ABB FIA Formula E Championship series heads for a New York City finale
In a two-race showcase for e-mobility’s premier circuit, the excitement for the championship title is running high.
A pair of season-ending races to decide the driver’s title of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship series will provide a suspenseful finale July 14 and 15. Contested in New York for the second straight year, the double header – with qualifying sessions and races on both Saturday and Sunday – will showcase the speed and performance of fully electric E-Prix competition on the waterfront of the city’s Brooklyn borough.
The ABB FIA Formula E Championship race course, longer for 2018 and having an additional turn, is situated in the Red Hook neighborhood, adjacent to Brooklyn’s cruise ship terminal. The 1.5-mile (2.4-kilometer) track – a mix of straightaways, high speed curves and hairpin corners set against the scenic backdrop of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty – challenges drivers with a total of 14 turns.
At this decisive moment in the season, Jean-Eric Vergne of the Techeetah team, with three wins, holds a 23-point lead over Sam Bird of the DS Virgin team. But with 56 points possible in the New York races, either driver could emerge with the driver’s championship for the season. Lucas di Grassi, driving for Audi Sport Abt and winner of the recent Zurich round, is in third place, but too many points behind to contest for the top spot.
The partnership with Formula E provides ABB a showcase for electric transportation, a field in which the company is a global leader – whether in technologies for electric cars, buses, trains and ships, or in providing the utility-scale sustainable energy that can make e-mobility a truly clean form of transportation.
New York City’s support of sustainable e-mobility is evident well beyond the trend-setting Red Hook neighborhood where the ABB Formula E races will be held. Mayor Bill de Blasio last year announced plans to build fast-charging hubs in each of the city’s five boroughs, with the capacity to charge 12,000 cars a week, as part of his administration’s goal to have 20 percent of all motor vehicle registrations in the city be electric by 2025.
A global company with a growing U.S. presence
ABB is the world leader in fast chargers, with more than 7,000 charging stations installed in 60 countries. In April, the company unveiled the world's most advanced fast-charging station, the Terra HP, capable of adding about 125 miles (200 kilometers) of added driving in just eight minutes, about the amount of time it takes to visit a conventional gas station. ABB’s chargers are being adopted for a growing number of charging networks around the world, which in the United States include EVgo and Electrify America.
The company, with headquarters in Zurich is the pioneering technology leader in electrification products, industrial automation, marine propulsion and power grids. And it is driving a revolution in digitalization with its ABB AbilityTM cross-industry digital offering to support its products and processes.
ABB recently closed on acquiring GE Industrial Solutions, which strengthens its Number 2 position in electrification globally and expands access to the a North American market.
The next season of the ABB Formula E Championship Series, the circuit’s fifth, will open December 15 in the historic setting of Ad Diriyah, on the outskirts of Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh. The new season will feature an expanded grid of 22 competitors and a new generation fully electric racecar, engineered with more power and a longer range that eliminates the mid-race car swap by drivers that is now required.
New York City Street Circuit
Track guide – ABB Formula Championship – 2018 Qatar Airways New York City E-Prix
Number of turns – 14
Track length – 1.47 miles (2.37 kilometers)
Past winners – Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing
Qualifying record – 1:02.080 - Pierre Gasly, Renault e.dams
Lap record – 1:02.080 - Pierre Gasly, Renault e.dams
