Cape Town’s inaugural ABB FIA Formula E World Championship
written by Joseph Mashele
FEb 26 2023
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship was held for the first time in the city of Cape Town, on February 25, 2023. The Mother City in South Africa was one of three brand-new chosen cities for the all-electric single-seater extravaganza on the Season 9 calendar.
By hosting the fifth round of this enthralling competition, the Cape Town E-Prix was history in the making. Over a 2.8 km, 12-turn track, the brand-new Gen3 cars competed in a quick and thrilling street race at speeds of up to 320 km/h.
“Over a 2.8 km, 12-turn track, the brand-new Gen3 cars competed in a quick and thrilling street race at speeds of up to 320 km/h.”
The exhilarating Formula E race was filled with the most entertaining qualifying rounds, fan villages, live music, racing simulators, and plenty of food and drink stands. It was a fantastic day for both on- and off-track activities. A variety of updated bicycles, scooters, cars, and home power generation, storage, and energy efficiency products were on display at E-Fest Electric. Fans engaged in a fun, educational, and participatory celebration of the most recent advancements in transportation and alternative energy sources given our woes with Load Shedding in South Africa.
With daring overtaking manoeuvres, Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa took the victory in this race, while Jean-Eric Vergne came in second for DS Penske, and Nick Cassidy for Envision Racing came in at third place. The race field was a few cars less with Mahindra and the customer team at ABT Cupra withdrawing their four cars due to safety concerns about the rear suspension. Sam Bird of Jaguar was also unable to compete because of damage to the car from a qualifying collision. With the fastest lap in Formula E history, Sacha Fenestraz of Nissan had taken pole position with an average speed of 154.987 km/h during qualification.
“Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa took the victory in this race…”
Organisations developing solutions for the innovative and quick transition to electric vehicles had a chance to connect with audiences interested in technology, innovation, energy efficiency, sustainability, cars, and lifestyle through effective communication. Around 20 000 fans filled the stands at the sold-out event, confirming Cape Town’s status as South Africa’s green capital. This has certainly set the tone for what is to come in the next ten years and we hope to see the crowds getting bigger and better. See you all there next year!
SHARE THIS POST
More
articles
VWSA recognised at annual Exporters Eastern Cape awards
OCT 24, 2022 | Refiloe Modisenyane
Chery drives SA Auto Week Chery drives SA Auto Week
OCT 24, 2022 | Refiloe Modisenyane