Formula E made motorsports history on Wednesday when it confirmed the '16-17 season finale will take place on the streets of New York City. The electric racing series will race along a 1.947km, 13-turn temporary street circuit in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood in mid-July. The inaugural NYC ePrix will be the first FIA-sanctioned open-wheel race to take place within the five boroughs of NYC in modern history. "[It's] a monumental moment for our series and motorsports overall,"
Dragon Racing Team Owner Jay Penske said. Penske, who is also the
chairman and CEO of Penske Media Corp., said that Dragon Racing and PMC are in
deep discussion with a number of key partners to create at least one
special event during the race weekend. Variety, owned by PMC, will host
such an event at the season opener in Hong Kong. The series, which will kick off its third season on Oct. 9, has achieved something that even F1 could not: staging a race that features the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan’s skyline as a backdrop. "Today is one of the biggest days for Formula E," Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag said. F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone has unsuccessfully tried to put on a race in the Big Apple for the past four decades. The electric championship, of course, has several advantages over F1, including low noise pollution and shorter circuit requirements, that makes it more suitable for city events, yet it took the series almost four years to secure a race in America's largest city, Agag said. N.Y. Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Alicia Glen said that around 15,000 spectators are expected to attend the double-header next summer.
FINALIZING DETAILS: Formula E initially scheduled the event for July 29 and 30, but Agag said that the exact race dates will be announced in the coming weeks. Due to the track location around Pier 11 and the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, organizers will have to work with cruise lines and other organizations such as NASCAR to find an appropriate date from mid-to-late July, Agag said. The event will be 100% privately financed, with Formula E functioning as race promoter and organizer. "We are now entering a phase in which we will be doing work in this area, of course there is going to be repaving of some of the surface around," Agag said. Formula E has yet to release any information on ticket prices or when they would go on sale. The NYC race is expected to be the highlight of a season that also includes Hong Kong, Marrakesh, Brussels and Montreal as new venues on a 12-city calendar.
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| Source: FORMULA E |
