The Mayor of West Midlands, Andy Street says he is in ‘advanced negotiations’ with the ABB FIA Formula E Championship about organising a potential Birmingham ePrix, which would revive the Birmingham Superprix that took place between 1986-1990.
Such a race would be expected to take place next June as part of the European leg of the 2018-19 Formula E calendar. This is with ABB FIA Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag wanting to bring FE back to Britain, after it was dropped from the calendar following resistance from locals about the race in Battersea Park in London, which last took place in June 2016.
Street has pledged to host a street race in Birmingham as part of his May 2017 election manifesto, and with Agag’s interest to bring FE back to the UK, this race is set to go ahead.
Street told motorsport.com that: “Over the last year, we have been in negotiations with the organisers of the FIA Formula E Championship about bringing a road race to Birmingham, effectively reviving the Superprix.”
The next season in Formula E will see the Gen2 cars being raced, which will be faster, more aggressive, and will deliver the pinnacle of electric mobility to the streets of Birmingham. This is coupled with the fact that there will be a home team to cheer on in Panasonic Jaguar Racing, which will be a hugely important event for the team and the company as a whole.
This is a sentiment echoed by Street, who told motorsport.com that: “We are now in the advanced stages of these negotiations, [and] we are eager for two main reasons.
“First, it means we can showcase to the world the changing face of Birmingham city centre which has seen unprecedented investment in recent years.
“Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it showcases our region’s position as a world leader in next generation automotive technologies. So much of the engineering that goes into the cars already used in Formula E racing comes from the West Midlands, it makes perfect sense we should be hosting such events.
“If we are successful in concluding the deal, this Formula E race will take place next summer on a route similar to the one used in the original Superprix.”
If the bid is successful, it will be announced along with the rest of the Formula E calendar next month, and is likely to be joined by events from Hong Kong, Paris, Rome and Berlin, among others.
