China Racing driver Ho Pin Tung’s prior commitments prevent him racing in the third round of the FIA Formula E Championship, meaning that Antonio Garcia will partner Nelson Piquet Jr for the Punta del Este ePrix in Uruguay.
Garcia will return to Formula E for the first time since his testing days at Donington Park, ensuring that the Spaniard will make his competitive debut in the fully electric series.
“I’m looking forward to my first Formula E race. The track is new for everyone so for me the main challenge is going to be learning the car, in particular managing the battery,” said Garcia. “Having two races under his belt, Nelson [Piquet] should help me with this, as well as being able to analysis his data from Beijing and Putrajaya to help me get up to speed. During testing at Donington, I felt comfortable in the car and was lapping within the top five, so that’s where we hope to be fighting in Punta del Este. I guess I now need to start promoting myself for FanBoost!”
China Racing will head to the third round of Formula E on the back of a difficult weekend at the Putrajaya ePrix that saw neither Piquet Jr or Tung score points. The Chinese team lie eighth in the standings with four points, all picked up by Piquet Jr.
The Tung/Garcia swap is expected to be the only change to the Formula E driver line-up for round three, according to fiaformulae.com.
