formula e

F1 and INDYCAR Launch Virtual Racing Series

March 21, 2020 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

It started in the wake of Formula E suspending its season for two months, then Formula 1 cancelling the Australian Grand Prix because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jean-Eric Vergne (JEV), the two-time ABB FIA Formula E Champion, posted a modest proposal on social media and tagged other drivers: “To all my fellow friends racing drivers who won’t race in the next 2 months: should we create an online championship and race?” A day later, JEV posted a graphic with the tag “Not the AUS GP” – Real F1 Drivers vs. Top Gamers. The first driver announce was McLaren Driver Lando Norris, then former McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne (currently with the Mercedes Formula e team), along with Mercedes development driver and former Formula E driver Esteban Gutierrez and more curiously, Thibault Courtois (goalkeeper for Real Madrid) following suit. Veloce Esports, JEV’s sponsor, would be host of the live event on their YouTube channel and Twitch March 15, 2020.

Thanks to Instagram’s logarithms that always show me things I would actually want to see 17 hours after they have happened, I missed the livestream but the entire event can be watched here. I’ll admit to being a complete stranger to Esports – gaming is not my thing, so on the outset I was surprised at the level of detail, including race stewards behind the fence and nervous team engineers in the pit garage. The 29-lap the e-race had some exciting moments, though there was a strange glitch at the race start when the light went green but the cars just sat on the grid for several seconds. Missing is the onboard banter (which seems to be in a separate video), the excitement of real-life pit-stops, and the general drama of F1 and its various personalties, but the after-race interviews and banter tries to make up for that. And hey, Williams finished in the points, hopefully a good omen for the 2020 season when real racing finally gets started. Of the real drivers, Lando Norris finished 6th after working his way up from a start at 19th, Gutierrez finished 10th after a DQ in qualifying when his system crashed, and Vandoorne came in 15th. Nineteen year old Hungarian esports driver Dani Bereznay won both pole and the race. His comments afterwards echo all of our sentiments, I think: “…I’m a huge Formula 1 fan myself as well, so I just want to see the real teams and cars and guys racing out there as soon as possible, but at least from this negative we did some kind of positive results a the end of the day…”

Team roster for Not The AUS GP:
Mercedes: Stoffel Vandoorne – Esteban Gutierrez
Red Bull: Tiametmarduk – Veloce Hyperz
Toro Rosso: Super GT – Jimmy Broadbent
McLaren: Lando Norris – WillNE
Alfa Romeo: Dani Bereznay – James Baldwin
Racing Point: James Doherty – Thibaut Courtois
Williams: Sacha Fenestraz – Tom Martinez
HAAS: Louis Delétraz – Ryan Tveter
Renault: Jarno Opmeer – Simon Weigang

Early on March 20 Formula 1 announced its own F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix series to be broadcast on Formula 1 YouTube, Twitch and Facebook channels. The first e-race will be the Bahrain Virtual Grand Prix 8pm GMT Sunday, March 22. Not surprisingly these races will not have actual championship points for the drivers. The Virtual Grand Prix is a separate event from the Not The BAH GP, which will be at 6pm GMT on the Veloce Esports channel. Both events will announce the competitors soon, but it’s safe to say that the F1 version will have more current F1 drivers, and the Veloce version will have a different variety of drivers (including Williams’ Nick Lafiti) and e-sports champs.

With the racing season from regional tracks to prominent series like F1 postponed and cancelled globally, it’s not surprising that INDYCAR and NASCAR would also take a cue from the success of this hastily organized Veloce e-race. Hours after the F1 announcement, INDYCAR sent out a press release announcing the first race of the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge on Saturday March 28, 2020 at 4pm EST. The IndyCar virtual racing will start out with six races to be streamed live on indycar.com as well as YouTube, Facebook Live, and Twitch for the next six Saturdays. The actual venue will be voted on by fans and the winner will be interviewed on Instagram afterwards by Katie Hargitt. The entry list will be announced in the coming week. (Read the full press release here.) NASCAR is launching the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series for fans Sunday, March 22, 1:30pm EST, limited to FS1 and the FOX Sports app. The race will feature NASCAR notables such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace and more at iRacing virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Lemonade from lemons; this could be a fun diversion while we are all practicing social distancing and hoping the best for friends and family.

Coronavirus Cancels Motorsports

March 13, 2020 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

As the COVID-19 – the illness commonly referred to as coronavirus – has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), the cancellations in the world of motorsports are piling up. Here’s a list of cancellations and postponements as of March 23, 2020:

Trans-Am Speedfest: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca May 1-3 POSTPONED

World RX of Portugal: POSTPONED. “Due to the Portuguese government declaring a state of emergency and the suspension of all sporting events in Portugal in light of global health concerns… this year’s World RX of Portugal on May 2-3 has been postponed. …We will provide further updates as soon as we have them.”

Lime Rock Park: CLOSED. “This closure will remain in effect through April 30, 2020, unless earlier modified, extended, or terminated by Governor Lamont. This closure will affect all daily track rentals and events previously scheduled at the facility. Lime Rock staff will continue to work within the “Stay Safe, Stay Home” policy and will be available to answer calls and concerns during this time. The decision to reschedule any major events will be made at a future time. Our current intention is to run all major events for the 2020 season.”

WEC TOTAL 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps: “…the decision has been taken to postpone the 7th round of the FIA World Endurance Championship’s 2019-2020 season… The promoter, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and the RACB are working together to find a new 2020 date and, as soon as this is finalised, it will be communicated.”

Formula 1:
UPDATE 3: As of March 23, Azerbaijan GP is POSTPONED.
UPDATE 2: As of March 19, 2020, the Dutch GP and Spanish GP are POSTPONED while Monaco is CANCELLED.
Mandatory summer shutdown has been moved from August to March and April, and extended to up to 21 days.
UPDATE: As of March 13, 8:30 a.m. EST, Bahrain and Vietnam Grand Prix have been POSTPONED. The Formula 1 season will tentatively resume in May 2020. Additionally, the second round of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, which were to have run at Albert Park during the GP weekend, will be POSTPONED to later in the year. (Note that the Chinese Grand Prix had already been POSTPONED in February.)
The Australian Grand Prix, supposed to have been run on Sunday, March 15, 2020 has been CANCELLED

Twelve Hours of Sebring: IMSA have POSTPONED the race to November 11-14, 2020.

ABB FIA Formula e: As of March 13, season is SUSPENDED for two months

INDYCAR: As of March 26, 2020, the Indy 500 has been POSTPONED to Sunday, August 23, 2020.
As of March 13, 2020, all NTT INDYCAR SERIES events have been CANCELLED through April. This includes the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

WRC Rally Mexico: Remaining stages CANCELLED March 14th to allow teams to travel home. Sebastien Ogier declared winner.

Rally Argentina: 2020 SpeedAgro Rally Argentina, originally scheduled for 23 – 26 April, has been POSTPONED. New dates will be announced soon.

100 Acre Wood Rally: As of March 13, 100 Acre Wood Rally is CANCELLED.

NASCAR:
FULL UPDATE:
Atlanta Motor Speedway: “With the health and safety of fans, staff, competitors, race teams and media our top priority, NASCAR and Atlanta Motor Speedway POSTPONED this weekend’s race activities to a yet-to-be determined future date.”
ARCA: This weekend’s ARCA Menards Series East race at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida has been POSTPONED.
Homestead-Miami: “As a result of the recent Coronavirus and taking necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our fans and industry stakeholders, NASCAR has decided to postpone the race events at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend and Homestead-Miami Speedway next weekend.”
Whelen Modifier South Boston: “NASCAR and South Boston Speedway officials announced Friday that the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour opener has been POSTPONED INEVITABLY.“
NASCAR WHELEN EURO SERIES: After conversations with Circuit Ricardo Tormo and the local government, the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season opener in Valencia, Spain has been rescheduled due to the ongoing concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus). The NASCAR GP Spain at Valencia, previously scheduled for April 25-26, will now take place on October 31st – November 1st. [POSTPONED]

The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: The April 17-19 GP has been CANCELLED. “…various race sanctioning bodies and the Long Beach Convention Center to discuss the viability of rescheduling this event at a later time in the year. If that is not possible, then we look forward to presenting the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 16-18, 2021.”

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg: CANCELLED.

NHRA: As per the the March 12 press release, “NHRA officials are postponing a portion of the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. Some Sportsman racing will be contested this weekend without ticketed spectators, but the majority of the event has been POSTPONED to a later date.”

Formula D: The 2020 opening round is now CANCELLED. “For all Formula DRIFT Long Beach ticket buyers, information on refunds and/or credits will be forthcoming.”

Trans Am Series: The debut at Sonoma Raceway that was originally scheduled for March 14-15 is POSTPONED. New date will be announced soon. “As an additional precautionary measure, the upcoming SpeedTour Road Atlanta Grand Prix event at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta March 28–29 will be held WITHOUT SPECTATORS.”

Monster Energy Supercross: March 14 race at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium has been CANCELLED.

FIA World Rallycross: “In light of the Generalitat de Catalunya’s decree to currently suspend all live sporting events in response to the evolving COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation, this year’s World RX of Catalunya-Barcelona on April 18-19 has been POSTPONED.”

Daytona 200/Daytona TT: “American Flat Track has postponed Bike Week At DAYTONA race events at Daytona International Speedway for March 14 and 15, which includes Saturday’s DAYTONA 200 presented by CoMoto and the DAYTONA TT. The 79th DAYTONA 200 will be held as part of Biketoberfest in October and the DAYTONA TT will be rescheduled on a future date. “

24 Hours of LeMans: POSTPONED to September 19-20, 2020.

Sonora Rally 2020: Ran as planned.

It should also be noted that outside of motorsports, the New York International Auto Show has been POSTPONED from April to August 2020. The Dallas Auto Show has also been postponed. Concrete dates for both will be announced soon.

ABB Formula E Championship Double Header in NYC

July 18, 2019 by ponycargirl 1 Comment

For the third year in a row, the ABB FIA Formula-E Championship took over the cruise terminal in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York for the final two rounds of the 2018-2109 season. The open-wheeled electric racing series started out with a large dose of skepticism from the motorsports world and beyond with the mid-race car switch to accommodate battery depletion. However, this is the first season racing in the Gen2 cars that have enough battery charge to last to the end of the race, thus allowing a shift towards a more traditional pit lane and track layout. Gen2 cars have a top speed of 280km/h (~173 mph), with 0-60 acceleration at about 2.5 seconds. Remaining battery power is tracked on the driver standings during the race, showing most of the competitors with between 1-3% juice remaining at the checkered flag.

The series continues to advance their unique brand melding green power, Silicon Valley tech, and going fast with the new ATTACK MODE feature for the Gen-2 cars. ATTACK MODE is in the same spirit of, for example, IndyCar’s push-to-pass, in that it gives the driver an extra 25 kW of power to drive faster and harder for several laps. In order to get that extra bit of power, the driver has to pilot through the Activation Zone while racing – and teams only get the details an hour before the race start. The caveat is that they have to drive off the racing line in order to activate so it does cost the driver seconds, and if the zone is missed – as happened earlier in the season – those seconds are hard to make up without the extra power. Making everything feel a bit more like TRON, the protective Halo lights up with blue when the car is in ATTACK MODE, and magenta when they are using the FANBOOST.

The addition of the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY Championship as a support series has fleshed out race days, giving spectators more sportscar racing and less lukewarm filler of previous years. The Formula-E paddocks are still not accessible for most – with limited viewing even to those with VIP tickets, but the I-PACE paddocks were connected to the E-Village and accessible to all with a ticket regardless of price point. I-PACE paddocks also aren’t like those of other series – missing are the revving engines, exhaust fumes, and clinking of metal as team engineers deftly adjust combustion engines. The quiet, air-conditioned paddocks host dormant sports cars with blinking headlights – more like charging Cybermen than sleeping beasts. Drivers for the first season came from various global series including former Formula E drivers, NASCAR Toyota, LMP2, and perhaps most famously Katherine Legge from IndyCar and the now-defunct Nissan Delta Wing program. The electric race-spec I-PACE shares the 90kWh lithium-ion battery with the production model and can reach a top speed of 121 mph. Up to 20 drivers race for 25 minutes plus one lap.

Formula-E is not without growing pains, though. Following the FIA’s decision in June to ban Nissan’s twin motor powertrains for the 2019-2020 season, NISSAN E.DAMS driver and NYC Race 1 winner Sébastien Buemi said in the post-race press conference, “It’s been a tough season, lots of discussion about our power train… it’s been really political in a bad way from my point of view…. Clearly, you know to finish second in the championship is a good reward for the team, but on the other hand I’m sad that what we used this year will be banned next year. It just disappoints me massively because Formula E is about innovation in power trains and electric mobility.” He explained further, “I just hope in the future, you know, we keep the strengths of Formula E which is to, first of all, look for the sport, you know, and not for your own interests… I’m disappointed in the calling because it’s working very well now and we will not be able to use it. Again, you know, I have to accept it, it’s a decision taken by the FIA… we’ll live with it, it’s motorsport, sometimes it happens, but yeah, it’s a bit disappointing.”

That said, the rules and regulations are otherwise working well, keeping the series competitive (sending some side-eye to you, Formula 1). While Jean-Éric Vergne (DS Techeetah) was ahead in points going into the first race, three other drivers still had the chance to take the championship – Luca di Grassi (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler), Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s Mitch Evans, and Buemi. Unlike last year in NYC when Vergne clinched the championship on day one, Buemi won the Saturday race leaving the championship to be decided by the final race. Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s Mitch Evans was second on podium, and António Félix da Costa/ BMW i Andretti Motorsport was third.

Ultimately, Vergne did win the championship on Sunday for the second year in a row after an exciting race that ended with Envision Virgin Racing’s Robin Frijns taking the checkered flag. Alexander Sims – BMW i Andretti Motorsport in second, and Sébastien Buemi rounding out the podium in third.

ABB FIA Formula-E Championship will return to New York City for the 2019-2020 season, but only for one day – the season-ending double header will now go to London. Why, Formula E? New Yorkers finally “got” racing and showed up in droves, and now you leave us? Is it our accents? IS THE RENT JUST TOO DAMN HIGH? London doesn’t have air condition in the subway like we do, I’ve been there, I know this! Well, I’ll still be here in New York next year, taking photos as the series continues to carve out its own niche in the world of Formula racing.

NYIAS in PHOTOS: Race Cars

April 22, 2019 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

While there was a curious lack of rally cars on the show floor of the 2019 New York International Auto Show, there were still a few race cars to drool over.

NYC EPRIX – Formula e Returns to the Big Apple

July 20, 2018 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

Despite the critics and naysayers, Formula e is sticking around. Even better, it seems to like New York City, and for the second year in a row set up a course in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn for the final two races for Season 4. There was a little less hoopla this time around, and New Yorkers flocked in the heat (and, a first for Formula e – rain!) to the 2.373km track – even if my NY brethren are still unclear on how to properly walk over the track stairs.

Because of the huge emphasis on being Green, the series ran shuttle busses to two main subway stations to encourage people to take public transportation. The track for the electric race cars is set on the large parking lot of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, with the narrow cobblestone feeder streets blocked to traffic. The series attracts a curious mix of race fans, techie types, and curious people just looking for something interesting to do on the weekend.

The behind-the-scenes technology is fascinating. Formula e uses 18” Michelin tyres designed specifically for the series, and can be used in both dry and rain conditions. Unlike Indy Car or Formula 1, a good portion of the sponsors are tech companies that also partner with the teams. Speaking with Patrick Hurley, Vice President and General Manager of Acronis Americas, he told me that each team generated hundreds of gigs of valuable information each day. That information needs to be saved and protected on site. Acronis partners with the Renault e.dams team to store data ranging from simulations, video feeds, and telemetry.

Most importantly – there was racing. Earlier in the year at the New York International Auto Show, inaugural champion Nelson Piquet Jr. did donuts in the Panasonic Jaguar Racing formula a car, and he was back in New York for the season finale. Last year Formula 1 driver Sébastien Buemi couldn’t make the NY race, but this year ended up winning the Pole in New York driving for Renault e.dams.

Much to the delight of the drivers, the track was changed this year – longer, wider in spots, with more turns. The longer straight into Turn 7 and out of Turn 10 actually allowed for the chance to pass, making the race more competitive and exciting. “Formula e started something completely new so all the tracks were very conservative. All the Formula e tracks are becoming faster speeds, and longer straights, less chicanes, so for this year the chicane here is quicker, and the new part allows you to have a slightly longer straight, so that’s what we need. We need longer straights, we need a little bit more fast corners,” said Lucas di Grassi, “…if you make a track without overtaking points, for example Paris, it’s very difficult to overtake. Short straights with not really much space it becomes less of a race.”

Starting out in 11^thposition, Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler),worked his way up over the race. It looked like the race would finish under a yellow flag after Alex Lynn crashed, but with about five minutes to go the course went green, and di Grassi took the checkered flag followed by teammate Daniel Abt and Sebastien Buemi.

After the champagne spray, Jean-Eric Vergne, TECHEETAH was crowned the season champion. “I can’t believe it – what a crazy race – god it feels good… I have waited the whole season for this. When I crossed the line I honestly didn’t know I had won. My engineer told me, ‘I guess we’ve done it,’, so I said, ‘what do you mean?’ Then Lotterer went past me and clapped, so I knew something was up. When I found out I was speechless. I enjoyed the race, but obviously, it was very tough. Some drivers were quite hard and overconsumed energy to try and not let m e by. It was actually really complicated, a real fight unlike in Zurich – today, the drivers were tougher!”

SATURDAY GALLERY (Sunday race results and gallery follows):

Sunday’s qualifying took place on a wet course after some morning rain – then the course was completely close as a thunderstorm blew through. Not the sort of electric we were looking for, but it passed over fairly quickly and the drivers headed out to the starting grid on time. TECHEETAH’s Jean-Eric Vergne crossed the finish line first, with Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler’s Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi in second and third, respectively, and narrowly winning the team title over TECHEETAH.

The next season should prove to be the most interesting year for the series with the Gen 2 car. Using a new battery from McLaren Applied Technologies and Atieva will allow the drivers shed their range anxiety, running the entire race in the same car – no more car changes halfway through a 45-minute race. Season 5 starts in Saudi Arabia December, 2018.

SUNDAY GALLERY:

: GEN 2

: GEN 2

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The First Ever New York City ePrix

July 20, 2017 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

The Chairman of the Board sings that if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. Formula e certainly has made it by doing something no other racing series has, and that is successfully hold a closed-course street race within New York City. And Gotham certainly rolled out the figurative red carpet for the Qualcomm New York City ePrix – a ribbon cutting to open the track, Sir Richard Branson [Virgin Racing] turning on the lights to the Empire State Building, and Alejandro Agag – Founder and CEO – ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange with first season champion Nelson Piquet Jr. Yet to really make an impression on jaded New Yorkers, the weekend of racing would be a double-header – rounds 9 and 10 on the Formula e calendar.

Formula e in New York City 2017

In a conference call with the media before race weekend, Agag and team owner Michael Andretti talked about how the race finally came together for New York City. The series pointedly holds races in cities to promote electric cars and sustainable technology, and the logistics of finding a site in NYC proved itself to be difficult between subways, traffic, accessibility, and power supply. Agag explained, “We go to places where cars are really a problem”. Location after location was looked at, including Liberty State Park across the river in New Jersey, “But we wanted it in New York City, not New Jersey,” said Agag. When the daughter of a New York City official was impressed after coincidentally attending a race in Paris, they suddenly had an enthusiastic ally in city government to ultimately find the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal site. Located in Red Hook with an incredible view of the Statue of Liberty and downtown Manhattan, the temporary track was set up on on the terminal roads with the terminal itself being used for the exclusive VIP club as well as the media center.

Formula e in New York City 2017

Agag is not shy about Formula e’s agenda. Formula e is like every other series in that the impetus to be in motorsport is still race on Sunday, sell on Monday. “We wanted to on the ground floor of new technology,” said Michael Andretti of his team’s involvement, “You’ll see the tech on the road in 10 years. Competition pushes everyone to push the tech further, faster.” Sustainability is just as important as the tech; the race cars are zero emission vehicles, and the Michelin tires specially engineered for Formula e cars are recycled after the race. (Sorry, trophy hunters, no autographed tires for you.) The e-Village next to the race has a dj with booths touting solar panels, electric cars, and autonomous car tech. Incorporating digital technology in innovative ways helps to draw tech-savvy viewers from outside of the usual motorsport crowd – new for season three is “Fan Boost”, a way for fans to vote for their favorite driver through a phone app. On race day, the three drivers with the most votes can use the extra surge of power strategically during the race – blurring the lines a bit between gaming and live racing.

Formula e in New York City 2017

Many people comment that the races must be boring because the cars are so quiet – and hearing roaring engines is one of the cool things about racing, right? Well sure, but the cars are louder than you may think. Granted, there is no constant roar; you hear the TIE fighter like whoosh about twenty seconds before the car appears. The upside is that the tire squealing is much more apparent, and every tight turn sounds like it must be a crash because every bump is heard – but it’s just the usual racing and rubbing. Yet Formula e is still dogged by the perception that it is not “real racing,” especially because in its current format, driver switch cars halfway through. Seeing it in person dispels that myth – the races are pretty cool to watch, with cars reaching speeds of 140 mph and as much bumping as any other series. One security guard started laughing during the practice session, saying, “This is crazy!” Translated from New Yorker, it means “This is really cool.” Spotted over the weekend was Leonoardo DiCaprio, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones, and even Magnus Walker checking out the races.

So – to the races! Fortunately, the sun came out after a rain-soaked practice Friday. The circuit was very similar to the narrow Hong Kong circuit with tight chicanes. The current leader, Sebastiaen Buemi, was unfortunately racing in WEC 6 Hours of Nurburgring the same weekend as the NYC ePrix. Taking his place on the Renault e.dams team was Pierre Gasly. Its’ Mahindra Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist’s first season with Formula e, and he was one to watch as placed third in his second race. Alex Lynn, standing in for Jose Maria Lopez on the DS Virgin Racing team, grabbed pole position in his first race in the series. Ultimately, Techeetah drivers Stephane Sarrazin and Jean-Eric Vergne placed 3rd and 2nd, respectively, and DS Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird took the win.

Formula e in New York City 2017

Round 10 on Sunday was a sweltering hot day. Sam Bird took P1. Yellow flags came out several times as cars kept hitting the wall at Turn 5. Mahindra racing claimed two positions on the podium – Nick Heidfeld and Felix Rosenqvist, and once again, Sam Bird was in the number one spot on the podium for DS Virgin Racing.

Formula e in New York City 2017

The future of the series looks brighter than a recyclable fluorescent bulb – with Volvo’s recent announcement that they will soon only manufacture electric cars exclusively, it will be interesting to see what manufacturers will join Jaguar, Renault, Mahindra, BMW…

The final two races of the season will be in Montreal, Canada – another double header July 29 and 30, 2007.