The inaugural Cape Town Formula E race is nearly upon us, with the checkered flag set to drop this Saturday the 25th of February.
A historic first for the Mother City, the event is expected to feature lots of exciting motoring action that is sure to boost the city’s tourism and international profile.
For those interested in checking out all that’s to come this weekend, here is a run-down of what the rules of a Formula E race are, how the various teams qualify, and what the Cape Town circuit will look like.
The rules of a Formula E race
The Formula E championship uses a standard points system, as defined by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), which awards points to the top 10 finishers as follows:
- 1st place – 25pts
- 2nd place – 18pts
- 3rd place – 15pts
- 4th place – 12pts
- 5th place – 10pts
- 6th place – 8pts
- 7th place – 6pts
- 8th place – 4pts
- 9th place – 2pts
- 10th place – 1pt
Additional points are also awarded to the driver who secures the Pole Position (first starting position) during the qualifying stages, as well as the driver who achieves the fastest lap during the race itself, provided they finish within the top 10 – else the point is void.
There are a total of 11 teams in competition with two drivers each, meaning there will be 22 cars out on the track on Saturday representing names such as Porsche, Jaguar, Maserati, Nissan, DS Automobiles, Mahindra, and Nio.
The electric race cars also have an ace up their sleeve in the form of “Attack Mode” – a limited-use boost mode where drivers can make the decision to peel off the racing line and head into a designated activation zone on the track to temporarily boost their car’s power output and gain an advantage over the other racers.
The Gen3 cars featured in this race are the fastest yet, with a standard power cap of 300kW, but taking advantage of Attack mode will allow the driver up to 350kW.
Charging the electric cars is also forbidden during both the qualifying stages and the race itself, and each car is allowed no more than four front and four rear replacement tyres for each event.
How teams qualify for the race
A typical Formula E race weekend is made up of five separate sessions – the shakedown, two free practice sessions, a qualifying stage, and the race itself.
A shakedown is a driving session, usually held the day before the main event, where the teams are able to run the cars around the track at a reduced speed to check that things like the electronics are in working order before the race begins.
The practice sessions, meanwhile, are 30 to 45 minutes in length and simply allow the drivers to familiarize themselves with the track with no limits on the speeds they are allowed to reach. It’s also a good opportunity for the drivers to get themselves into the correct state of mind before the flag officially drops.
The qualifying stages are more complicated, as the format has changed between seasons. Under the most recent regulations, the drivers are split into two groups based on their current position in the championship, with those in odd-number positions being assigned to Group A while even-numbered positions are put in Group B.
The exception to this is the first race in the season, where each team is able to nominate a driver to participate in the qualifiers.
Each team then get 10 minutes to attempt to set the fastest lap time at a set power output of 300kW, whereupon the four fastest drivers from each team will progress to a Duels stage.
These duels function as knockout rounds where the drivers will go head to head with a raised power cap of 350kW – the result determining who falls into the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals.
These rankings determine the starting positions for the main event, with the finalists through to quarter-finalists being assigned to positions 1 to 8, before the remaining drivers are placed in alternating odd and even positions based on their lap times and original A or B group.
Cape Town
The Cape Town circuit effectively forms a loop around the city’s DHL stadium, with the route navigating the tight streets of the surrounding areas of Green Point and Sea Point.
The track measures 2.94km and features a total of 12 turns as well as a number of long straights that will allow the racers to push their machines to the very edge.
Grandstand seating is located at four key intervals around the track, and construction and road closures have already begun, meaning local motorists will do well to plan alternate routes that avoid the area for the next few days.
One major concern that has also been raised relates to load shedding, as South Africa is currently experiencing stage 6 as of the time of writing, meaning areas can expect to be without power up to three times a day with outages lasting anywhere from two-and-a-half to four-and-a-half hours.
This has obviously raised eyebrows to how a South African city will be able to accommodate such a high-profile international event, but organizers have made reassurances that this won’t be an issue, reports IOL.
“We have a primary power plan with the City of Cape Town, which provides us with the power we require, other than to the car charges, so there is a big ecosystem here,” said Ian Banner, the chairperson of e-Movement.
The event will also have no less than 28 backup generators running on bio-fuel, in keeping with the sustainable themes of the electric race series, which should be able to provide the 2MW required to charge the vehicles on race day.
Keyword: Formula E making debut in South Africa this weekend – Everything you need to know before the race