Slashdot Mirror
At the Track With Formula E, the First e-Racing Series
An anonymous reader writes Ars is running a story about the new all-electric racing car series and its first visit to the U.S.. "The pit lane we're standing in is unusual, and not only because it's a temporary setup placed in the shadow of American Airlines Arena (home of the NBA's Miami Heat). Garages are set up on both sides rather than being limited to one. A few things also appear to be missing. To start, a familiar smell from the usual mix of burning hydrocarbons is absent. And it's remarkably quiet. The occasional impact wrench bursts out in a mechanical staccato, generators drone here and there, but there are no V8s burbling, no V6s screaming....Welcome to Formula E, the world's first fully electric racing series. Miami is playing host to the first of two US rounds—the next being held in Long Beach, CA, on April 4—and it's the fifth race in this ePrix's inaugural season. Given we've got a bit of a thing about racing at Cars Technica, as well as an obvious interest in electric vehicles, we had to be on the ground in Miami to experience this for ourselves."
Also it's way more interesting technology-development-wise than old and busted formula ones..
How do you figure Formula 1 is old and busted? The current engine formula for F1 is V6 turbo hybrids which use 100kg of fuel for a race distance (typically ~305km, except for Monaco) versus the previous V8 engine formula which used 150kg. It's a significant step forward in fuel efficiency.
this proves it. i'm playing the race card, here.
"For me, the lack of any "raw" engine noise is actually the only minus."
That's just because you're a redneck, normal people embrace it.
Yeah F1 isn't nearly as advanced as all those other racing series that don't have any regulations on the cars. For those interested I've compiled a list of regulation free racing series:
(end of list)