Formula E

Sterling Archer

Maybe if they had tried to get it run as a support series first, saying that i am still interested in what it will be like as a sport

stevenmu

I think that a lot of the sponsors who support the lower key series seem to be involved in things like fuel, oil, performance parts etc, none of which will have any interest in an electric car series.

For Formula E to succeed they need to attract non-traditional sponsors, and the best way to do that is to go big and attract more mainstream media coverage. Hopefully it'll work out for them.

cherryghost

I guess nobody saw that video of about 8 of them launching off together. I can't find the video but it sounded horrible. Like a bunch of RC cars going around

Grim.

well there is this one with enhanced audio

Grim.

well they were never gona sound like V12 matras were they

Tzardine

Oh man. I was expecting it to suck but I am still in shock at how bad that looks.

Jordan 199

I'm going to at least watch one of these races to see how Heidfeld and Trulli will do as I followed them in F1 and to see what the racing is like.

ScumLord

Tzardine wrote: »

Oh man. I was expecting it to suck but I am still in shock at how bad that looks.

remember these cars are just a stopgap until the teams bring out their own cars from next year on.

I was surprised to hear gear changes.

Frank Bullitt

They look phenomenal on track in fairness, beautiful machines.

PopePalpatine

They sort of look like Red Bull X2014 Juniors from Gran Turismo 6.

Frank Bullitt

They have an almost sinister profile.

Myrddin

They look class! The jury is still out on the noise though...it's, well, weird...I dunno if I like it or don't like it

ScumLord

Myrddin wrote: »

They look class! The jury is still out on the noise though...it's, well, weird...I dunno if I like it or don't like it

Electric motors need to get pretty big before they start making serious noises. There's two on a machine where I work and you know you're in the presence of power when they start up but they're about the size of a medium sized kitchen bin and weigh a lot.

Electric motors are incredible in what they can do. The fact a tiny little electric motor can outperform an oil based engine so quietly and effortlessly is pretty incredible.

I think when the higher performance batteries come in, they'll start producing a lot more heat which could bring in extra noise from whatever cooling system they use to cool them down. They're never going to sound like petrol though, it's going to be a different noise.

Myrddin

No doubting the technology, sure F1 2014 has shone a hugely positive light on the electrical side of hybrid tech...the torque is a real challenge for the drivers to manage. If the cars look as good in their final versions as they do in the pics above, & the actual racing is exciting...who knows, maybe I could learn to live without the noise of exploding animal & plant remains

Peanut Butter Jelly

The noise is terrible. There's no two ways about it. However, what will save it is the close racing. Everything is the same under the paint, leading to the success or lack thereof being solely down to the drivers skill, and the size of his cojones.

Frank Bullitt

I agree on the noise front, they sound like batmans bike in The Dark Knight.

Cookie_Monster

Some electrics sound awesome, listen to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3cdL-HkfIU

Could totally manage that for F-E

Zcott

LOL, I would love to hear an entire grid full of cars singing away...

Charlie-Bravo

3 weeks until China - I genuinely like the idea of Formula E, but the changing of cars mid-way through is going to be something difficult to enjoy watching

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrF5U3Wduv4

Zcott

astrofluff wrote: »

3 weeks until China - I genuinely like the idea of Formula E, but the changing of cars mid-way through is going to be something difficult to enjoy watching

Yeah, that's just going to be weird to watch. Worth tuning in for though...

AMKC

Its only 2weeks now untill the first race of Formula E starts. The first one is in Beijing China on Saturday the 13th. So who is looking forward to it and is it going to be shown live on any tv stations?
I think it should be interesting to see how they all do and the fanboost will be interesting too. Racing in citys should also make it a bit more excting. If it helps with the development of electric cars and the batterys and technolagy used in them too well then thats also good. I know this year all the cars will be the same except for there sponsers and colours so it should make it interesting we will see who uses the best power statagy with there batterys and brake energy recovery systems and hopefully some close overtaking too. Next year will be different do as all the cars might use different components and batterys next year maybe some will be better than others.

Zcott

List of broadcasters:

http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/guide/television.aspx

And at the bottom:

Online streaming will also be made available where possible together with live timing allowing fans to catch the action wherever they are.

GarIT

AMKC wrote: »

the fanboost will be interesting too.

I was getting really excited for FE but I don't think I'm going to watch it because of this.

It might as well be called Foruma Facebook. I hate all this social media liking and sharing bullsh!t.

AMKC

GarIT wrote: »

I was getting really excited for FE but I don't think I'm going to watch it because of this.

It might as well be called Foruma Facebook. I hate all this social media liking and sharing bullsh!t.

The fanboost will only be for two cars in each race do and its only a 2.5 secend boost for each car I think. It might not be too bad there is still 18 other cars without it so its only a very small advantage and could be two different drives in every race depending on who gets the most votes each race.

I am not the biggest fan of social media either in fact I think the world was a much better place without facebook, twitter and all the others but you have to move with the times. I am on facebook but will never do twitter I tried it once and said no thanks trying to do that you end up going mad in no time.

Charlie-Bravo

Zcott wrote: »

List of broadcasters:

http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/guide/television.aspx

The list shows ITV so should be good to view for no extra cost on FTA satellite and all other good paid platforms (UPC & Sky). I just Googled for commentators and it shows Jack Nicholls as lead commentator with Dario Franchitti alongside. Technical features by scrapheap challenge presentor Kryton (Red Dwarf) will be on the official Youtube channel.

Tzardine

AMKC wrote: »

The fanboost will only be for two cars in each race do and its only a 2.5 secend boost for each car I think. It might not be too bad there is still 18 other cars without it so its only a very small advantage and could be two different drives in every race depending on who gets the most votes each race.

I am not the biggest fan of social media either in fact I think the world was a much better place without facebook, twitter and all the others but you have to move with the times. I am on facebook but will never do twitter I tried it once and said no thanks trying to do that you end up going mad in no time.

I did not know about this. This series just gets funnier and funnier

GarIT

AMKC wrote: »

The fanboost will only be for two cars in each race do and its only a 2.5 secend boost for each car I think. It might not be too bad there is still 18 other cars without it so its only a very small advantage and could be two different drives in every race depending on who gets the most votes each race.

I am not the biggest fan of social media either in fact I think the world was a much better place without facebook, twitter and all the others but you have to move with the times. I am on facebook but will never do twitter I tried it once and said no thanks trying to do that you end up going mad in no time.

It's annoying and unnecessary and worst of all unfair. There are some odd things in F1, double points, having to use quali tyres in the race, but at least they are fair. This is essentially the most popular driver gets a boost. and alters the outcome of the race for no reason at all. It devalues the prestige of the sport just to give some fans a tiny bit of extra excitement.
These guys are all in the same car, there probably won't be 30 second gaps at the end. A 2.5 second gap for the car in second place in each F1 race this season would mean we would have 4 races with different winners so far this year, imagine how bad it will be for a grid of all the same cars.

My biggest problem with this is that people will vote for drivers for the wrong reasons, it will be like the Eurovision, certain drivers will get votes not on their merit but nationality alone.

I'm not sure exactly how the system works but have read that the driver with the most likes gets a 50hp boost for one lap, it just seems to silly and wrong.

wobbles

What a stupid gimmick. We will see drivers whoring themselves out for likes. Everything will be all pretty and roses in front of camera as no one will want to be a villian and not get the boost. This years F1 has been great as we have seen the rivalry between the merc drivers. No one will have a bad word to say about anyone.

Whatever the racing will be like, off the track will be boring

djimi

astrofluff wrote: »

The list shows ITV so should be good to view for no extra cost on FTA satellite and all other good paid platforms (UPC & Sky). I just Googled for commentators and it shows Jack Nicholls as lead commentator with Dario Franchitti alongside. Technical features by scrapheap challenge presentor Kryton (Red Dwarf) will be on the official Youtube channel.

There is a fair chance that it wont be available on UPC as they tend to block pretty much any sporting event (as far as I can see) on ITV4.

Oh and that fanvote nonsense is quite possibly the worst thing I have ever heard of in sport. Such an absolutely horrible gimmick.

ScumLord

The fanvote does sound a bit out there and pointless but again, I'll reserve judgement until I see it in action. This is a new series so they can try out some of these fringe regs to see how they work in a series that essentially doesn't matter yet.

Let them try these things out with this first year, if it's like everyone assumes and it turns out to be a waste of time it can put an end to that particular idea once and for all.

twalyn

the extra boost for one lap is a bit crap to be honest it makes it gimmicky. one of the things i like about this is they all have the same car down to driver ability like it should be in f1

Charlie-Bravo

That will change next year when the teams can develop their own cars and technologies. I am hoping the development part will make the tech end more interesting. But yes, equal cars this year meaning some brilliant racing until the energiser bunny fades.

Jordan 199

astrofluff wrote: »

That will change next year when the teams can develop their own cars and technologies. I am hoping the development part will make the tech end more interesting. But yes, equal cars this year meaning some brilliant racing until the energiser bunny fades.

It's the Duracell Bunny!

twalyn

if anyone gets a good link to stream online post here i'll be watching saturday if around

Charlie-Bravo

Hilarious - all that advertising wasted!

Charlie-Bravo

STARTS ENDS ACTIVITY
7:00 18:00 Gates open/close
8:15 9:00 NON QUALIFYING PRACTICE 1
9:45 10:00 eBikers track demonstration/display
10:30 11:00 NON QUALIFYING PRACTICE 2
11:15 11:45 VIP pitwalk
12:00 12:10 QUALIFYING SESSION GROUP 1
12:15 12:25 QUALIFYING SESSION GROUP 2
12:30 12:40 QUALIFYING SESSION GROUP 3
12:45 12:55 QUALIFYING SESSION GROUP 4
13:05 13:20 Media qualifying press conference with top three drivers
13:30 13:45 eBikers track demonstration/display
14:00 14:25 Public driver autograph session in the eVillage
14:00 14:30 VIP pitwalk
14:30 14:50 Drivers' parade on track
15:30 15:40 Pitlane open/close
15:30 15:50 VIP grid walk
15:40 FanBoost winners announced
16:00 17:00 RACE
17:10 17:25 Media press conference with top three drivers


We're looking at a 7 hour time difference - so I make that race at 9am BST???

antodeco

Is it stream only, or will itv3 open it up to ROI?

Charlie-Bravo

I just checked the Horizon.tv TV guide and it's showing not available in ROI. Idiots. Who has the rights for Ireland?

PopePalpatine

I think ITV4 are showing it.

Going Strong

PopePalpatine wrote: »

I think ITV4 are showing it.

Will it be available in Ireland though? Some of their sport coverage gets a "Not available in The Republic of Ireland" - I've seen it for soccer and cycling on that channel in the past.

GarIT

Going Strong wrote: »

Will it be available in Ireland though? Some of their sport coverage gets a "Not available in The Republic of Ireland" - I've seen it for soccer and cycling on that channel in the past.

Whoever runs FE has said it will be available for free online but hasn't yet said where/how.

Zcott

I think there'll be geographic limits on streaming for countries with no access to TV rights.

antodeco

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Great way to promote your sport by sticking two fingers up at the people who actually want to watch it.

Exactly. It doesn't make sense at all. A new sport, so surely get everyone watching it as early as possible to get them bought into it. Or are they trying to use it as an exclusivity thing so people "desire" it more?

ScumLord

O well, the pirates should look after me though, they know how to treat their customers.

TheChrisD

astrofluff wrote: »

But yes, equal cars this year meaning some brilliant racing until the energiser bunny fades.

Jordan 191 wrote: »

It's the Duracell Bunny!

Energiser have one for North America.

Zcott

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Great way to promote your sport by sticking two fingers up at the people who actually want to watch it.

I think the idea is that if its not on a TV near you you can watch it online.

The Cush

antodeco wrote: »

Is it stream only, or will itv3 open it up to ROI?

FTA on ITV4 (satellite only I guess), live & highlights

TV Schedule
FIA Formula E Championship Live - ITV4 08:00-10:30, ITV4+1 09:00-10:30
Highlights - ITV4 18:00-19:00, ITV4+1 19:00-20:00, BT Sport2 21:00-22:00, BT Sport2 (Sun) 05:00-06:00

There was a championship preview programme on ITV4 early this morning.

Charlie-Bravo

Formula E website is down. Not good that seeing as events begin in a few hours!

Charlie-Bravo

OK, I registered to try this fan boost thing. Page crashes out and won't record my vote for Taku. Anyone else try it?

Charlie-Bravo

That fan boost was wasted on Bruno. These things look so slow - I mean slower than formula vee.