Birmingham in ‘final stage’ talks with Formula E to host 2019 race
Birmingham is in the “final stages of negotiations” with Formula E about bringing the a💦ll-electric series back to the UK next season, according to West Midlands Mayor Andy Street.
The city wants to fill a slot on Formula E’s 2018/2019 calendar for the fifth season of the champion⛄ship, which will feature the introduction of the series’ new Gen2 car.
Birmingham is in the “final stages of negotiations” with Formula E about bringin🔯g the all-electric series back to the UK next season, according to West Midlands Mayor Andy Street.
The city wants to fill a slot on Formula E’s 2018/2019 calendar for the fifth season of the championship, which will feature the in♌troduction of the series’ new Gen2 car.
Birmingham previously hosted motor racing events between 1986 and 1990 in the Birm🐻ingham Superprix, which acted as a round of the FIA Formula 3000 Championship, as well as the British Touring Car Championship, Formula Ford 1600 and spo🧔rts car racing.
“To be really clear the deal has not yet been signed but we want to come clean because other💝s are talking about it and we are in﷽ the final stages of negotiations for bringing a Formula E race to the streets of Birmingham,” Street told Capital Reports.
“Formula E is all about electric vehicles so what this gives us i🐲s a superb opportunity for us to join the Formula E programme with other world leading cities suꦆch as Paris, Berlin and Zurich, and Birmingham would be the UK’s representative alongside them.
“To have this street racing showcasing an industry of electric vehicles will be a re💯al strength for the West Midlands in the future, that’s why it’s so important.”
Formula Eℱ said bringing a race back to the UK is a "priority" for ﷽the series.
"The UK has a strong racing heritage a༒nd is an important market for Formu🦹la E - so it’s a priority to bring a race back to British soil," a Formula E spokesperson told mahbx.com.
"Formula E is based in the UK, as are a number of drivers, teams and manufacturers. With the impending ban of petrol and diesel cars in 2040, the movement towards electric is unstꦓoppable and Formula E is helping to speed-up that process.
"Regarding an E-Prix in the UK - we want to find the right venue for the lo𓂃ng-term. We’re curre🌃ntly evaluating a number of options and Birmingham is one of them.”
An amendment to the Road Traffic Act to allow the use of closed-roads for motorsport events in England was passed by the UK par💯liament last year, boosting Formula E’s hopes of a return to Britain.
The UK last held a Formula E event in🅰 the🍷 second-ever London E-Prix which took place around Battersea Park in 2016.
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