Formula E organisers have announced that Long Beach will replace Los Angeles as one of two US races for the debut season of the world’s first fully-electric motor-racing series.
Los Angeles had been pencilled in for a round of the 2014-15 Formula E season, but the race will now go to its fellow Californian city. Championship promoters Formula E Holdings said Long Beach was selected to host one of the 10 international races due to its commitment to sustainable mobility and long-running success hosting large scale sporting events and high-visibility special events. California is the number one market for plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) sales with around 12 per cent of national sales alone occurring in the South California area.
The Long Beach ePrix will take place on April 4, 2015. Organisers also confirmed that the Long Beach race will be one of two that forms part of the championship’s Legacy Programme giving free access to fans with a focus on attracting school and university students from the nearby area to appeal to a new generation of motorsport fans and promote the electric vehicle industry.
Formula E chief executive Alejandro Agag said: “We are very thankful to Mayor Bob Foster and all the city authorities for their warm reception here and for welcoming the new all-electric FIA Formula E Championship to Long Beach as hosts of round seven. They all share our passion for not only motorsport but for promoting sustainable mobility, and I have every confidence that the people of Long Beach and Southern California are going to experience a revolutionary, and of course very exciting, new racing event come April 2015. The goal of Formula E is to showcase the true potential of electric vehicles and to inspire people to believe in these cars for their own personal use.”
The Long Beach street circuit is the longest running in the US having been formed in 1975. It hosted Formula One from 1976 to 1983 before staging annual CART, Champ Car and IndyCar races. Long Beach City Council recently voted to extend its race deal with IndyCar through to 2018, while the city has been linked with a bid to regain a F1 race.
The first Formula E race takes place around Beijing’s Olympic ‘Bird’s Nest’ Stadium on September 13, with Miami hosting a second US event on March 14. All Formula
