Electric season opener

You could call it a quiet revolution. A high-powered, high adrenalin race series fully powered by electricity. Audi will use this 2016/2017 season, working with Team ABT Schaeffler to learn as much about the unique international race series before looking at a full factory team in 2017/2018.

Former Audi works driver, F1 pilot and Le Mans winner, Allan McNish (pictured below) is in charge of the project from Audi’s side and will be there in Hong Kong with Deputy Head of Audi Motorsport, Dieter Gass when the season kicks off.

Fielding two electric race cars, preparation for the season has been intense, with Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi in charge of driving duties – putting the cars through their paces at Donnington recently and practicing on simulators ahead of the Hong Kong street circuit opener.

“The Formula E race cars are homologated and cannot be altered during the season,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “At the same time, the software, which is so crucial to energy management in Formula E, can be constantly worked on. In this field, we have lots of experience from the FIA World Endurance Championship which we can use to support the team.”
Today (Saturday) the teams have the opportunity to get out on the nearly two kilometre track for practice sessions, crucial for this race where the circuit is set on the normally bustling streets of Hong Kong. Up until now, the drivers have had to practice on simulators, trying to familiarise themselves with the circuit through virtual reality.

Tomorrow (Sunday October 9), there will be two free practice sessions, as well as qualifying which is split between four groups, followed by a ‘Super Pole’ – individual time trials by the quickest five. 

The first race of the new Formula E season begins at 16:00 (10:00 CEST). The opener of this, the third Formula E season will be broadcast on television worldwide in 120 countries, and hundreds of media representatives have been accredited. 

Another unique feature of this race is the existence of fanboost.fiaformulae.com, where motorsport fans can literally offer the Audi drivers a helping hand with their votes on the so-called ‘FanBoost’. Through voting, three drivers each receive extra power for a short time – up to 200kW – no small assistance, given that the standard power output of the ABT Schaeffler FE02 cars is 170kW. Stay tuned for the results from this stunning series and get behind the ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport cars tomorrow.