Formula E racing series launchedOpen Wheel 

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I saw most of the Miami E-Prix earlier today. There wasn't a lot of wild activity or brutality, but it was still a quite good race. I was pretty sure the Miami layout wasn't going to be like the layout the ALMS and Champ Car used. I was also sure it wasn't going to be like the old-school Miami course raced by IMSA back in the 80s. But with all that said, I seemed okay with the course. The race wasn't real boring to me. Love or loathe the man, you got to hand respect to Scott Speed for his performance in this one.


So Formula E is done in Omnis country. Up next... from the East Coast, to the West Coast. Bring on Long Beach on April 4!
 
legacyMACHINE
This irks me, I mean they could have really capitalised on F1'S winter break but they never really had too many races to do so.
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Considering the large amount of cities that wants eprix's now for season 2, we might have races every 3 weeks during September- February
 
Brutaka
Considering the large amount of cities that wants eprix's now for season 2, we might have races every 3 weeks during September- February
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I'll welcome that, but waiting months between 2 has been painful.

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Jimlaad43
Boring track, Boring race.
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I've already mentioned this but I have to again. Why? Formula e gave us a better race than F1 today (sunday). I think that says it all.
 
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It's the inaugural season for the series, it was destined to be a bit slow on getting things going. There's more interest, both on race hosting and teams for next season.
 
One note I forgot to mention from the coverage of Formula E on FOX Sports was a nice video piece of announcer Bob Varsha going for a test drive of a Formula E car around Homestead-Miami Speedway's road course. He talked about the instantaneous torque and such. He even mentioned being 6+ feet tall and be able to fit. Speaking as someone who is 6'0", sure makes people like me feel good to know it's possible to get in these things. :) Too bad I'm not fit enough to get into a proper race car. So I'll probably stick to karting at family fun centers and stuff.

But anyhow, that was something I forgot to mention from my previous post. If it does seem interesting for more cities to want to host these Formula E events, I kind of wonder about a few courses or cities that would probably suit Formula E. With real courses, I wonder if the series could race on courses like Adria International Raceway or Tsukuba. Prior to this series being formed, I think I remember an all-electric car race around the streets of Pau. Full-bodied small cars. It was probably something I could think of as a precursor to Formula E. I do still think the cars and the technology will improve. The notion of actual manufactuers and such to make their own machines will certainly provide interest in the further evolution and development of these cars and this series. I will be very interested to see what comes out from this in the future.

I might download the Formula E mod for rFactor just to get a simulated idea of what these cars are like.
 
One of the big reasons of why Formula E runs in City streets is so that people get the most opportunities to view the races and more chances for new motorsports fans to go to racing events.
Trust me, going to races (I like) is kinda difficult for me living in Urban Chicago, but if they had a downtown race, I would faithfully go every time, that is the market that they are looking for and it is a fairly large one.

I don't expect Formula E to go to any big real racing tracks any soon, I think abandoned airfields are the furthest that they'll go for now.
 
Brutaka
I don't expect Formula E to go to any big real racing tracks any soon, I think abandoned airfields are the furthest that they'll go for now.
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I just instant visions of the old Cleveland airfield track from CART with the ridiculous first hairpin that would almost always have a crash at the start.
 
Is this news about Formula e going to Switzerland true or not? Found a story on it, and how they lifted the ban on motorsport for it but don't know if it's true or not.
 
legacyMACHINE
Is this news about Formula e going to Switzerland true or not? Found a story on it, and how they lifted the ban on motorsport for it but don't know if it's true or not.
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Yes, the law was relaxed and a race will be held for the 16/17 season if plans are finalized.
 
GTPorsche
Yes, the law was relaxed and a race will be held for the 16/17 season if plans are finalized.
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Do you have a link to what exactly has been "relaxed" in Swiss law? The autosport article was awfully uninformative on the matter.

I've always found it slightly perplexing that one of the fastest and most dangerous hillclimbs in the world (St. Ursanne) takes place in a country that bans circuit racing on safety grounds.
 
I haven't seen anything specific, just what autosport and others have said with the law being "relaxed".

It's only for Formula E though, so I'm not sure what they changed.
 
You know, Furinkazen, I was EXACTLY thinking of Cleveland when Brutaka mentioned airfield courses. And I'm like, why not? I'm probably sure a shorter version of the course may be used if Burke Lakefront Airport may probably be used.

I could easily imagine more major cities take up on the FIA Formula E Championship if the series were to continually take on certain major cities. Imagine venues in places like... New York City, San Francisco, Seattle (not the Gran Turismo course!), Mexico City, Bogota, Caracas, Santiago, London, Madrid, Paris, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Moscow, Istanbul, Casablanca, Cairo, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Astana, Dubai, Mumbai, Bangkok, Jakarta, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, and Honolulu among MANY others. I named all these cities as an example of how almost any city could make any sort of Formula E venue. Maybe this series will eventually be about being in the real glamour locations. Perhaps not with the most sophisticated and awe-inspiring race cars, but surely being in more of the glamour cities and locations.
 
I wonder if Baltimore would still be a good venue? Probably needs a bit of tweeking, if I recall correctly Indy Car didn't like it too much. Just thought it'd be a cool place for Formula E to go.
 
No, Formula E needs to be about a good track instead of a good venue. Yes, go to nice cities, but if the racing's always as dull as that Miami race, people will turn off. The Buenos Aires race wasn't exactly in the best place to show off the city, but it was a smashing race, which will keep people watching.
 
Max power over use. Sounds like an overly corrupt politician, but it's what Daniel Abt served a drive-through penalty for. I don't know... something like this for cars like this sounds like a silly thing to get a penalty for.

Only a few laps to go as of this post. Three laps to go in fact.
 
A far, far better race than the Miami event.

Plenty of passing thoughout the race with the wide track. Personally the first chicane needs to be changed a bit to avoid first lap carnage.
 
Panoz
A far, far better race than the Miami event.

Plenty of passing thoughout the race with the wide track. Personally the first chicane needs to be changed a bit to avoid first lap carnage.
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I think they could've gotten away with using the full circuit.
 
The biggest d:censored: move (first time I used this expression on GTP) of the race was that one driver who divebombed into that Long Beach hairpin trying to make a pass in the hairpin, forcing a Safety Car period eventually. It was sad to see Scott Speed (California's own) fail to finish. The race was very cool to watch. As someone suggested, MAYBE Formula E could have run the full Long Beach circuit. The course is still pretty tough. I don't think you would chop up the Long Beach track too much to better suit the Formula E cars. It isn't like trying to pick apart Marina Bay (F1 GP of Singapore), the streets of Valencia, or *sigh* the incredibly boring Sochi F1 course.

Of course, all congratulations to the Long Beach e-Prix winner (just to avoid spoiling).


Up next... from one historic city course to another- bring on Monte Carlo! That race is on May 9, 2015.
 

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