SPARK RACING TECHNOLOGY - SRT 01E Formula E car concept revealed - February 27, 2013

Spark Racing Technology has joined forces with Dallara to design an develop the car for the FIA’s upcoming Formula E series. The Italian firm is the second major technical partner to sign up to the series after McLaren inked a deal last year.

Gian Paolo Dallara, President of Dallara said “We have been cooperating with Frédéric Vasseur for more than 20 years and with his passion and competence he brought our cars to victory in many prestigious championships. We are looking forward to facing this new challenge with great enthusiasm and considering our past success together, we are confident that the combined expertise of Dallara and Spark Racing Technology will be key to achieving the demanding targets in this brand new field of motorsport.”

In its first year Formula E will essentially be a spec series with all teams required to use the Dallara chassis, but for its second season the series will be open to other chassis and power train suppliers, and Drayson Racing has already confirmed that it will build its own car.

The Formula E demonstration car has close links to the Gould GR59 which is profiled in the April edition of Racecar Engineering.

http://www.racecar-engineering.com/news/industry/srt-01e-formula-e-car-concept-revealed/



The all electric FIA Formula E World Championship was revealed at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham during the MIA’s Low Carbon Racing Conference.

Contrary to previous information about the series Formula E will be an open class allowing anyone to build a chassis and powertrain in 2015, though in its first year it will be a spec class as previously reported. 42 cars have been ordered from “a famous car constructor” believed to be Dallara, whilst McLaren Electronics will supply the power train via Spark Racing Technology. In the first year that powertrain will carry the branding of a major car manufacturer believed to be Nissan.

However in 2015 the series will be fully open but the series organisers will discourage people from running their own chassis as it wants the emphasis to be placed on the powertrain.

“I do not want this to be a series dominated by aerodynamicists, instead I want it to be dominated by the power trains, we have some big brands lined up to supply those and a few years down the line I want each team to run a different system, so the series will be about the development of EV technology” explained series boss Alejandro Agag.

Drayson Racing is the first team to commit to the new series and it will run and assist in the development of the spec Formula E customer racing car in 2014.

From 2015, the team plans to be a constructor in its own right fielding a new drivetrain developed from the advanced DRT 4X2-640 electric system featured in the Lola-Drayson B12/69EV car that set a new electric record last summer at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. It is not clear if it will utilise its own chassis or continue with the spec tub, which seems more likely.

The team is a wholly owned subsidiary of Drayson Racing Technologies which has been pioneering green racing initiatives since 2007 and has been acting as Scientific Adviser to the FIA Formula E Championship during its establishment over the past few months.

http://www.racecar-engineering.com/news/further-formula-e-details-revealed-as-drayson-signs-up/

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