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Home / Sport

Motorsport: Electric formula shows staying power

Eric Thompson
By Eric Thompson
NZ Herald·
11 Nov, 2016 04:00 PM4 mins to read

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Kiwi Formula E driver Mitch Evans is rapidly learning the differences between his traditional racecars and the electric-powered machine he is now driving. Picture / Andrew Ferraro

Kiwi Formula E driver Mitch Evans is rapidly learning the differences between his traditional racecars and the electric-powered machine he is now driving. Picture / Andrew Ferraro

Mitch Evans fizzing as he looks for trouble-free run with Jaguar in Morocco.

After another GP2 season that at times showed promise and at other times despair, Kiwi single seater racer Mitch Evans' undoubted pace was noticed by Jaguar, who wanted to enter a team in the FIA Formula E (electric-powered) championship in the 2016/2017 season.

The young New Zealander had two successful test sessions with the British manufacturer and was signed up alongside Irishman Adam Carroll and Chinese reserve driver Ho-Ping Tung.

Evans was quickest of Panasonic Jaguar Racing's line-up during testing, and had his first taste of electric single seater racing at Hong Kong in early October.

Things didn't quite go according to plan, with Evans hitting trouble with his second car. For those unfamiliar with Formula E racing, the drivers pit during the race to swap cars to be able to complete the race.

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Despite the hiccup in his first Formula E race, Evans is enjoying his new gig and can't wait to take on the streets of Marrakech, Morocco this weekend.

"Yeah, I was pretty disappointed not to be able to finish in Hong Kong, but I think to have the issue this early in the season is probably a good thing - to get it out of the way as soon as we can," Evans said from Morocco.

"I'm really looking forward to completing the race this weekend.

"Changing cars is pretty unique to this category and, because of the problem in Hong Kong, I haven't had the chance to actually do it in a real race situation, as my second car wasn't working.

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"I'm looking forward to changing cars in Marrakech during the race. It's exciting, as it spices things up. I can't wait to get out on track this weekend. There's still a lot to learn about the car and the technology and I'm maximising every chance I get to drive the car.

"I like street circuits, and as all the races are held on them, I'm excited about it. The tracks are unique and quite tight. The one at Marrakech is more traditional with a bit more width, whereas Hong Kong was very tight with a lot of surface changes."

The two-time Toyota Racing Series champion moved to Europe to contest the GP3 championship in 2011 but really came into his own in 2012, winning the title. He stepped up a category the following year in to the Formula One feeder GP2 series but was dogged by mechanical dramas to finish 14th. The following two seasons in different teams weren't much better with a fourth and fifth title finish. This year he's sitting 10th with one round to go at the UAE Yas Marina track.

Now with a full time gig in Formula E, Evans is in a better place and happy to be with a manufacturer, albeit in a car that's quite a bit different to what he's used to.

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"It's a lot different to GP2 obviously. All we're doing in GP2 is managing the tyres, whereas in Formula E you're not only doing that, but also having to manage the energy as well.

"It's pretty cool to be a factory driver and recently I've been filming in the desert with Jaguar. You get to do some neat things with the team outside of racing, which makes a cool change. It's a huge privilege to be able drive for the Jaguar team, which has a great history and reputation in motorsport," said Evans.

The popularity of the championship has grown over the previous seasons and the number of manufacturers in the series is growing with Jaguar joining Audi, Renault, Citroen and Mahindra. The drivers are no slouches either with the likes of former F1 drivers Nick Heidfeld, Sebastien Buemi (last year's champion), Nelson Piquet Jr and Lucas di Grassi going at it hammer and tongs.

It'll be a while, if at all, before electric-powered racecars are the norm on race tracks, but the technology being experimented with is finding its way in to road cars.

"It's hard to say to much about the future of the championship, but it does have all the ingredients to be really, really big and be successful. This is especially so with a number of the major manufacturers coming in to the series, which is massively positive.

"It's not only possibly the future of racing, but also the automotive side of things," said Evans.

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Formula E points

Points after first round

1. Sebastien Buemi 25
2. Lucas Di Grassi 18
3. Nick Heidfeld 15
4. Nico Prost 12
5. Antonio Da Costa 10
6. Robert Frijns 8
7. Jerome D'Amrosio 6
18. Mitch Evans 0

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