02/06/2016
NEWS STORY
Adelaide, which hosted Australia's round of the Formula One World Championship between 1985 and 1995, is now contemplating hosting Formula E to complement its other major sporting events as well as its push for carbon neutrality.
Martin Haese, the Lord Mayor of Adelaide, South Australia, says the international, electric-car motorsports series Formula E would be "a good fit for South Australia".
Haese told InDaily attracting the event to the Adelaide street circuit, scene of two of the most iconic moments in the sport's history, Nigel Mansell's 1986 blow-out and Michael Schumacher's 'lunge' at Damon Hill in 1994, would be an "exciting" prospect. Adelaide already hosts an Australian V8 Supercar race, the Clipsal 500, through the streets of the city and the surrounding parklands each March. The city is also home to the Tour Down Under UCI cycling race each January.
"Adelaide does a tonne of really good motoring events," said Haese, who is a former chairman of the annual Bay to Birdwood vintage car show.
"On the surface of it, Formula E looks like a really good fit for South Australia.
"Does it sound really exciting? Yes it does." Haese continued, insisting that the race would fit with the city council's "smart city, sustainable" strategic objectives. He expects the nascent international series to grow, and that its expansion could be a boon for electric car technology.
"I think it'll grow very fast," he said. "Formula One technology makes its way ultimately into mainstream automotives ... you could see how that could happen here."
The Adelaide City Council and the South Australian Government are working together to establish Adelaide as the world's first carbon neutral city. The partnership aims to achieve carbon neutrality, drive economic opportunities and transform Adelaide into a sustainable 21st Century city.
Between 2007 and 2013, the City of Adelaide reduced its carbon emissions by 19 per cent, while Gross Regional Product increased by more than $4 million.
Last year South Australia was also the first Australian state to allow driverless cars to be tested on public roads, which was followed by Volvo testing its automated car during an international conference on driverless cars in Adelaide in November 2015. The testing was part of independent road research agency ARRB's Australian Driverless Vehicle Initiative.
Former Adelaide City Council candidate Valdis Dunis, who proposed the idea to Haese, said Adelaide could be an appealing location for Formula E because of its proximity to Asia and the layout of the city.
He said Sydney, Surfer's Paradise and Bangkok were clear candidates to host a leg of the 2017 championship, but Adelaide should also enter the race for inclusion.
"The key thing about electric cars is nothing can beat them for acceleration, so they aim for short sharp turns," said Dunis. "That's where it fits very well with Adelaide, it's a perfect match. When Adelaide wants to be smart, green, innovative, creative... Formula E fits right into that."
Dunis said Formula E boasted almost non-existent vehicle noise and cheaper entry than other car races.