28/03/2013
NEWS STORY
The FIA has announced that Michelin will be the official tyre supplier for the Formula E Championship, the new city-centre electric racing championship making its debut in 2014.
Promoted by Formula E Holdings, the series aims to bring electric racing to the people, with city centres around the globe playing host to an electric energy World Championship designed to promote interest and investment in electric vehicles and sustainable motoring.
An open championship, the FIA Formula E Championship gives car manufacturers the opportunity to showcase their electrical energy innovations in a racing environment, designing cars to the technical specifications set out by the FIA.
The debut season will see a street circuit race calendar designed to take in famous landmarks, with events so far confirmed in London, Rome, Miami, Los Angeles, Putrajaya, Beijing, Buenos Aires, and Rio de Janeiro. Expressions of interest were received from 23 host cities keen to play a role in the future of motorsport.
Two teams representing Britain and China have become the first candidates of what will become a 10-team and 20-driver grid for the first Formula E season. Drayson Racing and China Racing were attracted to the championship by the opportunity it affords designers and manufacturers to showcase the ability of electric vehicles on a global stage.
Final ratification of the 2014 FIA Formula E Championship calendar will take place at the September meeting of the World Motor Sport Council.
"I am delighted to welcome Michelin to Formula E," said FIA President Jean Todt, "an innovative new motor sport concept which will highlight the commitment of all participants to what will be an exciting racing championship delivered to the public in city centres with particular attention devoted to sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions. Michelin have a long and relevant history of performance allied with technical invention and are therefore ideal partners for Formula E."
"The Michelin Group is very honoured to have been accepted by the FIA for the new FIA Formula E Championship," added Florent Menegaux, Director of the Automobile Tyre Product Line of the Michelin Group. "We are constantly seeking to introduce innovations into our tyres, in order to assure a more efficient and durable mobility. Competition is a formidable testing ground in which to experiment and develop future technologies. The FIA Formula E Championship, which focuses on new forms of energy and will take place in an urban setting, will give us the opportunity to apply the very best of our technological know-how."
"As a brand new championship we are thrilled to be partnering with such a trusted brand as Michelin, with over a 100 year history of leadership and innovation in motorsport," said Formula E Holdings CEO Alejandro Agag. "FIA Formula E Championship and Michelin both share the same commitment to ensuring safety, innovative technology and sustainable mobility. Now with Michelin joining McLaren and Dallara to create the future Formula E customer car, I am more confident than ever that next year we'll be seeing spectacular electric racing across global city centres from Beijing to Los Angeles."