Air Race E, Only Green Energy!

The Air Race E World Cup (also known as Air Race E) is a planned air racing championship run to Formula One rules and adapted for purely electric aircraft. Entrants will design and build electric aircraft to take part in races, flying in groups of 8 around a 5km oval course marked by 'pylons' at speeds in excess of 250 mph. The series is expected to get underway in 2020 and is backed by Airbus, who signed on as founding partner in February 2019.

The races will be held in host cities around the world, with races at each city forming one round of an Air Race E season. The team with the post points over the season will win the Air Race E World Cup. In the inaugural season, at least one race event will score points towards the World Cup, with the remaining races forming stand-alone events.

History

Air Race E was announced in April 2018 by Jeff Zaltman, CEO of Air Race Events who also run the Air Race 1 Cup for Formula One Air Racing.

Format

Air Race E say that it will follow the race format of Formula One pylon air racing. This means that eight race planes will race on an oval course marked out by 'Pylons' which the aircraft must fly around. The oval course will be approximately 5km in length and racers will have to complete 5 laps from a standing start. The first of the 8 race planes to cross the finish line will be declared the winner.

It is expected that a comparable level of performance to Formula One Air Racing will be achievable using a similar ruleset adapted for electric propulsion. As such, Air Race E aircraft are expected to have a power output in the 100-150 kW range (130-200 HP) and weigh approximately 300-350kg. Speeds in excess of 400 km/h (250mph) are predicted by Air Race E.

Parallels have been drawn between Air Race E and the automotive racing series Formula E (also a relatively recent player in its field having started holding races in 2014), particularly in regards to their intention: to spur on the development of high performance electric powertrains. Air Race E states that its core 'mission' is to:

• Develop electric propulsion technology for aircraft
• Promote green aviation
• Entertain audiences with high speed air racing

Teams

Teams currently signed up to compete in the Air Race E World Cup are:

1. AllWays Air Racing - Casey Erickson - United States
2. Condor - Martyn Wiseman - United Kingdom
3. Team NL - Rick Boerma - Netherlands
4. Blue-BETA Racing - Kyle Clark - United States