Using the same logic as FE's cousin, Extreme E, this E-Prix will highlight the dangers of climate change by racing in the very environment that we're aiming to save. The paradox of FE has always been that it's trying to highlight the effects of carbon emissions on the environment, but racing in the most manmade, unnatural environments imaginable. So here we're going to buck that trend by going rural. Not just anywhere, but to a National Park, and area where the beauty, majesty and fragility of mother nature is not just showcased, but protected. In this case, Dartmoor National Park, with its tors, ponies and unique climate.
Fantastic and very fast natural track. Hints of old Spa.
A couple of sweeps then lead to a bit of a straight, before the challenging right hander of Turn 11. The road falls away at the apex providing an extra challenge to the drivers.
Things are going to get narrow now, so we'll see the last overtaking opportunity for a while at Turn 12, where the track enters the town centre.
Again, the road falls away at the apex, though at least a kerb keeps some sightline into the narrow streets. Next up is the tricky chicane onto Fore St. Cars will again clatter the kerbs to remain competitive, but the outside wall will catch out the careless.
Continuing through town, Turn 15 is a sweep onto Chapel Rd. Things are getting faster now, and a bit wider.
As Chapel Rd, straightens up, past the church and alongside picturesque drystone walls, drivers will be preparing for another 90 right, again on the downhill, at Turn 16, where we meet Market St.
The street names change a couple of times as we reach the junction with Holne Rd. This forms a natural chicane with a bit of a leap in the middle.
That should be the last braking point of the lap. Now we climb steeply, while negotiating the sweep at Turn 19. On the outside of this turn will be the boost activation zone.
As we pass the crossroads at the top, we suddenly see the beauty of Dartmoor in all its glory, with the road falling away into the fast right of Turn 20.
Almost at the end now, Turn 21 takes us back to the S/F straight, with the Abbey in the distance.
Don't do that! There's no such thing as too many - especially at Christmas.
I just thought it was better to have one entry only - the member who was intending to enter two hasn't done so. If he does, I'll re-submit my Norwich proposal.
Funny how being from different areas can give you a different opinion of a place. Having grown up in Devon, the first thing I think about when hearing Buckfast Abbey was the crap school trip that nobody looked forward to.
Formula E goes for a full Mountain trip this season.
Located in Trentino Alto Adige (North of Italy), this track is a fast dash up & down the Dolomites routes of San Martino di Castrozza
From Turn 9 to Turn 2 the profile is slightly uphill, with some crests, while the rest of the track is a downhill dash!
This track is short but fun, and it has a little bit of everything: slow corners for overtakings, fast corners, uphills & downhills! Lap times can be expected around the minute mark with Gen 3 cars!
This 2.1 km circuit will put the drivers & the cars to a test.
There's not a totally straight section on the track: every bit of it is ondulated, with significant elevation changes.
Kinda reminiscent of the Zurich Formula e-Prix track, wich had 60+ meters of elevation change as well.
Start/Finish line is located in the main avenue of San Martino.
Pretty wide section, slightly uphill: Turn 1 is a 90° degrees cornerthat will allow overtaking opportunities.
Also, wide enough to not cause track blockages during the race start: profile of Turn 1 resembles the first corner of the Paris e-Prix.
Track than goes on through a bridge and into the fast section!
Fast, Macau-Esque section
Turn 2is a medium speed corner (150-160 km/h), that will launch the cars into the fast, ondulated section.
Getting turn 2 right isn't easy: circuit tightens on entry, and there's not much room for mistakes: a lift will be requested to complete the corner safely, but you'll have to carry as much speed as possible out on exit to be fast in the following section.
Exiting Turn 2, this is where the fun begins!
A 600 meters long, full throttle section with bumps & elevation changes.
Cars will reach over 200 km/h in this tight, fast, ondulated section, with the final part of it going downhill towards Turn 3.
Turn 3-4 requires precision & rythm from the drivers.
It's a section reminiscent of the Luco-Poggio Secco of Mugello.
Coming downhill from the very fast section, braking will be very tricky going into Turn 3-4.
Overtaking is possible on entry.
Those are two consecutive medium speed corners, where you have to carry out as much speed as possible.
After Turn 5-6, wich have a similar profile to Turns 3-4, we arrive into the very important Attack Zone section
Turn 7 s a make or break for the lap: a low speed, long radius corner, difficult to get right.
Exit is key, as you'll have to keep the right trajectory to get through Turn 8 kink flatout.
Attack Mode activation zone is located on the outside. (In Red)
Drivers goes flatout towards another scenographicBridge, before lifting off into Turn 9's kink.
Braking while turning: extremely difficult with FE cars! Turn 10 is going to be a make or break corner for the ultimate lap time!
Cars will arrive with a lot of momentum exiting Turn 9, and than they'll have to turn while braking for the slowest corner of the circuit.
It's also very Uphill, reminiscent of Austin's Turn 1.
Best overtaking opportunity of the track there.
PitLane entry is located on the extreme outside of the corner.
Accellerate as soon as you can out of Turn 10 to get the perfect launch into the slightly Up-Hill Start/Finish straight
Racing with a Meaning
This region was severely hit by huge gusts of wind back in 2018.
It was a cathastrophic, unexpected event, probably caused by the earth's warming up process.
On a Rainy evening in October 29th, 2018, winds up to 217 km/h blew down 42 MILLIONSTREES & damaged multiple structures, causing damages up to 1,7 billion Euros.
Entire power lines were destroyed, leaving people in the dark for days: there were 8 victims, and some of the smaller villages are still recovering from the event.
It's going to take years to restore back the old beauty of the region.
Ohhhh here's me thinking I should have done this earlier given the outstanding quality of entries... but hey ho, I've been busy these few weeks and only just getting a chance to wind down now
So, here's mine...
The New Orleans ePrix
A good old-fashioned, traffic disrupting, totally inconvenient, literal city-centre street circuit.
Taking through a lap, start line at the arrow, we see a short dash to a simple 90 right hander followed up almost immediately by a quick chicane. Another dash up towards a left hander with pit entry on the right and a loop back around to the duel carriageway. Time for a long straight with an unnecessary chicane and very wide hairpin at the end. Whilst coming back up the other side, a sharp right takes the lap around a novelty feature loop…a building connected to a storm drain, it would appear and eventually back to the start straight.
Why New Orleans? Well, as per rule number 8 entries should have some sort of link or relevance to climate change and for this link I am shining a spotlight on the impact of climate change on coastal cities and communities. Louisiana is the most vulnerable US state to climate change, from rising sea levels and land loss to higher summer temperatures to increased frequency of tropical storms and more. Should coastal communities find their lands to become uninhabitable, large volumes of people will have to start moving in-land - either within their own nations or into others. It's estimated that more than 600m people (10% of the world's population) live in coastal areas less than 10m above sea level, whilst around 40% live within 100km of the coast... which is a lot of people....
...but enough rumination on that for now... there's been some really excellent entires and I'm looking forward to voting and crowning our third winner!
Ohhhh here's me thinking I should have done this earlier given the outstanding quality of entries... but hey ho, I've been busy these few weeks and only just getting a chance to wind down now
So, here's mine...
The New Orleans ePrix
A good old-fashioned, traffic disrupting, totally inconvenient, literal city-centre street circuit.
Taking through a lap, start line at the arrow, we see a short dash to a simple 90 right hander followed up almost immediately by a quick chicane. Another dash up towards a left hander with pit entry on the right and a loop back around to the duel carriageway. Time for a long straight with an unnecessary chicane and very wide hairpin at the end. Whilst coming back up the other side, a sharp right takes the lap around a novelty feature loop…a building connected to a storm drain, it would appear and eventually back to the start straight.
Why New Orleans? Well, as per rule number 8 entries should have some sort of link or relevance to climate change and for this link I am shining a spotlight on the impact of climate change on coastal cities and communities. Louisiana is the most vulnerable US state to climate change, from rising sea levels and land loss to higher summer temperatures to increased frequency of tropical storms and more. Should coastal communities find their lands to become uninhabitable, large volumes of people will have to start moving in-land - either within their own nations or into others. It's estimated that more than 600m people (10% of the world's population) live in coastal areas less than 10m above sea level, whilst around 40% live within 100km of the coast... which is a lot of people....
...but enough rumination on that for now... there's been some really excellent entires and I'm looking forward to voting and crowning our third winner!
Another great entry, and a reminder that my Norwich idea could have had a climate change link, as rising sea levels may bring salt water into the heart of the city via the river. Anyway, this competition started strongly and is ending that way as well.
My first go at this after all these years, celebrating the historic city of Stirling in Scotland....
A 2.6 mile loop with an elevation change of 130 ft from A->B and then back down from B->C, with the main start/finish straight being a dual carriageway with plenty of space for high speed jockeying for position.
My first go at this after all these years, celebrating the historic city of Stirling in Scotland....
A 2.6 mile loop with an elevation change of 130 ft from A->B and then back down from B->C, with the main start/finish straight being a dual carriageway with plenty of space for high speed jockeying for position.
My first go at this after all these years, celebrating the historic city of Stirling in Scotland....
A 2.6 mile loop with an elevation change of 130 ft from A->B and then back down from B->C, with the main start/finish straight being a dual carriageway with plenty of space for high speed jockeying for position.
Right, I've asked our host to find a moderator who will be active at midnight UTC to lock the thread, but, if that doesn't happen, please do not submit anything new after that time. Provided I can find time, I'll set up a voting thread on the 26th, unless maximilian wants to do it.
This topic is locked
The surroundings are different, but the circuit itself is reminiscent of Montjuic Park.
