Ahead of the local launch later today, Formula E has revealed the proposed racetrack for Cape Town’s inaugural ABB FIA Formula E World Championship E-Prix on its official website.
Fans are still left without a date for the race and the upgrades of the track and precinct are key to the FIA’s acceptance of the proposed route. Dates for the 2023 calendar will be confirmed ‘later this year’, said Formula E on the site.
Plans for the route upgrade need to be signed off by the City and completed by December 2022. Construction is set to begin ‘as soon as April,’ says the site. Crucially, once work is completed, the track will still be subject to approval by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council.
The proposed route
The intended track is through Cape Town’s Waterfront and Green Point district, beginning on Vlei Road in Green Point, left into Helen Suzman Boulevard, down Granger Bay Boulevard, along Mouille Point’s Beach Road and into Fritz Sonnenberg Road to the finish line.
E’s Chequered history
Cape Town’s Formula E campaign has had its challenges. The initial February date for 2022 was cancelled, ostensibly due to COVID-19, its place taken by Jakarta. The full international race calendar also means interested cities are aggressively lobbying to win places; Eindhoven, Marrakesh and a brace of Chinese cities are pressing hard for slots.
Despite the challenges local race promoter, Iain Banner of e-Movement is confident of Cape Town’s 2023 inclusion.
“The public has been crying out for an open-wheel, street-circuit race and we are now answering those cries. With Table Mountain as the backdrop and Robben Island in the foreground, I have no doubt the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will garner substantial support in Cape Town and throughout South Africa”.
Follow CAR for updates on this developing story.
Keyword: No date, no track confirmation but Formula E likely in Cape Town in 2023