Mahindra Racing will give its 2019-20 powertrain a first outing tomorrow at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Nick Heidfeld will take on the hill climb tomorrow in the M6Electro before having two further attempts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
In doing so Heidfeld will be trying to break the electric motor record for the hill climb which he set in the M4Electro two years ago with a time of 48.59 seconds.
It’s one of two records Heidfeld holds at Goodwood after he set the fastest overall time of a 41.6 second climb in the McLaren MP4/13 twenty years ago, and ahead of his return he said he was interested to see if that time would finally be toppled this year.
“It’s going to be interesting to see if my record is going to be broken this year because it was close in 2018, but I am back to challenge the open-wheel eRecord with the new Mahindra Racing Gen2 car,” Heidfeld said.
“Goodwood Festival of Speed is very special to me because you see cars that you dream of and it has something to offer for all automotive enthusiasts; four wheels, two wheels, new and old cars – there is a lot of variations to see.
“It is great to see more support every year for electric mobility and the crowds never disappoint, so let’s hope I can entertain them again.”
Heidfeld stepped back from the race team this year to take on test duties and to become a team ambassador.
But with the Gen2 Formula E cars having more power than their predecessors, Mahindra team principal Dilbagh Gill said he was confident that they could set a new record this week.
However he also admitted that the opportunity to give Heidfeld a run at Goodwood on the twentieth anniversary of his record was too good to pass up.
“When you think of Goodwood Festival of Speed, you think of Nick Heidfeld and we were never going to miss the opportunity of sending him back up the Goodwood hill on the 20th Anniversary of his first record,” Gill said.
“Mahindra Racing is back to show the crowds just how far Formula E has come with the M6Electro.
“Most people will remember when Nick set a new record in the M4Electro and that was impressive but the Gen2 cars are faster than ever, so it would be great to head to New York with a new open-wheel eRecord!”
