It has been confirmed that the ABB FIA Formula E Championship will return to China, with a race on the island of Hainan in Sanya for Season Five. This race will play host to round six of the 2018-19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship, which will take place on 23 March 2019.
A race on the island of Hainan has been a possibility for several months now, although the likelihood of the race actually taking place has been questioned ever since, given the practicalities involved with hosting a race on a relatively small island off mainland China.
But despite the potential obstacles preventing the race from taking place, the 2019 Sanya E-Prix will go ahead; taking place two weeks after the Hong Kong E-Prix, assuming the race is approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council when they next meet.
The track layout of the Sanya E-Prix is currently unknown and will be revealed at a later date. But it has been revealed by an official Formula E statement that the track will take place “against the backdrop of Haitang Bay”.
This will be the second race to take place in China, with the Beijing E-Prix taking place around the Olympic Park in the first two seasons of the series, after which the season-opener moved to Hong Kong for Season Three.
ABB FIA Formula Founder and CEO Alejandro Agag was delighted at the announcement, telling eracing 365 that: “Bringing the ABB FIA Formula E Championship back to Mainland China is an important step in a key territory for the series and a market that’s instrumental to the continued development and uptake of electric vehicles globally.”
“Sanya is an idyllic setting for a Formula E race – not just with the stunning views on the shores of the South China Sea – but for the ongoing efforts of Hainan in the field of electric mobility, which has led to Sanya boasting the best air quality of any city in China.”
