Audi to power Virgin Racing

With just over two months until the start of the FIA Formula E Championship for 2018/19, Audi has announced that its race technology will not only drive its own Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler cars, but will also be at the heart of the Virgin Racing Team.

Indeed, come the season opener in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 15th, there will be four drivers on the grid with Audi technology, in the form of its newly developed Audi e-tron FE05, including the powertrain.

“We are glad that in the new Formula E season together with Virgin Racing four Audi e-tron FE05 cars will fight for points and trophies,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass. “The team has been one of the key players in Formula E ever since the series was founded – both in terms of its racing performances and all off-track activities. This makes Virgin Racing’s choice of using our powertrain a particular pleasure. This confidence also confirms the excellent work that our engineers are doing together with their colleagues from our development partner Schaeffler.”

The new Audi FE05 is the evolution of vehicles that have already proved their mettle in the Formula E championship. In season 2017/18, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler turned on a stellar performance to win the teams’ championship, and the previous year, Audi driver Lucas di Grassi was crowned World Champion of the 2016/17 series.

The centerpiece of the new Audi e-tron FE05, that Virgin Racing will also be using in the future, is the powertrain with the Audi Schaeffler MGU03 motor-generator unit. While the rest of the car is specified for all teams, the manufacturers demonstrate their technical expertise in the powertrain and it is here that Audi has once again excelled. The Formula E regulations require manufacturers to also make the complete car with its unique powertrain technology and related support available to other teams for a defined price.

This week, Virgin Racing takes delivery of the two new race cars for the 2018/2019 Formula E season at the Audi Sport base in Neuburg an der Donau. But the new co-operation does not end with the handover of the race cars. An intensive exchange between the two teams will take place during the season in order to continuously increase the performance level.

The FIA Formula E season for 2018/19 kicks off on December 15th in Saudi Arabia, and the world will be watching on as this exciting motorsport series continues to grow in stature.