It’s the sound stupid!

Race fans could care less about silent Formula E cars

Last summer the NIMBYs of Battersea Park decided to nuke the annual Formula E race in London. Amid ongoing court disputes, series officials agreed to make the 2016 London ePrix the last to be staged in Battersea Park in the hope of finding a better venue elsewhere. Battersea Park had certainly served a purpose, but ultimately it was a poor spectator venue and hardly conducive to thrilling race.

Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag was not worried when addressing the press after unveiling the season three calendar. There was a slot still reserved for London, on the condition that a deal could be done to find a better venue. Agag was confident the series could, in his words, "do a Berlin".

Berlin hosted Formula E for the first time in season one, with a rudimentary track created at the disused Tempelhof Airport, famous for its role during the Berlin Air Lift that kept the west of the city alive during the height of the Cold War. However, when the site was turned into a centre for refugees fleeing the troubles in the Middle East, Formula E was understandably unable to return for season two.

Instead, a track was laid out in the very heart of the city near Alexanderplatz, with the pit lane formed on the famous Karl-Marx-Allee. It was an unmitigated success for the series, with a buzzing atmosphere around the track as fans flocked to the race. It was the epitome of what Formula E is trying to do: taking clean, eco-friendly racing to city centres in the hope of promoting electric vehicles.

But last week, word filtered through that city officials in Berlin had not shared the enthusiasm for the race. A vote from the city senate ruled against hosting Formula E on Karl-Marx-Allee again in 2017, citing pressures placed on local residents by the event and traffic issues as the main concerns.

Just three days later, officials in the Belgian capital, Brussels, played a similar card. Formula E had already moved the intended location for the July 1 race once before, but was now faced with doing so again after city officials said it could not be held in Koekelberg as planned. While there is an agreement in principle between Brussels and Formula E, it was always conditional to the venue that was used. Efforts are being made to keep the race on the calendar for season three, but delaying its addition until season four seems more likely.

Add in last year's difficulties with London and, as announced last November, the decision to move the Buenos Aires race after season three by virtue of a city decision to redevelop the Puerto Madero area, you can see the trend that is brewing. That’s before you also remember the loss of races in Miami, Punta del Este, Beijing, Putrajaya, Long Beach and Moscow in the past two years – although the circumstances surrounding each of these examples are more complex than the cities themselves saying they've had enough.

Cities are becoming increasingly concerned about the problems supposedly posed by Formula E, as opposed to the benefits. It looks as if they are falling out of love with a very novel and new series.

In a worst-case scenario, neither Berlin nor Brussels will go ahead this year. Should that be the case, Formula E would be reduced to an eight-round, 10-race calendar for season three – or less than nine hours of actual racing across the course of an FIA sanctioned world championship season. There would also be another gaping hole in the calendar between Paris on May 20 and New York on July 15, following on from a stint between the mid-February and mid-May where there is just a single ePrix.

Why are Formula E races one and done? It's the sound stupid. Race fans will not buy tickets to watch a silent car race. The viceral experience of race cars that knock your socks off from a sound standpoint cannot be overstated. While we here at AR1.com are big proponents of electric passenger cars, silent race cars are boring and will not sell tickets.

In part from Luke Smith/MotorsportsWeek