419 replies to this topic

[thegamer23]

 

    

 

 

 

RACING JANUARY KICKS OFF!
Action-packed month starts in Marrakesh!

 

Bored of the never-ending winter break? 
Just chill & relax: January is going to be an action-packed month with TWO Formula E races (Marrakesh, Santiago), 24 Hours of Daytona & The Race of Champions. 
 

Action kicks off with the full electric championship, in the streets of Marrakesh for the FOURTH time in Formula E History! (together with Mexico & Paris, the most used track in FE history)

 

 

 

But let's take a look at what happened in the previous race of Riyadh, the historical Gen 2 debut! 



RIYADH e-PRIX  

      A perfect appetizer

 

 

 

Gen 2 debut in Riyadh was a big success. It wasn't a perfect event, but showed the huge potential of this new era of Electric Racing. 
Despite missing out the entire FP1 & half FP2 session due to RAIN  (Yep, it monsooned in the desert), cars looked much quicker, racier & delivered a tremendous show in the up hills & downhills of the rollercostery Riyadh Street Circuit. 

A big battle between the two Techeetahs of Jean Eric Vergne/Andrè Lotterer & the BMW of Antonio Felix Da Costa was the headliner of the race. 
Techeetah's pace looked omnious, but than a Drive Thru Penalty (due to an erratic Re-Gen setting setup by the team) forced the golden pair to PIT. 

A late Safety Car helped Jean Eric Vergne, the reigning champion to comeback into the leader's tail with only one lap to go. The frenchmen tried a desperate divebomb at the penultimate corner on the Blue-White BMW. 

But Antonio Felix Da Costa kept it cool with nerves of steel, he held on & managed to get an incredible debut win for the German Manufacturer. 

Behind the Top 3 (a fresh, fast Jerome D'Ambrosio finished 3), well, it was pure wheel to wheel racing with battles all around the field!

 

 

 

 

THE ROOKIES
An impressive debut for (most of) them! 

 

Yep, that's a Rookie! 

 

 

Riyadh wasn't exactly the easiest scenario to debut in Formula E: torrential rain in the morning, gripless & dangerous track - an hard task for the rookies of Season 5. 

However, they did pretty great actually: Stoffel Vandoorne was blistering fast in the rain-hit qualifying session, but an early touch with the wall bent his suspension, and his race-points hopes. 
Another big name joining the series, Felipe Massa showed his great racing skills in the afternoon's e-Prix after a problematic quali: the brazilian pulled out a spectacular overtake on his ex F1 collegue, Vandoorne: Massa was looking good for a TOP 6 finish, but a penalty compromised his race. 

The Pass: https://www.facebook...46837298858791/
 

 

But the "Best of the Rookies" awards goes to.... Ollie Rowland!

The englishman replaced Alex Albon late in the pre-season for Nissan, and was considered pretty solid yet unspectacular (for many) addition to the grid. 
Rowland showed his street-devil skills with an amazing comeback from the back of the grid, finishing just behind of his Team-Mate Sebastien Buemi, who was starting P3. 

 

Other rookies? Gary Paffet smashed his HWA into the wall (obviously, the TV feed missed it) early in the race, Max Gunther was nowhere to be seen at the back of the field, so was Alex Sims, despite an awesome pre-season. 

 

But we're still to see him, PASCAL WEHRLEIN who is going to make his real debut in Marrakesh, after being forced out from the first 2018 event by his Mercedes contract. 

Oh yes...let's talk about the next race! 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
You know it's going to be TIGHT! 

 

 

This championship is going to be extremely tight: Techeetah appeared to be the quickest car on track in Riyadh, but the lack of practice hurted so many teams in the process.

Marrakesh will show the true potential of the GEN 2 machineries! 
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

MARRAKESH CIRCUIT
A more traditional one, this time! 

 

 

 

 

 

Formula E's Gen 2 campaign continues in one of its most "traditional" tracks
Built around the Old city of Marrakesh, the International Circuit Moulay El Hassan is a 3 Km long non-permanent venue that has been now used for years in many different categories (WTCC & Formula E, above all). 

 

That means, spaces & runoffs are a little bit wider than FE standards: track has some very fast sections and at least 2 great overtaking spots. 

But, most important, the track layout it's the same since Season 2. YES! That means we can finally compare Gen 1 vs Gen 2 times!   

FE's unofficial record is 1'19''651 by Nico Muller, during last year's Rookie tests, while official record is 1'19''760, obtained during the race. 

Just how much faster will those Gen 2 cars go in quali mode? 

Let me know your predictions! 

 

 

 

 

ATTACK MODE ACTIVATION ZONE: Will be located outside the ideal trajectory of Turn 3

Drivers should loose less time activating it, compared to Ryiadh

 

 

 

 

 

 

RACE SCHEDULE & TIMETABLE

SATURDAY 12th

 

(UK TIMES)

 

 

7.00 - FP1 (45 Mins) - LIVE YOUTUBE/FACEBOOK
9.00 - FP2 (30 Mins) - LIVE YOUTUBE/FACEBOOK
11.00 - QP - LIVE EUROSPORT/YOUTUBE

15.00 - Race (45 Mins) 

 

 

 

 

 

On Facebook & YouTube you can catch up with pretty much everything, LIVE! 

 

On Germany, all the championship will be shown on RTD & ZDF. 
In Italy, all the championship will be shown on Mediaset Italia 1/2. 

 

UPDATING

 

Edited by thegamer23, 10 January 2019 - 10:32.

[Victor_RO]

Just hope the pace that Techeetah/DS showed at various points during the last race doesn't translate into a runaway 1-2 here...

[f1paul]

Hopefully we get a "normal" dry weekend (well, day) to see the true pecking order. AND hopefully no team is dominant. 

[NorwegianRudo]

Rowland finished behind Buemi, not in front of as you say in the "rookies" section.

[thegamer23]

Rowland finished behind Buemi, not in front of as you say in the "rookies" section.

Pardon!

Edited by thegamer23, 06 January 2019 - 21:27.

[D.M.N.]

I-Pace is taking a break until Mexico.

[thegamer23]

I-Pace is taking a break until Mexico.

Two fails in a row, great evening!

[thegamer23]

[thegamer23]

 

Street Racers episode 3

Felipe Massa takes us through his training regime while we catch up with all the racing - and testing - from the 2018 SAUDIA Ad Diriyah E-Prix.

 

 

Interesting hearing Massa confirm that FE steering is much harder than F1's, so he had to undergo a special upper torso training! 

Edited by thegamer23, 07 January 2019 - 11:53.

[Vielleicht]

Race week makes me happy

[RSRally]

I'll kick it off..

The best lap in qualy (assumung no rain, snow, other act of god) will be a 1m16.864.

[thegamer23]

That's well possible considering how Buemi was talking about an average 3 seconds/lap improvement in Valencia! 
My prediction is a 1'16''520.   

Just can't wait!

 

 

Edited by thegamer23, 07 January 2019 - 21:48.

[RSRally]

I rewatched last years Marrakech qualy and race last night and think these new cars will really be able to stretch their legs on this circuit. Looking forward to it!

[thegamer23]

Pascal Wehrlein is set to be announced soon as Ferrari's Development & test driver!

A busy 2019 incoming for him! 👍🏻👍🏻

[maximilian]

Maybe it'll rain? 

[Tsarwash]

I think the cars look almost great, and the Halo suits them. 

[NorwegianRudo]

Maybe it'll rain? 

 

Was it last year it was so foggy for the practices you could barely see the cars? 

[thegamer23]

I think the cars look almost great, and the Halo suits them. 

I agree with you

 

 

 

[Imateria]

I didn't like the blue lights on the halo for attack mode, was actually a bit difficult to see them, I reckon they should change the colour to green or something. The red for fan boost was easy enough to see but it shouldn't be a thing at all.

 

I'm really struggling to understand the hype around Wehrlein making his debut. He's good but didn't look too much better than Marcus Ericsson when they were at Sauber, and nobody is rating him highly.

[NorwegianRudo]

 

I'm really struggling to understand the hype around Wehrlein making his debut. He's good but didn't look too much better than Marcus Ericsson when they were at Sauber, and nobody is rating him highly.

 

The whole development and setup of the Sauber was done to suit Ericsson, and Wehrlein still beat him.

[Imateria]

The whole development and setup of the Sauber was done to suit Ericsson, and Wehrlein still beat him.

Just, and there wasn't much in the way of development on that car.

[RSRally]

Wehrlein scored a point in a Manor and then outscored Ericsson five points to nil in a crappy Sauber. On pure performance he should have been retained over Ericsson for 2018.

[thegamer23]

OFFICIAL SCHEDULE (UK TIME).

Friday 11th January

 

14.00 - Shakedown (30 mins)


Saturday 12th January
 

7.00 - FP1 (45 Mins)
9.00 - FP2 (30 Mins)
11.00 - QP 

15.00 - Race (45 Mins) 

 

 

 

 

 

edit: Here it is the Attack Mode activation zone, Just outside the tracklimits at Turn 3

 

Edited by thegamer23, 09 January 2019 - 13:38.

[Vielleicht]

Ah, some actual painted stuff on the ground! Much better idea!

[Imateria]

I bet we're still going to get the annoying graphics though.

[Peat]

Driving through a metal barricade will certainly induce a hindrance to activating AM. 

[thegamer23]

From e-Racing365 twitter
Is there a surprise in store for the test on Sunday? Find out on @eracing365 soon     #ABBFormulaE #MarrakeshEprix

Edited by thegamer23, 09 January 2019 - 17:09.

[f1paul]

 

[Vielleicht]

Chadwick to be NIO's sole driver in the Marrakesh test

https://e-racing365....marrakesh-test/

 

A NIO spokesperson confirmed to e-racing365 that it had “decided to run one driver although she [Chadwick] may be in both cars.”

Edited by Vielleicht, 10 January 2019 - 09:11.

[thegamer23]

Updated OP

 

 

I guess, there's no excuse to miss it! 

(Also, every single session is on YouTube)

 

 

Edited by thegamer23, 10 January 2019 - 17:26.

[Imateria]

Do we have a start time for the race on the BBC's red button?

[thegamer23]

Should be Live on BBC Red Button, so 15.00 uk race start time! 
Correct me if i'm wrong!
 

Forecast update: 22 degrees & sun expected on race afternoon!
But in the early morning, it will be freezing cold with only 3 degrees: FP1 could be tricky and we could see plenty of mistakes

 

 

 

Edited by thegamer23, 10 January 2019 - 14:42.

[ExFlagMan]

Looks like it is delayed coverage on the BBC Red Button - 17:25 - 19.25

Edited by ExFlagMan, 10 January 2019 - 17:22.

[Imateria]

Looks like it is delayed coverage on the BBC Red Button - 17:25 - 19.25

Well thats disappointing, Youtube it is then.

[thegamer23]

It's tursday. So what?

 

It's time for the thursday Sam Smith's Notebook!
https://e-racing365....day-notebook-2/

 

Tomorrow, action will start at 14.00 UK time for the 30 minutes Shakedown session! 

 

 

 

***Felipe Nasr, who is strongly rumoured to be testing for GEOX Dragon this Sunday, was on-site at the circuit today. The former Sauber F1 driver is expected to be announced by the team tomorrow as joining Antonio Fuoco in its test lineup.

 

 

***The first practice session at the Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan on Saturday has been put back 15 minutes and will now start at 8.15 am. The reason is a change in the original decision to do away with winter time [GMT +1] which the government originally announced back in October.

Edited by thegamer23, 10 January 2019 - 19:09.

[thegamer23]

 

 

Edited by thegamer23, 11 January 2019 - 10:49.

[thegamer23]

SHAKEDOWN LIVE in 20 minutes!

[MattK9]

Given that the race is tomorrow there has been very little FE news or gossip on the Autosport website. Even FE's own website is a bit bare other than a 1 page preview and summary of last years event.

[sgtkate]

Can I change my vote to 'Stoffel Vandoorne's chassis problems' after watching that shakedown please? 

[potmotr]

Given that the race is tomorrow there has been very little FE news or gossip on the Autosport website. Even FE's own website is a bit bare other than a 1 page preview and summary of last years event.

 

I dunno, but I'd imagine it just doesn't generate enough traffic for the website?

 

I still can't get into this series, despite the hype.

 

Cars seem at least five years away from being even vaguely fast enough to be interesting. 

Edited by potmotr, 11 January 2019 - 14:54.

[thegamer23]

 

 

     
I noticed they added those little flaps with driver's name on the camera up there!

Anyway, cars looked almost faster than last year's race pace in today's shakedown with less than half power  

Can't wait for tomorrow
 

Edited by thegamer23, 11 January 2019 - 14:53.

[Vielleicht]

They did look quite quick considering that shakedown half power. One of the head-up-display graphics showed a fastest lap of 1:29 ish (which I thought was odd because they don't usually show laptimes for shakedowns), so they were actually going about 9 seconds off the race lap record of 1:20.115 by Rosenqivist from last year whilst running with 70kW less power in shakedown trim.

 

Come qualifying that'll be 70kW more than 2018 race power levels!

Edited by Vielleicht, 11 January 2019 - 15:16.

[MattK9]

I dunno, but I'd imagine it just doesn't generate enough traffic for the website?

 

I still can't get into this series, despite the hype.

 

Cars seem at least five years away from being even vaguely fast enough to be interesting. 

 

It certainly doesnt generate as much internet traffic as F1 as there are daily F1 articles that have about 1 paragraph worth of content that have been expanded into a full article. The sort of article where you only need to read the headline.

 

If you dont like FE dont watch it. I dont like Nascar so i dont watch it for example. The FE cars are more than fast enough for me to enjoy. There is more to racing than outright speed.

[BRG]

 

I guess, there's no excuse to miss it! 

(Also, every single session is on YouTube)

Formula E just doesn't get it, do they?  Don't they understand that by making their product available to every casual Tom, Dick or Harriet, they are making it look cheap and attainable?  When will they realise that a high quality product needs to kept safe and sound behind a paywall where only the very privileged can access it?  Or preferably not be televised at all. 

[thegamer23]

I like this new BRG   
However i may have spoke to soon: i'm reading that quali & race may be geoblocked, depending on your country's live access. 
Can't remember if it was the same in Riyadh or not.


edit: Attack Mode Zone! 

Edited by thegamer23, 11 January 2019 - 17:45.

[thegamer23]

VERSTAPPEN IN MARRAKESH!

to serve public service penalty at the Marrakesh E-Prix…

https://e-racing365....t-in-marrakesh/

 

Edited by thegamer23, 11 January 2019 - 17:59.

[Cliff]

VERSTAPPEN IN MARRAKESH!
to serve public service penalty at the Marrakesh E-Prix…
https://e-racing365....t-in-marrakesh/

Who do I have to shove to get that punishment 🙃

[Vielleicht]

Sam Smith's Friday Notebook from Marrakesh:

https://e-racing365....day-notebook-2/

 

Includes:

 

***The Marrakesh E-Prix will see the introduction of a mandated winglet on the roll hoop of all cars. The addition comes after some teams lobbied Formula E so they could free up space on the side of the hoop itself for commercial partners.

 

***The commercial and technical tenders for the third generation of Formula E cars will begin in the fourth quarter of 2019. As first reported by e-racing365 the present iteration of the car will have its working cycle extended until the end of the 2021-22 season.

 

***Formula E’s technical delegate Frederic Bertrand says an update to the present Gen 2 model is planned for Season Seven, which begins at the end of 2020.

“This Gen 2 car will run for two seasons as it needs to be stable and then there will probably be a ‘second life’ of the car where we renew the look of the car,” he said.

[thegamer23]

The last point is super interesting, even if I already love the look of the current Gen 2 car.

But yep. 4 seasons with the same, identical car aheatetically would have bored.
2 seasons with the current look + 2 with an "upgraded" look, before switching to Gen 3, sounds perfect.

Wonder where that upgrade will focus. Will they add a rear wing? 😎

------

Early start tomorrow, I remind you of the timings!!

7.15 - FP1 (45 Mins) - LIVE YOUTUBE/FACEBOOK

9.00 - FP2 (30 Mins) - LIVE YOUTUBE/FACEBOOK

11.00 - QP - LIVE EUROSPORT/YOUTUBE?

15.00 - Race (45 Mins)

Edited by thegamer23, 11 January 2019 - 21:31.

[RSRally]

The last point is super interesting, even if I already love the look of the current Gen 2 car.

But yep. 4 seasons with the same, identical car aheatetically would have bored.
2 seasons with the current look + 2 with an "upgraded" look, before switching to Gen 3, sounds perfect.

Wonder where that upgrade will focus. Will they add a rear wing? 😎

------

Early start tomorrow, I remind you of the timings!!

7.15 - FP1 (45 Mins) - LIVE YOUTUBE/FACEBOOK

9.00 - FP2 (30 Mins) - LIVE YOUTUBE/FACEBOOK

11.00 - QP - LIVE EUROSPORT/YOUTUBE?

15.00 - Race (45 Mins)

All sessions also live on BT Sport ESPN.