14 DAY TRIAL // The first-ever electric car race began in China earlier today, and the news is making headlines. It was won by Lucas di Grassi, whose victory was announced on Twitter just minutes ago.
“The final result: 1 di Grassi; 2 Montagny; 3 Abt; 4 Bird; 5 Pic; 6 Chandhok; 7 D'Ambrosio; 8 Servia; 9 Piquet Jr; 10 Sarrazin,” one of the most recent posts reads.
“@LucasdiGrassi:'It feels great to be the first winner in Formula E. I'm very glad that Heidfeld is OK,'” another one says.
Seeing how the race was first and foremost intended to boost the popularity of eco-friendly vehicles, all the media attention that the race and its winner are getting can only come as good news.
Thus, it is expected that, now that they've had the chance to catch a glimpse of electric cars racing their wheels off, folks will finally figure out that environmentally-friendly vehicles can be pretty cool, and sales will boom.
The world's first electric car race
The first race of the Formula-E championship's inaugural season, which will run from September 2014 until June 2015, took place in Beijing, China's capital city, and Twitter has kept us up to speed with what has been happening on track.
The 10 electric vehicles competing in the race taking place this September 13 were driven around a 2.14-mile (3.4-kilometer) course running past the so-called Bird's Nest stadium, especially built for the 2008 Olympic Games.
The race began at 4 p.m. local time, (4 a.m. EDT), and judging by the posts on the official Twitter account for the FIA Formula E Championship, there was a lot of commotion happening on track.
“Game over for Buemi, but he has set the fastest lap (1m46.059s) and is on course for two championship points.” “Heidfeld is taking chunks out of Prost's lead. Five laps to go - who will win?” the event's organizers wrote on Twitter during the race.
Then again, it does not really matter who won the race. As already pointed out, what's important is that people start giving electric cars a wee more consideration, and from this standpoint, the event appears to have done a hell of a good job.
So what's the deal with this electric car race?
As detailed by Live Science, this first-ever electric car race will see a total of 10 teams, each comprising 2 drivers, competing in as many as 10 cities around the world, London and Miami included.
These 10 races are expected to help draw attention to recent developments in battery technologies and electrical four-wheelers, thus encouraging people to quit driving cars powered by dirty fuels and opt for eco-friendly four-wheelers instead.
“The championship centers around three core values of Energy, Environment and Entertainment, and is a fusion of engineering, technology, sport, science, design, music and entertainment – all combining to drive the change towards an electric future,” say the event's organizers.
Furthermore, “The event is a vision for the future of the motor industry over the coming decades, serving as a framework for R&D around the electric vehicle, accelerating general interest in these cars and promoting sustainability.”