PARIS (March 1, 2013) — Team China Racing has entered the 2014 FIA Formula E Championship, becoming the second team to put itself forward for the first season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) sanctioned electric racing series.
FIA Formula E Team China Racing — China's first international racing team — made the announcement Feb. 27 with series promoter Formula E Holdings (FEH) at the FIA headquarters in Paris. The Chinese team will race in the first season of the zero-emissions championship in 2014 featuring cars powered solely by electricity racing on city street circuits. Team China Racing said it also aims to build its own Chinese electric formula cars within three years with support from Chinese EV manufacturers.
In the inaugural 2014 race, China Racing said it will use the new Formula E customer car supplied by Formula E Holdings, which is being developed by Spark Racing Technology (SRT), McLaren and Dallara. Throughout 2013, FIA Formula E Team China Racing will work with SRT and Formula E Holdings to test the customer car and promote the championship globally across the 10 host cities planned for the first season, the race team said in a press statement.
Yu Liu, chairman of China Racing's Formula E team, said it is "very excited that the FIA is launching an electric car racing series and we are proud to be one of the first Formula E teams. I believe Formula E is a perfect platform for China Racing and our key partners to get involved in the future of motor sport. Our presence in the championship will encourage millions of Chinese fans to follow the series.
"…Our experience in racing event management will contribute to a successful Formula E city race in China showcasing electric formula cars with a futuristic sound and zero-emissions. We also believe this is a good platform for Chinese and global EV companies to do our part to help create a sustainable planet."
Alejandro Agag, chief executive with FEH, said the promoter sees China as having "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.
"Having a Chinese team with us in the championship will be key to succeeding in that challenge. We also expect Chinese drivers to join the competition, and we look forward to Chinese companies joining our effort to make cities more livable and healthy."
Team China Racing began in 2004 in Beijing as an A1GP team, authorized by the Ministry of Sports of China. The team has competed in different international racing series such as A1GP, Superleague Formula and FIA GT1.
FIA Formula E Championship is a new FIA championship featuring racing cars powered exclusively by electricity. Demonstrations of the first cars will begin this year and be followed by the first official electric car race in 2014 when the aim is for a grid of 10 teams and 20 drivers.