Marrakech ePrix: Circuit presentation and challenges

The status of the forces present

Held just over a month ago in the streets of Hong Kong, the inaugural ePrix of this third Formula E season revealed the first trends. At the very top of the podium, the reigning world champion was already back on the highest step.

Sébastien Buemi won the seventh ePrix of his career in Asia, the absolute reference in the field. Coming back from 19th place on the grid, Lucas di Grassi once again claimed the second step of the podium. With 14 top-three finishes, the Brazilian is the specialist in consistency here.

But Sébastien Buemi was particularly successful, after taking advantage of the successive misfortunes of Nelson Piquet Jr (NextEV) and Sam Bird (DS Virgin), both of whom were leaders during this round but also victims of various setbacks—a crash for Piquet, a disastrous pit stop for Bird.

Generally, the pleasant surprise of this opening weekend was the pace of some outsiders. Behind Renault e.dams, NextEV and DS Virgin Racing stood out, particularly with interesting speed during the Qualifications.

In the race, Mahindra, through Nick Heidfeld, managed to take advantage of others’ misfortunes to climb onto the podium with a promising third place.

From then on, will these promising second fiddle players be able to carve out a place for themselves under the Moroccan sun? Following the successful private trials, the Renault e.Dams team is already confident in its strength.

That said, will this new round be just as tricky? A quarter of the field (five drivers) indeed had to drop out in Hong Kong. We are only at the beginning of the season, and there is no doubt that the cars will still be improvable on the Marrakech track.

Discovering the Moulay El Hassan Circuit!

Fourteenth city to host a Formula E race, Marrakech will make history this Saturday, for a grand first on the African continent, the fifth explored so far by Alejandro Agag and his team. With a 2.97 km track and comprising 12 turns, the Moulay El Hassan circuit (named after Hassan II, King of Morocco from 1961 to 1999) is the second longest track used by Formula E. The electric single-seaters will use the same layout as the one used in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) this year. However, the circuit has existed since 2009, initially as a longer version. A permanent section designed by Hermann Tilke’s company was added recently, and the urban part has been modified. The circuit will notably use the Ourika road and Mohammed VI Boulevard.

#ICYMI: @FIAformulaE joins forces with @COP22 for #MarrakeshePrix https://t.co/vzRqFjnBLF pic.twitter.com/G6Gm8DAY9R

— FIA Formula E (@FIAformulaE) 9 novembre 2016

To connect the writings to the images, discover the virtual onboard camera of this Moroccan circuit.

For the anecdote, the WTCC pole position was achieved in 1:21.743 by Rob Huff in his Honda, but this reference is not very representative for Formula E which develop radically different performances.

Only José Maria Lopez has already raced on this version of the circuit as part of the 2016 WTCC championship. The triple champion of the discipline had finished second in race one and won race two. Ma Qing Hua, on the other hand, raced on the older version of the track in 2015, also in WTCC. He had finished second in the main race behind a certain Argentine driver mentioned above…

The hot news from Formula E:

The evolution of Audi’s commitment in Formula E after the withdrawal from WEC?

Before the start of the season, Audi had announced that its involvement in Formula E would intensify with the ABT team, starting from the 2017-2018 season. Since then, the brand with the rings has announced its withdrawal from the World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the end of this year, 2016, to fully concentrate on Formula E. The determining factor that led the Volkswagen Group brand to this decision is most certainly the latest revelation of the “Dieselgate”: the scandal of the software designed to cheat pollution tests.

In this sense, Formula E and its message will align much better with the German group, in an effort to enhance its image in a “clean” championship.

However, it is difficult to say at this stage whether this will result in an acceleration of Audi’s engagement timeline. We only know at the moment that Audi will partially use its Neuburg facilities, but the plant as a whole will join the already existing technical development team.

Whatever happens, this hasty withdrawal from Endurance will have repercussions on the programs of Loic Duval and Lucas Di Grassi, who will (for now) have to be content with driving in Formula E.

The symbol: Formula E partners with COP22.

The organizers of the championship recently announced a partnership between the Marrakech ePrix and COP 22. The twenty-second session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) is currently being held in the “Red City” until November 18.

On this occasion, a special documentary will be presented to the COP22 participants this Sunday. It will revisit the incredible performance by Lucas di Grassi two months ago. The Brazilian was able to drive on the Arctic ice of Greenland with a Formula E model, in order to raise awareness about carbon dioxide (CO2) emission-free transportation.

The Tribute: Death of NextEV Co-founder and Co-president, Martin Leach.

Formula E was marked by a very sad news at the beginning of November. We learned of the passing of the co-founder and co-president of the NextEV group, Martin Leach. The 59-year-old Englishman succumbed to cancer. His beautiful and long career spanning over 40 years in motorsport included roles at Ford, Mazda, and Maserati before joining the Chinese group at the beginning of 2015. Let’s recall that Leach played a key role in managing NextTEV in Formula E by partnering with Team China halfway through the first season of the series. This alliance contributed to Nelson Piquet’s triumph, winning the first drivers’ title. Season 2 was much more challenging for Leach, with poor results and a general restructuring of the team. Thus, the Marrakech e-Prix will be an opportunity to pay tribute to this man who dedicated his life to the automotive industry and the creation of a 100% electric team.

With deepest grief we have lost a great friend, leader & founder of NextEV today: https://t.co/ARyRMlrZbM pic.twitter.com/IpUvosn3nv

— NextEV (@NextEV) 1 novembre 2016

Your TV program:

A beautiful Saturday of motorsport awaits you on the Canal+ group channels. Between the different sessions of the Brazilian Grand Prix in Formula 1, catch the Qualifications of the Marrakech ePrix at 12:50 PM on Canal+Sport (French time).

Unfortunately, the race itself will fall at the same time as the battle for pole position at Interlagos.

You can watch the Marrakesh ePrix from 4:45 PM on Canal+Décalé, with the start at 5:00 PM!