It has been reported through several Kiwi news outlets that considerable work is underway in order to bring the FIA Formula E circus to New Zealand, particularly to the streets of Auckland.
Velocitynews reports that at the recent reveal of next season’s Jaguar I-TYPE 3, Kiwi Formula E driver Mitch Evans has said that ‘…work is underway to bring the all-electric series to New Zealand.’
“There could be some good news coming in the next few months,” Evans said. “Hopefully a race in Auckland in my home city, in season six, that’d be amazing.
“I really hope to have a race in New Zealand sometime soon. I know people are working behind the scenes quite heavily to make that happen.”
This would be great for Auckland, as it would get significant global promotion. Formula E report an accumulative TV audience of 330 million viewers and growing.
Auckland would be a successful round but only for the first event. The problem is, NZ has a history of only being good at these things once.
When the A1GP single seater series came to NZ, we had some pretty good crowds at the first Taupo Motorsport Park event. The cars and competition was fantastic. They were quick and sounded brilliant. Then the crowds dwindled after that.
Take the Hamilton 400, the NZ round of the Australian V8 Supercars Championship held on the streets of Hamilton from 2008 to 2012. Personally I thought this was a great event and circuit. The first time was a big occasion but then problems eventually emerged with the ‘running’ of the event and the inept involvement by the Hamilton City Council.
Personally I am not a fan of Formula E and for good reasons. However, I would go to one event. As a ‘Doubting Thomas’ I need to see with my own eyes (and ears) what all the supposed fuss is about. I think many would attend their first Formula E event but very few would return.
You see the best motorsport for fans offers the complete sensory experience. Why are Supercars such a popular category? They look good, the racing is close, you can smell the engines (if you attend in person), can taste the atmosphere, feel the engines rumble and the sound of the field racing past is fabulous.
A fair criticism of the current Toyota 86 Championship, the former Suzuki Swift Series and BMW Challenge is that the engine sound is pretty innocuous. In rallying, the sound of either a BDA powered Escort or an RX3 coming through the forest created such an awesome sensory experience back in the 1970s and early ’80s. These 2wd cars were replaced by the early 4wd Evos and WRX’s which were quick but sounded quite dull in comparison. Now the new AP4 class has brought back the snap-crackle-and-pop, and the fans.
Formula E doesn’t give spectators the complete sensory experience. It never will do and for that reason it is not the future of motorsport.
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