Nissan Formula E Team heads home for the first-ever Tokyo E-Prix, with the event on the streets of Tokyo taking place less than an hour away from the company’s global headquarters.
The event marks Round 5 of the 2023/24 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with the squad in strong form after Oliver Rowland’s excellent double overtake in the last corner of the last lap in Sao Paulo made it back-to-back podiums for the Brit. Sacha Fenestraz was unlucky to miss out on the points in Brazil but returns to familiar surroundings in Tokyo, having raced in Japan from 2019 to 2022.
Nissan Formula E Team will mark the occasion with several special activities and events. The outfit’s two Nissan e-4ORCE 04 cars will sport a one-off livery which will highlight its Japanese DNA more than ever before, while 3,000 Nissan employees, fans and guests will sit in eight Nissan-dedicated grandstands around the track. In addition, several Nissan cars will hit the track on race day in a 30-minute demonstration, with the Nissan Formula E Gen2 car, the Nissan LEAF Nismo RC prototype and the new Nissan ARIYA Nismo all in action.
Formula E’s maiden race in Japan will take place at a 2.582-kilometre urban circuit surrounding the Tokyo International Exhibition Centre, commonly known as Tokyo Big Sight. Featuring 18 turns, the track includes a tricky first sector with lots of slow corners followed by three notable straights, combining all the elements for an excellent and challenging race, with overtaking most likely at Turns 10, 15 and 17.
The action begins on Friday 29th March with Free Practice starting at 11:25 (GST). Saturday 30th March will see qualifying get underway at 05:20 (GST) before the race at 10:00 (GST).
Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal, Nissan Formula E Team: “The last two race weekends have been really positive for the team. Scoring podiums in both Diriyah and Sao Paulo has given us confidence and we know we have the pace to be competitive. To head into our debut home race off the back of these performances is great for team morale, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to compete in Tokyo for the first time.
“With the race being located so close to our global headquarters, everybody at Nissan is looking forward to the event and will be supporting us. The Formula E World Championship plays a key part in our electrification strategy, so to finally be able to race in front of our home crowd is amazing. We’ve been dreaming of an E-Prix in Japan for a long time, and have been excited for it to come ever since it was announced by the series!
“We want to make sure it’s a special occasion for the whole team, our employees and fans, so we’ve got plenty of special events happening, with car demonstrations on track, our Nissan grandstands and of course a one-off livery for the race. We’ve designed it with passion and enthusiasm to try to celebrate this special event even while racing. We can’t wait to reveal it and hope everyone with love it as much as we do!”
Sacha Fenestraz, driver, Nissan Formula E Team: “I’m extremely excited of course, I did a big part of my career in Japan so going back there will be awesome and I cannot wait for the race. I know how amazing and crazy the Japanese fans are, so that will make it even more special. It’s the first time the team and Formula E are going to Japan, so we are looking forward to seeing all the amazing support in the grandstands. It will be almost like a home race for me, the track looks really interesting so I’m excited to go racing!”
Oliver Rowland, driver, Nissan Formula E Team: “I’m delighted to have secured another podium in Sao Paulo and want to keep this positive form going into the team’s home race. I’m super excited to be racing in Japan, I went there a few times in karting, and from what we have experienced at the Nismo Festival, the reception we receive from the fans is second to none, so I’m really looking forward to getting on track. It’s positive pressure, when you have this type of support you have extra energy to focus on the challenge, we need to manage that in a balanced way, not get too excited but also not too nervous. It’s going to be a huge race for the team and I can’t wait to get out there and experience the atmosphere!”
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Nissan Formula E Team is excited to announce a four-year global partnership with Petromin Corporation, a leading mobility solutions provider in the Middle East. The partnership will be primarily focused on the company’s EV charging subsidiary, Electromin, as the business looks ahead to a wider adoption of electric mobility in the region.
The Mercedes-AMG ONE has been the fastest production car on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife since October 2022 and has been unrivalled ever since. The only rival is the ONE itself. Now Mercedes AMG brand ambassador and DTM driver Maro Engel has once again significantly improved the lap time he set. With an officially measured and notarised time of 6:29.090 minutes for the 20.832-kilometre track, the hypercar with Formula 1™ technology beat its own record for production vehicles by over five seconds. This makes the Mercedes AMG ONE the first road car to beat the magic mark of 6:30 minutes. It is also the only series hybrid hypercar to date to have taken on the world's most demanding racetrack and is the undisputed leader in the super-sports-car class. In order to achieve the lofty goals they had set for themselves, meticulous preparation was necessary. In addition, the track conditions had to be ideal in order to beat the 6:30 minute target. On September 23, 2024, at 6:56 p.m., on his third timed lap, Maro Engel achieved the new record. With temperatures of 15 degrees Celsius (air) and 20 degrees Celsius (asphalt), the legendary Nordschleife was dry throughout and offered perfect grip.
Like Lewis Hamilton and George Russell on their Formula 1™ race weekends, Maro Engel also had to make the best possible use of the hybrid drive's electrical energy. This is particularly challenging, especially with a track length of more than 20 kilometres. Therefore, it is immensely important to use the right sections of the track to recuperate during braking phases and thus store energy in the batteries again.
To do this, Maro Engel utilised the AMG ONE's four-stage Energy Flow Control (EFC) system and in some cases deliberately took his foot off the accelerator a little earlier than he normally would. In technical jargon, this is known as “lift and coast”. Preliminary tests in the driving simulator in Affalterbach and on the Nordschleife itself provided the necessary insights, which the team and driver were able to optimally implement for the record lap. In accordance with the specifications of Nürburgring 1927 GmbH & Co KG, the vehicle was tested and documented by TÜV Rheinland to ensure that it was in standard condition. A notary confirmed that the record drive had been carried out correctly.
The new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 heads into this weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA) finale – the Petit Le Mans 10-hour race at Road Atlanta – deep in the hunt for its first major title.
The new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 has enjoyed a stellar debut season of international competition. The car recorded a historic victory in the centenary edition of the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa in June, a first for the British ultraluxury sportscar brand in the modern GT era. It also achieved Aston Martin’s first ever Autobacs Super GT class victory in Japan in the same month. As well as this, Vantage has clinched class wins in the FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA, the Nürburgring Langstrecken Series and ADAC GT Masters through the summer.
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