source: Audi Sport
- Hong Kong premiere of the Audi e-tron with Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi
- Will the 50th Formula E race be the first one held in rain?
The weekend celebrating the 50th Formula E race in Hong Kong began with a presentation of the new Audi e-tron* on Friday night.
Formula E is celebrating its 50th race this weekend. According to the weather forecast, it might become the first race in the history of the electric racing series to be held in the rain. A number of planned PR activities on Friday were cancelled due to the bad weather – including a film shoot with the two Audi drivers at the Hong Kong harbor, among other things.
The Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler team used the unique setting of the race track in the heart of Hong Kong on Friday night for a somewhat unusual team photo in the dark and more spectacular pictures were also taken with the Audi e-tron FE05.
For the 50th race of Formula E, a logo celebrating this special event of the racing series has been created, which also depicts the two Audi e-tron FE05 cars of Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi.
Le Mans winner Benoît Tréluyer is present in Hong Kong as Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler’s reserve driver. In addition, the long-standing Audi factory driver is involved in the team’s PR activities.
Media interest in Formula E’s third appearance in Hong Kong is huge. More than 50 journalists registered for the event via the Audi importers in China, Hong Kong and Japan alone.
For the first time, a Formula E race will be broadcast live in the United Kingdom on BBC. In Germany, the 50th race can be watched as usual on Eurosport and, for the first time, on an ARD live stream (www.daserste.de). The race starts on Sunday at 4 PM local time (9 AM CET).
Following the shakedown on Saturday, Allan McNish and other team principals of the electric racing series went for a cruise on board of a typical Chinese junk. During a harbor tour, they talked to a group of British journalists about the special characteristics of Formula E.
Although Formula E will hold its sixth race of the season on Hainan Island in China in two weeks’ time, only a few team members will stay in Asia between the races in Hong Kong and Sanya. Allan McNish will fly home for one day before traveling on to Florida: The Scot is the Grand Marshal for the sports car race at Sebring. Between Sebring and Sanya, McNish will also be spending only one day at home.
Audi’s appearance at the Geneva International Motor Show was fully focused on electric mobility. The Audi e-tron FE05 was also showcased at the Audi booth.