Mahindra Racing, who are already established within the world of fast-paced racing action through MotoGP, have now signalled their intent to become the eighth and sole Indian outfit within the FIA Formula E Championship.
Through Mahindra Reva, the Mumbai-based multinational firm already has a foothold within the development and production of current electric vehicles, which subsequently led to the decision to join in this new adventure with the fully-electric racing series.
Anand Mahindra, Chairman and MD of the Mahindra Group, said that the championship will help to provide the perfect vessel for their current technology within the world of electric vehicles to be showcased on a global platform. He also added that the racing itself would help to provide greater awareness of this alternative propulsion technology to the masses: “With advanced operations and expertise in electronics, IT, automotive technologies and manufacturing, we are already seeing the fusion of this technology into our electric vehicle operations.”
In many ways, the synergy between developments on the track will also help the future of electric road car technologies move into another dimension, as time is ticking away when it comes to finding out the two final teams that will be joining the likes of Mahindra, Audi Sport Team Abt et all.
Mr S P Shukla, who is the current Chairman of Mahindra Racing, said that the outfit has seen a lot of benefit through racing, even though the motorsport entity itself is rather young: “This is not only from the brand perspective, but equally in terms of technology advances and motivation. This is an excellent addition to our racing portfolio and we are looking forward to a successful future in Formula E.”
Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E Holdings, who currently are the series promoters for this exciting new chapter in racing, stated that it was a proud moment to have such a firm join the series, which brings a further resolve for Formula E to thrive: “Adding a manufacturer from India to what is already a real global mix of teams is fantastic news for the series. Everything is coming together very well and we look forward to presenting all ten teams to the FIA World Motor Sport Council next month.”
As of yet, there has been no official announcements as to just who will be part of the 20-strong line-up in the series, but there is clearly momentum gathering, as Lucas di Grassi, Takuma Sato and Karun Chandhok, who are all ex-Formula One drivers, could end up taking part in the series. It’s anyone’s guess as to what may transpire as the first race draws near in Beijing next September, but the excitement is building…