The top tiers of motorsport have continued to be dominated by people from wealthy backgrounds, largely because it’s a very expensive activity to get into. But the forces behind electric motorsport want to make it easier to move up the tiers into Formula E and other EV racing. At the inaugural E-Prix this weekend in Hyderabad, India, a new ACE Championship series has been announced, which aims to provide a smoother entry point for up-and-coming drivers and engineers.
The new series is the brainchild of former Mahindra Racing CEO Dilbagh Gill, who will operate as CEO. To foster new talent, the race series will have two levels. A Challenger level will serve new drivers alongside a main Championship. These will then provide routes to feed drivers and engineers into further racing series. The main innovation that will make the new series more accessible is how the same car is shared between the Challenger and Championship series, using two levels of power, so a team can serve both with two cars and four drivers, rather than requiring four vehicles. The aim is to generate career opportunities across backgrounds, gender, and socio-economic levels.
The two series will also operate in a regional format that is intended to encourage interest in areas that are underrepresented by existing motor racing formats. The aim is to broaden the scope of motorsport, and electric motorsport in particular. The racing car will be similar in performance to the Formula E Gen2 car, which may have been surpassed by the Gen3 this season but was already an extremely fast and furious competitor. Since this is a tried and tested platform, it takes some of the risk out of team involvement. However, as the technology continues to develop on track, it will be made available to the commercial automotive industry to improve the design of consumer-grade cars. This could be a distant memory for Formula One as its vehicles diverge from an increasingly all-electric consumer car market.
The ACE Championship will allegedly use “innovation to engage fans in unique ways”, claiming to be “daring, different and digital”. Reading between the lines and judging by how Formula E and Extreme E employ web video streaming, apps, and social media, expect races that are designed to fit these forms of online consumption, although a TikTok-focused distribution network is unlikely. There is already interest from a range of existing racing teams in joining the ACE Championship. However, none has yet been announced.
Aside from founder and CEO Dilbagh Gill, former Formula One driver Nick Heidfeld is working on developing the car. He showed immediate interest when heard about the new series, saying “an electric junior racing championship has not been done before. We want the ACE Championship to be fair and affordable and attract youngsters into the series from all regions of the world to make the step into motorsport.”
Gill added: “The bedrock of ACE Championship is to provide technology, opportunity, and a platform to excel. This is going to be the first championship in the world where one single race car can compete in two different championships – each team can have two different drivers in the ACE Championship and ACE Challenger series, driving the same car, but with two different power levels. We are providing a pathway for our drivers in the ACE Championship, at a low cost, but with high performance.”
Of course, electric racing impresario Alejandro Agag has also been involved as an advisor in developing the new series. Agag founded Formula E, the electric SUV racing series Extreme E, and the forthcoming electric powerboat racing series E1, which counts Rafael Nadal and Sergio Perez as team owners. He said: "The ACE Championship is an important initiative. To create opportunities for young drivers to enter motorsport via the ‘electric avenue’ is crucial – and was missing until now. Having more competitions in countries around the world where there is not as much access to and representation in motorsport is key to success. To create this championship in India is a great idea and certainly fills a gap, in a huge market for the automotive industry."
The ACE Championship is aiming to start racing in 2024. Despite the valiant efforts of Lewis Hamilton, motorsport remains a relatively inaccessible activity, whether as a driver or an engineer, if you’re not from a wealthy enough background, or female. The ACE Championship isn’t going to change the world overnight, but perhaps it can move the focus a little more towards wider participation in motor racing.
