences around the world can watch this exciting new motorsport series and this latest agreement further strengthens our global outreach alongside existing deals with FOX Sports, China’s CCTV, ITV in the UK and Japan’s TV Asahi. We also still have more deals to announce before the opening race in Beijing on September 13.”

Cyril Linette, CANAL+ GROUP Sports Director, added: “We are very glad to be part of this new motorsport series. This new competition at the heart of big cities is a great opportunity to create a new and exciting live TV show for our subscribers, as we already do with Formula One and WRC. CANAL+ is definitely the channel of motorsport in France!”

CANAL+ has a current estimated household reach of six million homes and joins previously announced broadcasters FOX Sports, TV Asahi, ITV4 and CCTV who have all committed to showing live coverage of Formula E races.

The FOX Sports deal alone covers 88 territories around the world and a potential global audience of 180 million households, whilst TV Asahi boasts a household reach of 51.4 million. ITV4 is available to almost 26.2 million homes in the UK with an estimated weekly audience of 10.6 million.

CCTV-5 is the main sports channel in the People’s Republic of China and part of the China Central Television (CCTV) network. CCTV is also the principal state broadcaster in mainland China with a network of 45 channels – the largest number of television sub-channels in the world – and a potential reach of more than 200 million people.

Further TV rights deals will be announced in the coming weeks. To find out more about all the places you can watch Formula E races click here.

This article is a repost, credit: Formula E. Video courtesy of Formula E.

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Formula E completes full event simulation ahead of first ever race

August 11, 2014 in Electric Vehicles, EV enthusiast, EV News, FIA Formula E

Photo courtesy of Formula E

Photo courtesy of Formula E

Formula E has completed two full event simulations as the world’s first all-electric single-seater championship gears up for its first race in Beijing on September 13.

Both events took place at Leicestershire’s Donington Park, where a temporary pitlane and pitboxes were assembled to mimic those that will be in place at the street circuits the series will visit.

Accreditation procedures, operational and IT infrastructures and even television broadcasts were also meticulously tested.

During the second simulation, for the first time the 10 teams ran all four of their cars as the two non-qualifying sessions, qualifying and an endurance test were completed to the schedule that will take place at the races.

This meant that all of the teams and drivers had the opportunity to simulate the unique car change pitstops – and at the second simulation – a full standing start.

While a number of issues were encountered, which was the reason for running the simulation, overall the events were considered to be a success.

Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E, said: “Putting on a major sporting event in the heart of cities around the world is a massive undertaking and requires careful preparation. We want the Formula E Beijing ePrix to a fantastic spectacle, which is why we’re leaving nothing to chance by rigorously testing all the systems beforehand. Overall we’re very pleased with how things went.”

Organisers have also revealed the raceday timetable for each Formula E event, which takes place all in one day. 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 race distance (exact number of laps) determined on the day.

The final Formula E pre-season test takes place at Donington Park on August 19 with free admission to the public. Some 4000 fans have already pre-registered their interest for the last opportunity to see the cars and drivers before the season opener.

This article is a repost, credit: Formula E. Video courtesy of Formula E.

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Grand Prix Association of Long Beach to host inaugural ePrix

July 25, 2014 in Electric Vehicles, EV enthusiast, EV News, FIA Formula E

Photo courtesy of Formula E

Photo courtesy of Formula E

The Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, which owns and operates the annual IndyCar Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, has been retained by the new all-electric FIA Formula E Championship to facilitate the operation of its inaugural Long Beach ePrix, set to take place April 4 2015.

The Long Beach ePrix, round six of the world’s first fully-electric racing series and one of two US races alongside Miami, will feature 20 electric race cars piloted by top-class drivers on a portion of the traditional Grand Prix circuit on the downtown streets of Long Beach. The Formula E race circuit will incorporate seven turns and be 1.6 miles long, utilising the same iconic start/finish line as the Grand Prix.

Admission to the Long Beach ePrix grandstands will be free through the series’ Legacy Programme – unique to Long Beach, giving free access to fans with a focus on attracting school and university students from the area to appeal to a new generation of motorsport fans and promote the electric vehicle industry.

“We’re delighted that Formula E has selected Long Beach as the site for its first ePrix on the U.S. West Coast,” said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association. “The free admission will afford everyone the opportunity to come out and witness this historic and unique event.”

Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E, said: “Jim and his team have a proven track record in operating one of the most famous street races in the US, so they were an obvious choice to help facilitate our Long Beach ePrix and we’re looking forward to working with Jim and his team to make this a fantastic spectacle for the people of Southern California.

“The US is a key market for Formula E due to its burgeoning electric vehicle infrastructure, and the only country to have two races. Not to mention live TV coverage provided via FOX Sports, a founding partner in technology giant Qualcomm and Wyc Grousbeck, lead owner of NBA basketball team the Boston Celtics, as one of the series’ investors.”

Formula E is the FIA’s (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) new open-wheel championship using electric race cars capable of speeds in excess of 150 mph. Its 10 teams feature some of the leading names in motorsport including two from the United States – Michael Andretti’s Andretti Autosport and Jay Penske’s Dragon Racing. Among the 20 drivers who will drive in the series are two-time Long Beach Grand Prix winner Mike Conway, 2006 Long Beach Atlantic Series winner Katherine Legge and former Formula One drivers such as Lucas di Grassi, Bruno Senna, Jarno Trulli, Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi and Nick Heidfeld.

The first Formula E race will take place around Beijing’s Olympic ‘Bird’s Nest’ Stadium on September 13. All Formula E events take place in one day – practice, qualifying and a one-hour race – in order to help minimize disruption to the city.

For more information on the Long Beach ePrix click here.

Photo courtesy of Formula E

Photo courtesy of Formula E

This article is a repost, credit: Formula E.

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Pre-order Beijing race tickets now

July 24, 2014 in China, Electric Vehicles, EV enthusiast, EV News, FIA Formula E

Image courtesy of Formula E

Image courtesy of Formula E

You can be part of history and attend the first-ever Formula E race – the Beijing ePrix – by reserving your ticket now.

An English-language version is due shortly, but Cantonese speakers can visit http://shuiniaoticket.com and ensure they have a place in the grandstand for the world’s first all-electric single-seater race – taking place on September 13 2014 on a street track around the iconic Olympic Stadium.

There are two types of ticket available for this first ePrix: gold and platinum.

The gold tickets are priced at 488RMB (55 Euros) and gives you access to the seating area of the lower part of the main grandstands.

The platinum ticket is priced at 688 (85 Euros) and gives you access to the seating area of the upper part of the main grandstands.

Be sure to visit www.fiaformulae.com or follow FIAFormulaE on Facebook and @FIAFormulaE on Twitter to get all the latest news on the championship.

This article is a repost, credit: Formula E. Video courtesy of Formula E.

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Nicki Shields meets Mahindra Racing’s Bruno Senna (Formula E)

July 15, 2014 in Electric Vehicles, EV enthusiast, EV News, FIA Formula E

Photo courtesy of Formula E

Photo courtesy of Formula E

Video courtesy of Formula E.