- Jerome D’Ambrosio and Pascal Wehrlein will race in the ABB Formula E Race at Home Challenge
- Round 1 takes place on the Hong Kong E-Prix track on Saturday 25 April 2020
- The new Esports competition will raise funds for UNICEF
Mahindra Racing drivers Jerome D’Ambrosio and Pascal Wehrlein will this weekend swap real life racing for virtual racing as they line-up for Round 1 of the ABB Formula E Race at Home Challenge. Jerome and Pascal will take to the virtual Hong Kong E-Prix track on Saturday 25 April for the opening race of this new eight-week Esports competition, which is the first major fundraising initiative in Formula E’s partnership with UNICEF that aims to keep children around the world safe, healthy and learning in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
The #64 and #94 drivers will participate in a one-lap qualifying session, which follows the Formula E championship’s four group format, with each group consisting of six drivers. The race takes the format of a ‘Race Royale’ battle; after lights out on the race, one driver will be eliminated after every lap until there are 10 drivers remaining to battle it out in one final ‘sprint to the finish’ lap to determine the winner. The race points system will be the same system the championship uses; 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 distributed to the top ten, with one point awarded to the driver with the DHL Fastest Lap and one point to the driver who qualifies in Julius Baer Pole Position. Drivers will be fighting hard for the chance to become the inaugural Formula E sim series champion.
Following the temporary postponement of the 2019/20 season, the eight-week ABB Formula E Race at Home Challenge blends together the real and gaming worlds. Fans will be able to watch all the action on the Formula E website, Facebook, YouTube and Twitch accounts. Mahindra Racing’s passioneers can also follow Jerome and Pascal on their individual Twitch streams as well.
Round 1 of the ABB Formula E Race at Home Challenge takes place on Saturday 25 April from 15:30 BST and will take place each Saturday for eight weeks.
JEROME D’AMBROSIO, #64: “It will be great to be racing against my Formula E competitors again, and to be helping to raise awareness and funds for UNICEF and the vital work they are doing during this pandemic. We might not be back trackside just yet, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be any less competitive on track. It should be a lot of fun for the fans to watch from their homes!”
PASCAL WEHRLEIN, #94: “I’m looking forward to being back racing – albeit virtually! It’s a challenging time for everyone, so I’m pleased that we can be putting on a good show for the fans watching at home as well as the event raising funds for a very worthy cause. It will be great for us drivers to be racing regularly again – even though it’s virtual racing, it will still help keep us sharp for when we go back to real life racing.”
DILBAGH GILL, CEO AND TEAM PRINCIPAL: “Mahindra Racing is proud to participate and support the ABB Formula E Race at Home Challenge as it raises funds for the invaluable work that UNICEF is doing. In these unprecedented times, it’s important for the motorsport community to come together to support each other and those who are less fortunate, and this series is a fantastic way to do this. We are all missing racing in Formula E, but in the meantime I will be cheering Jerome and Pascal on from home as they fly the Mahindra Racing flag in Esports. Hong Kong has been a good circuit to us in the past; we won the race there in Season 4, so let’s see what we can do in the virtual world!”
|
.jpg)
.jpg)
