The Electric GT World Series is shaping up to be one hell of a circuit: Dozens of super-modified Tesla Model S P100Ds in the hands of professional racers in some of the fastest all-electric races yet.
The circuit is all electric cars, short distance for maximum speed, and really amped up about sustainable technology. While all of the championship races will be in Europe for the inaugural 2017 series, there will be three races in the US. Although the final dates and places of the races haven’t been announced yet, we know where most of the races will be, and most of the drivers for the circuit have been named.
While Formula E is electric car Formula 1 racing, the Electric GT World Series isn’t quite the NASCAR of electric cars. For one thing, the races are only 37 miles long and will primarily be on established European Grand Prix tracks. Also, like Formula One racing, all the cars on the circuit will be the same model – the Tesla Model S P100Ds, which turn out to be even more stupidly fast when they’re stripped down to the engine and racing essentials.
There will be seven championship races on some of Europe’s most famous racing tracks. A press release in December says the series will hit Circuit Paul Ricard in Marseille, France; Circuit de Barcelon-Catalunya in Spain; Germany’s Nrburgring, Autódromo do Estoril in Lisbon, Portugal; and the Assen Circuit in the Netherlands. The remaining two races could be at Mugello in Tuscanny, Italy; Donington Park in the U.K.; or Madrid Jarama in Spain, according to a press release in September 2015, although Circuit Park Zandvoort in the Netherlands and the UK’s Brands Hatch track both popped up in promotion videos as well. After the seven race championship circuit, EGT has also promised there will be three races in the United States.
There are 10 racing teams and 20 drivers (promised to be male and female) for the first championship. So far, thirteen drivers are confirmed entrants: Stefan Wilson, Vicky Piria, Dani Clos, Leilani Munter, Tom Coronel, Alice Powell, Tom Onslow-Cole, Ricardo Teixeira, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Kevin Ceccon, Stephen Cox, Emma Kimiläinen and Oliver Webb. They will have a 20-minute practice, a 60-minute qualifier, and a day and a dusk race on each track.
Mark Gemmell, the CEO of the Electric GT World Series, sees the circuit as a way to encourage sustainability and the switch to electric vehicles. This vision goes through all of their marketing; particularly in the “Age of Light” branding that is across all of the promo videos. Also, each racing weekend is planned to be a festival of sustainable technology spread all around the circuit.
When they go live, the races will also be streamed on Periscope, Youtube, and Twitch although we’re still waiting on exact details for both dates and channels. In the meantime, it’s worth checking out the some of the clips the EGT team released on the modifications made to the Tesla Model S P100Ds to maximize its speed for the circuit, which was mostly stripping out the interior and adding some protective bars.
Check out some footage of one of the Electric GT cars in action right here:
