All-Tesla Race Car Series Gets The Green Light From Formula One Organizers
An all-Tesla race car series has been given the green light by the organization behind Formula One, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). The Electric Production Car series, previously called The Electric GT series, has been in the planning stages for the last two years, Engadget reports. It’s meant to race electric vehicles from different manufacturers against each other, but since other automakers don’t have race-ready EVs, they are starting with Tesla Model S P100D.
According to Motor Sport, the Tesla Model S P100D recently passed its FIA crash test, which means that it’s now officially approved by the sport’s highest governing body.
The lineup could be expanded pretty soon though. As Engadget notes, other companies are developing electric cars with specs for racing. For example, Jaguar is planning to unleash their line of performance electric vehicles this year. We can also expect to see race-ready EVs from Porsche, Lucid, Infiniti, and one of Tesla’s biggest competitors, BMW.
The Electric Production Car series will consist of racing weekends where electric cars will compete in three heats to qualify for 37-mile races. Race power for this series will be a maximum of 585kW (785bhp). The series will also have an auxiliary “drift off” competition. This contest will pit the top two drivers against two fan-voted drivers. They will then compete in drifting challenges where the winners will receive three extra championship points.
Good News!!
Tesla Model S P100D race car prepared by Electric GT Holdings Inc. passes official FIA crash test ahead of Electric Production Car Series debut in 2018.?#ElectricGT #EPCS#AgeOfLight pic.twitter.com/RkmnYgxWl6— Electric GT Holdings (@EGTChampionship) January 27, 2018
“We have put a lot of time into refining the regulations to allow for competitive and thrilling racing,” said Electric GT CEO Mark Gemmell, as reported by Motor Sport. “With a three-heat qualifying system and two EPCS races, plus our eKarting and eSports rounds, fans will have a lot of racing action to get excited about.”
FIA approved electric production car race series will use Tesla Model S P100D. https://t.co/hcufA5MA2x pic.twitter.com/lN127Ulymx
— evo magazine (@evomagazine) February 3, 2018
As The Verge reports, the series still needs to get a lot of components in place before the first race jets off. They need more teams, first of all, as there’s only one team on the roster right now. They will also need more sponsorship money to get the series off the ground. But their approval from the FIA is a huge selling point in their favor right now, which could make getting sponsorships and teams a lot easier.
They have to hurry up, though, since they have some competition from other electric race-car series like Formula E. This is the largest and most popular electric race car series on the track today.
