FIA Formula E On The Streets Of Berlin
The Berlin round of the FIA Formula E ePrix 2016 could well be held on the capital’s streets and not at the former Tempelhof Airport as it was last year, the Berliner Zeitung reports today.
According to information received by the newspaper, the event’s organizers and the city’s senate have agreed on a route for the all-electric race and are now working towards gaining approval.
The route illustrated in the article would see the cars cross the start line on Karl-Marx-Allee in the Mitte district and head towards Alexanderplatz, home to the city’s iconic television tower, before turning 180 degrees onto a long straight toward the roundabout (traffic circle or rotary, depending on where you’re from) at Strausberger Platz.
Another route on Straße des 17. Juni in the west of the city was also considered, although Karl-Marx-Allee is now the favorite, according to the paper.
The current plans include grandstand seating and space for 14,000 onlookers.
However, an exception would be needed from German road traffic regulations, which forbid races from being held on public roads.
The venue at Tempelhof Airport, which is now an exhibition ground and park, cannot be used this year as the hangar is currently being used to provide accommodation for refugees.
The viability of the alternative routes is being examined as a priority, the article reports.
The growth in the popularity of Formula E has been remarkable, as last year’s North American viewing numbers showed. This season has seen a number of changes to the format, as CleanTechnica’s sister site Gas2 reported, with the teams being given “a license to innovate.”
The second season of the FIA Formula E Championship began last October in Beijing and will finish in London in July. Round 8 is to be held in Berlin on May 21st.
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