Cape Town provides the winning Formula E Grand Prix
The event took place on Saturday, 25 February, finally delivering the dream of a Cape Town E-Prix and the most exciting motorsport event of 2023 thus far, while promoting the future of zero-emission technology.
Race is on @FIAFormulaE #CapeTownEPrix: @maximillianguenther with grateful thanks to @maseratimsg @stoli @edomortara @fiaformulae #StoliVodka #LiberateYourSpirit pic.twitter.com/I0PqsCnF0f
— Bizcommunity.com (@Bizcommunity) February 25, 2023
The Cape Town leg of the Formula E street racing series, which since 2014 has been held in some of the world’s most iconic cities, saw a field of world-class drivers and motorsport stakeholders take on the 2.8km, 12-turn track with a breathtaking Cape Table Bay, Signal Hill and Table Mountain backdrops.
Cape Town shone around the world yesterday for @FIAFormulaE. I’m bursting with pride at how our city hosted this event, and how tens of millions saw our city and country on tv for the first time. They’ll be booking flights soon!
— Geordin Hill-Lewis (@geordinhl) February 26, 2023
What an incredible day! ��️ pic.twitter.com/87Wc1b9OHf
On the street and in the stands, the event generated a fever pitch of excitement amongst racing aficionados, and helped position Cape Town as a key destination on the global motorsport map, with the confirmation by Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis that the event has been secured by the city for the next three years.
On the track and hospitality terraces of the Boss Emotion club guests rubbed shoulders with SA celebrities including Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, DJ Black Coffee, ex South African rugby captain Francois Pienaar, former Proteas cricket captain Graeme Smith, members of the DHL Stormers rugby team including Damian Willemse, Evan Roos and Seabelo Senatla, media personality Derek Watts and dignitaries including Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and government officials.
The first-ever ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race in Cape Town was won by an elated António Félix da Costa for the Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, whose crowd-thrilling overtaking manoeuvres in the 24th lap were cited by some as ‘the best motorsport fans will ever see’. Jean-Éric Vergne for DS PENSKE and Nick Cassidy for Envision Racing took second and third places on the winners podium.
Round 6 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will take place at the 2023 Julius Baer São Paulo E-Prix on Saturday, 25 March and another inaugural Formula E for Brazil.
Although not on the winners podium this time the Maserati MSG team is proud to be one of a handful of teams who race in Formula E who hold Three-Star FIA Environmental Accreditation, aimed at helping global motorsport and mobility stakeholders measure and enhance environmental performance. Alongside encouraging the switch to clean mobility the team champions under-represented groups in pursuit of sustainable and inclusive futures.
As guests of Stoli Vodka, Principal Partner to Maserati MSG Racing, the Bizcommunity team was proud to attend the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix, a weekend of unsurpassed excitement and hospitality, from meet and greets with drivers Eduardo Mortara (@edomortara) and Maximilian Günther (@maxg_official), track and pitlane walkabouts and a glimpse into state-of-the-art Maserati MSG Formula E race garage team sharing insights into technological and engineering advancements in electric mobility, sustainability, diversity and social responsibility.