Bernie's push for F1 City centre races now explained

[John S]

New FIA Formula E aims for major City centre races in 2014.

There appears to be serious money behind Formula E, but as always getting a new racing series (especially a really quiet one ) off the ground may prove harder than ever.

Anyone want the ear defender franchise for Formula E?  ....It'll be real cheap.  

The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has reached an agreement to licence the commercial rights of the FIA Formula E Championship to a consortium of international investors, Formula E Holdings Ltd (FEH).

Formula E is a new FIA championship featuring Formula cars powered exclusively by electric energy. It represents a vision for the future of the motor industry over the coming decades.

Demonstration runs of the Formula E cars will start in 2013, followed by the championship in 2014 with an objective of 10 teams and 20 drivers participating in the competition. The races will be ideally staged in the heart of the world’s leading cities, around their main landmarks.

FEH, the new promoter, has as anchor investor London-based entrepreneur Enrique Bañuelos, and as CEO and shareholder former MEP and racing team owner Alejandro Agag, who has a long experience in the motor sport business. Also associated with the project are Lord Drayson, Managing Partner of Drayson Racing Technologies, and Eric Barbaroux, Chairman of the French electric automotive company "Electric Formula".

The new series will be open to any cars sanctioned as Formula E by the FIA. The consortium will ensure that a Formula E Car, based on the Formulec EF 01 prototype already in operation, is available for those competing teams willing to race with it.

Edited from piece on Nextgen-auto.com, Today.

[Scott]

Formula Ecclestone?  Too funny. 

Here's another bit o' news. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2193699/F1-Bernie-Ecclestone-secretly-marries-Brazilian-beauty-46-years-younger-him.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

The cake was pretty good, but
The company was lousy.

[cosworth151]

Silent little cars that nobody wants to watch on crappy street circuits in 2014. Isn't that a description of the future of F1?

As for the other: I guess Bernie didn't learn anything from the last much younger, much taller model that he married. I'll bet that this time he has an absolutely iron-clad pre-nup.

[Jericoke]

So who's lining up to drive Formula E?

Rubens
Villeneuve
Piquet Jr
Maldonado
Hamilton

[John S]

So who's lining up to drive Formula E?

Rubens
Villeneuve
Piquet Jr
Maldonado
Hamilton

I take it you mean Nicholas Hamilton, Lewis' younger brother, and either Pastor's brother, cousin .....or even aunt.    The rest of the list looks fine, - although perhaps we should add Massa.    

As for Bernie tying the knot, everyone is entitled to a share their life with whomsoever they please, so good luck to the both of them.  

I sure a lot of us old farts would like to be in a position to be attractive to youngish good looking gals - or guys, whatever takes your fancy.

[cosworth151]

And what teams will there be?

Scalectrix
Aurora A/FX
Strombecker
Tyco

[F1fanaticBD]

What the hell on earth is FIA upto? Formula E? With electric cars? 

Why don't they start a series Formula RC, I don't see much of a difference

[Jericoke]

So who's lining up to drive Formula E?

Rubens
Villeneuve
Piquet Jr
Maldonado
Hamilton

I take it you mean Nicholas Hamilton, Lewis' younger brother, and either Pastor's brother, cousin .....or even aunt.    The rest of the list looks fine, - although perhaps we should add Massa.    

As for Bernie tying the knot, everyone is entitled to a share their life with whomsoever they please, so good luck to the both of them.  

I sure a lot of us old farts would like to be in a position to be attractive to youngish good looking gals - or guys, whatever takes your fancy.

No, I meant Lewis and Pastor.

If Hamilton doesn't have a ride for 2013, it would be very inviting for a new series to pay through the nose for a 'star' in 2014

And if Pastor keeps crashing on the sponsor's dime, as well as Williams, he won't find many people willing to pay him to stay in F1 in 2 years

[lkjohnson1950]

What the hell on earth is FIA upto? Formula E? With electric cars? 

Why don't they start a series Formula RC, I don't see much of a difference

There is already a World Championship for RC. In fact several of them for different classes of cars. They've been around for decades. Here is one of  final heats from the most recent one for Touring Cars.

[John S]

Good one Lonny,    I see it's as hard to overtake in R/C as F1.    

 

[Alianora La Canta]

Pedro de la Rosa started his racing career in an R/C series (I think he may have won a championship but I don't know if it was a world one), and Lewis Hamilton dabbled in R/C as well, so it seems it's a good place to hone one's racing skills and instincts.

[lkjohnson1950]

And we have the same controversies, at about 1:30 the 2ND place  car tries to pass at the end of the straight, The leader moves over, though it is really too late to block, contact is made and #2 goes end over end off the track. The chat rooms immediately started buzzing about why the leader wasn't given a stop and go for rough driving.

[F1fanaticBD]

No offense to RC people, but I don't think it should be the future of Motorsports.

The RC championship looks fun, I guess those people do it really loves to the heart.But it should be kept within the limit of fun. I don't want pinnacle of Motorsports governing body sanctioning such races

[John S]

No offense to RC people, but I don't think it should be the future of Motorsports.

The RC championship looks fun, I guess those people do it really loves to the heart.But it should be kept within the limit of fun. I don't want pinnacle of Motorsports governing body sanctioning such races

   Don't worry BD I don't think there's the slightest chance that the FIA is interested in taking R/C racing under it's wing.  

[lkjohnson1950]

No offense to RC people, but I don't think it should be the future of Motorsports.

The RC championship looks fun, I guess those people do it really loves to the heart.But it should be kept within the limit of fun. I don't want pinnacle of Motorsports governing body sanctioning such races

   Don't worry BD I don't think there's the slightest chance that the FIA is interested in taking R/C racing under it's wing.  

RC has a global sanctioning body called IFMAR, one of whose members is EFRA which sanctions races in Europe. It is a multimillion dollar business, though not at the level of F!. The cars in the video are 1/10TH scale, AWD , built of carbon fiber and aluminum, 4 wheel independent suspension. Brushless electric motors, LIPO batteries, wind tunnel developed Lexan bodies. if that chicane was removed from the straight, they would be hitting about 60 mph at the end. They are not the fastest class.