Team China Racing is the second team to "sign up for next year's environmentally friendly Formula E championship, which will feature zero-emission cars racing in 10 cities around the world," according to the AP. China Racing was officially proposed to motorsports' governing body FIA as one of the 10 teams taking part. British-based Drayson Racing was the first team to sign up, "while Rio de Janeiro and Rome are the first two cities to commit to hosting a race." The championship, scheduled to begin in May '14, will feature cars "powered exclusively by electricity." Races will be held in the streets of major cities over a course of about 1.8 miles, and cars "will travel at a maximum speed of 135 mph." China will host a race, "although the city has not yet been chosen." Race Promoter Alejandro Agag said, "China has enormous potential for the expansion of electric vehicles as a tool to fight pollution in cities. We think the FIA Formula E Championship can be a powerful tool to make electric cars popular with the Chinese public, particularly the younger generations" (AP, 2/27). China Racing Dir Steven Lu acknowledged that part of his goal, through exposure to the Formula E championship, "was to promote electric vehicles in his homeland in the hope of achieving a 15 to 20 percent usage rate by 2030" (BANGKOK POST, 2/28).
