The FIA ABB Formula E E-Prix, a global electric car racing championship, held its first-ever race in South Africa this weekend - and what a race it was! It far exceeded the expectations of local and international racing aficionados, as the race was fast, tight, and unpredictable, with would-be winners encountering a series of unfortunate events while an 11th-on-the-grid competitor turned the tables with two outstanding and outrageous overtaking manoeuvres right at the end which resulted in an exciting surprise win.
Given its unique location and the excitement generated by the previous races in Mexico City, Diriyah and Hyderabad, there was plenty of hype among Capetonians and the rest of the world regarding this event, which may not be as fast as F1, but leaves significantly less room for error. Formula E drivers have to contend with the stress of battery power management (hello, Range Anxiety!) as well as tighter, twistier street circuits which are much narrower than the run-of-the-mill F1 track - and Cape Town's track is said to be one of the fastest. Cars are also able to follow each other more closely and can utilize tools like Attack Mode and Fanboost to assist them in passing an opponent.
Find out here exactly how Formula E works, from Attack Mode to Fanboost!
The Mother City in all her glory
Image credit: ABB FIA
The drop-dead-gorgeous city of Cape Town was an ideal location for this cutting-edge race, which also ran alongside the e-Fest ELECTRIC event where AutoTrader was the activity sponsor which enabled members of the public to drive locally available electric vehicles. It's also worth mentioning that E-Prix races only come to densely populated cities that are actively fighting to counteract air pollution and climate change. Since the cars don't have internal combustion engines, they also don't cause noise pollution - they simply whoosh past with a whistling sound. Below is one of Jaguar TCS Racing's I-TYPE 6 race cars. (photo credit: Jaguar)
Related: evrt Africa announces 2024 EV road trip with AutoTrader as sponsor
All tickets to the event had been sold out, and the trackside was packed and the air electric. The vibe was tangible and reminded us of the energy that was present in local stadiums during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Living the electric life with Jaguar SA
Sam Bird, Jaguar TCS Racing driver. He says that it's Cape Town's food he enjoys the most! (Image by Ané Albertse)
After watching the morning's qualifiers where competitors battled it out for a good grid position, the mood was set for this hotly-anticipated race to start, replete with cheering crowds, celebrities, and bands with trumpets. AutoTrader was in the fortunate position of being hosted by Jaguar TCS Racing and we spent a large part of the day in the Boss Emotion VIP Club (see below), which was located right at the starting line, affording us the best seats in the house which included multiple mega-sized screens where the race was being broadcasted live, and access to the grid before the start of the race.
We also had the opportunity to visit the pits, see the Jaguar *I-TYPE 6 race cars and chat with Jaguar Racing's James Barclay, the team principal, and the TCS Racing Drivers namely Mitch Evans (New Zealand) and the aforementioned Sam Bird (UK).
As an official manufacturer team in Formula E, Jaguar TCS Racing designs its own powertrain, which includes the motor, transmission, inverter, and rear suspension. Jaguar, via its long-term Formula E technical partner Williams Advanced Engineering, supplies Envision Racing with its powertrain for the Gen3 era. Learn more about the I-TYPE 6 car here.
Jaguar TCS Racing have entered Season 9 with FIA Three-Star Environmental Accreditation, the highest possible rating, illustrating the team’s commitment to sustainability.
Sam Bird had high hopes for Cape Town's race, but things didn't go as planned. (Photo credit: ABB FIA.)
Unfortunately, due to an accident in Qualifying, Sam's car sustained chassis damage when he crashed into the barriers as he tried to reduce speed due to an accident ahead of him - Edoardo Mortara's Maserati MSG. There was insufficient time to complete the work required on Bird's car before the race, which started at 4 pm local time, so he was absolutely gutted to be out. Mitch Evans (below), on the other hand, lined up in 4th position after a successful morning qualifier. (Evans clinched pole position for the Hyderabad E Prix earlier this month.)
Photo credit: ABB FIA
Let the games begin!
The final touches are applied to Mitch Evans' car just before the start. (Image: Ané Albertse)
After the grid walk, the race commenced at 4 pm sharp. The 2.8-kilometre street circuit with 14 turns would separate the men from the boys right from the start - standings leader Pascal Wehrlein's Porsche ran clean into the back of Buemi’s Envision Racing car on Lap 1, sending him into retirement.
Photo: Courtesy of ABB FIA
You can read the full FIA Formale E Cape Town Race Report here.
On lap 11 of the 32-lap race, Mitch Evans served a drive-through penalty for accidental power overuse at the beginning - the Jaguar engineers are puzzled as to how this happened but rules are rules. Following the penalty, Mitch re-joined the track at the back of the pack and worked tirelessly to close the gap, overtaking theSérgio Sette Câmara's NIO 333 to move up to Position 12.
Sacha Fenestraz (Spain), the youngest competitor in the race, qualified for pole position in the morning but would go on to hit the wall on the final lap, promoting Mitch Evans to Position 11.
And the winner is...
Photo Credit: ABB FIA
In the end, it was Antonio Félix da Costas from the TAG Heuer Porsche team who would storm his way to the front all the way from P11 and into the top three by Lap 20, pulling off what could be referred to as not one, but two of the most memorable overtakes in Formula E history, defeating Hyderabad E-Prix winner Jean-Eric Vergne in the process, putting him in second place and Nick Cassidy in third.
Read all about it below:
All The Key Moments From the 2023 Cape Town E-Prix (25 Feb 2023)
Who's in the lead?
Pascal Wehrlein is still in the top spot overall. Photo Credit: FIA ABB Formula E
Despite Pascal Wehrlein's retirement, he still leads the Drivers' World Championship with 80 points to Jake Dennis' 62. Vergne jumps to 50 points in third place with da Costa now into fourth position with 46 points.
Both Jaguar-powered Envision Racing cars finished in the top five. Nick Cassidy showed the speed and efficiency of the Jaguar I-TYPE 6 with his second podium in as many races. Sam Bird is eighth in the 2023 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship drivers’ standings, while Mitch Evans remains twelfth. Heading into the sixth round of the World Championship, Jaguar TCS Racing is sixth in the 2023 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship teams’ standings. - Jaguar South Africa
View the official Season 9 standings table here
Where to next?
For the next instalment of Formula E, it's off to Sao Paulo as the racing takes place on March 25th, the third new event in a row.
Source: FIA Formula E Media centre, Jaguar Newsroom
