2014 will see the first Formula E Global Championship, the electric vehicle equivalent of the Grand Prix. The first of ten teams has been announced as Drayson Racing Technologies, of Oxfordshire UK.
The zero-emission races will be held over the racing season in cities around the globe – Rome and Rio de Janiero have already signed up as hosts. The cars will be powered solely on renewable energy.
Drayson, a low-carbon motorsport research and development company, has been involved with electric vehicle racing since 2007. It advises the FIA (Fédeération Internationale de l’Automobile) on sustainability of the Formula E race.
In the first year Drayson will be racing the Spark and McLaren developed Formula E Holdings car, and plans from 2015 to use a car of its own design. It has been developing a drivetrain based upon the advanced electric system that set a record for an electric vehicle at Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2012. The DRT 4X2-640 electric system featured in the record setting Lola-Drayson B12/69EV.
