The Zurich Street Circuit was a street circuit located in Zurich, Switzerland, used for the Zürich ePrix of the Formula E Championship, and held its first race, as well as the first Swiss motor race since 1954, the 2018 Zürich ePrix on 10 June 2018.[1]
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| Location | Zürich, Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) CEST (DST) |
| Coordinates | 47°21′41″N 8°32′07″E / 47.36139°N 8.53528°E |
| Opened | 9 June 2018 |
| Closed | 10 June 2018 |
| Architect | Züri Roger Tognella & Andrin Tognella |
| Major events | Formula E Zürich ePrix (2018) |
| Length | 2.465 km (1.532 miles) |
| Turns | 11 |
| Race lap record | 1:14.730 ( Andre Lotterer, Renault Z.E 17, 2018, Formula E) |
History
editPreparations for a Formula E race in Switzerland commenced in March 2015 when the Council of States backed a motion put forward by the National Councillor Fathi Derder to exempt electric car racing from a long-standing ban on motor racing in the country.[2] The motion was adopted by the Federal Council in December, allowing electric vehicles to race in Switzerland starting from 1 April 2016 pending authorisation from local authorities with regards to the maximum speeds allowed. Subsequently on 21 September 2017, the Zürich ePrix was then announced to be added to the Calendar of the 2017–18 Formula E Championship.[3] The final track design was revealed on 3 April 2018.[4]
Circuit layout
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The circuit was a 2.465 km (1.532 mi) long track, with 11 turns, and was designed by the CEO of e-Mobil Züri Roger Tognella and his son Andrin by using Google Earth on their home computer, unlike most circuits.[5] The track featured a mix of surfaces, with asphalt and concrete, and crosses several tramlines, some of which were filled for the event. In addition, it also featured a mixed surface pit lane, with half the pit lane having cobblestones on the surface, which resulted in teams running adapted software for the pit limiter, due to the reduced speed limit of 30 km/h (19 mph) .[6]
References
edit- ^ "Formula E brings racing back to Switzerland after 60 years". www.digitaltrends.com. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
- ^ Petrò, Lorenzo (2015-03-24). "Ein Autorennen in Zürich – mit dem Segen von Bastien Girod". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). ISSN 1422-9994. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- ^ "Motor racing: Switzerland to host first race in more than 60 years". Reuters. 2017-09-21. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- ^ Soulsby, Chris. "Formula E: Final Zurich ePrix track layout revealed". Motorsport Week. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- ^ "So bereitet sich Zürich auf die Formel-E vor - Blick". 2018-07-03. Archived from the original on 2018-07-03. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- ^ Smith, Sam. "Zurich Saturday Notebook – e-racing365". e-racing365.com. Retrieved 2019-01-03.