After a quite scintillating start to the 2019 ABB FIA Formula E Championship, a start that has already provided the spectator with thrill, spills and close racing aplenty, it’s time to travel to South America where, on Saturday, January 26, the fully electric racing series will hold the third round in Santiago de Chile, marking its first event in the Americas this season. After Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi have scored points in all of the races held to date this season, the drivers of the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler team now intend to finish on the podium.
The race, Audi say, will be run at Parque O’Higgins. Covering an area of 750,000 square meters, it is the second-largest park in the Chilean capital. The 2.348-kilometer track in the center of Santiago with its long straights, hairpins and chicanes loop around the Movistar Arena. “The track layout looks exciting, but we’ll only know exactly what awaits us at the circuit once we get there,” shared Team Principal Allan McNish with MotorMartin recently, “However, we already know one thing: it’ll be a completely different race than the two previous rounds this season. Firstly, we’re going to have much higher temperatures to contend with and secondly, it’s the first real city street circuit on the calendar with all the typical characteristics of a street track.”
The new location and unknown circuit have no bearing on the factory team’s goal. “We know the potential of our Audi e-tron FE05, our team and our drivers – now we need to put all of it together into a package that will get us onto the podium,” says Allan McNish, “Races in South America are always very special anyway because the fans are enthusiastic and make for a great atmosphere.”
The race in Santiago de Chile will start at 4 PM local time (8 PM CET) and be aired live on Eurosport. All international channels including broadcast schedules can be found online at www.fiaformulae.com.
It’s been explained to MotorMartin that this season, four cars using technology from Audi and Schaeffler are on the Formula E grid: In addition to the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler factory team, the Envision Virgin Racing team with Sam Bird and Robin Frijns races with the Audi e-tronFE05. Both drivers of the British racing team most recently finished on podium in Marrakesh.
Where will you go?