In a unique video game launch, the 99X Electric broke cover at the Porsche Digital GmbH premises in Ludwigsburg, after drivers Andre Lotterer and Neel Jani were guided through the premises by the gaming community, in a bid to find and reveal the car.

Wearing traditional Porsche motorsport colours, the car’s livery contains the Porsche emblem, which is visible around the Halo protection system.

Typical of current and past Porsche cars, the naming format is three digits, with the highest number – nine – used twice to re-emphasise the importance of the Formula E project for Porsche. The ‘X,’ however, stands for a forward-looking approach and prototype racing, with the Porsche 99X Electric serving as a development platform for future fully-electric production models. The Formula E racer is revealed ahead of the all-electric Taycan’s road debut later this year.

“Today sees the Porsche 99X Electric join the list of historic Porsche motorsport cars,” says Pascal Zurlinden, Director Factory Motorsport.

“The naming and the design give the car its initial character and bring it to life. It is a special day for everyone who has put a lot of work into the Porsche Formula E project in recent months.”

Sporting a ‘Porsche E-Performance Powertrain’, developed with Porsche’s experience in hybrid endurance racing, the 99X Electric joins the rest of the grid with a standardised chassis and battery.

“In hindsight, we laid the foundations for Porsche’s future involvement in Formula E during the LMP1 project,” said Malte Huneke, Technical Project Leader Formula Racing.

“We used the insights gained during that time in the development of the Porsche Formula Racing powertrain. We focussed on building a highly effective powertrain with the highest level of efficiency.”

Using the learnings from the racetrack, the same 800-volt technology used in its 99X also features in the series production of the first fully electric Porsche sports car, the Taycan.

The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team and the 99X Electric will make its first official appearance in mid-October 2019 at the Formula E test at Valencia, Spain. 

INTRODUCING THE PORSCHE DRIVERS

To celebrate the start of the 12-month countdown to the 2020 London E-Prix and grand finale of the 2019/20 season of the ABB FIA Formula Racing Championship, we pulled the covers off a brand new Union Jack liveried Gen2 car and a unique pop-up event activation at ExCeL London.

Racing around the city’s iconic Royal Docks and ExCeL London exhibition centre, the race will be the first time that an FIA-sanctioned championship event has taken place in and around the streets of London – with Crystal Palace hosting non-championship races in Formula One almost half a century ago. 

“We’re excited to be bringing the future of motorsport to the UK capital and believe that the London E-Prix will become one of the flagship events in global motorsport, right up there with the likes of Monaco, Macau and Le Mans.”

Alejandro Agag, Founder & CEO of Formula Racing

Consisting of 20 turns, the 2.4km track will see the drivers run along the waterfront for the season finale double-header of the 2019/20 campaign on July 25 & 26, 2020. 

With 24 all-electric cars going head-to-head, the London race will be a first for top-level international motorsport. Made possible by the emissions-free nature of the Gen2 cars, the unique track weaves its way both inside and outside of ExCeL London. 

Celebrating the start of the 12-month countdown, a pop-up event space was revealed in the West entrance of the ExCeL London centre, where fans can learn all about the ABB FIA Formula Racing Championship, what to expect at the event and register for tickets ahead of the first release. 

“This is the first time that a championship event has been staged in and around the streets of London and it’s a race that any category would be proud to have on its calendar. But only the ABB FIA Formula Racing Championship can, because our cars are fully-electric and emissions-free,” said Agag. 

“Fans can expect a great spectator experience – just 18-minutes from the city centre on public transport – and our ambition is for ExCeL London to become the home of Formula Racing in the UK for many years to come, as well as the London E-Prix featuring as a mainstay of a British summer of sport. We want it to become a must-attend event that you just can’t miss out on, like Wimbledon, Royal Ascot and the Lord’s Test Match.

“The ABB FIA Formula Racing Championship is about bringing motorsport to the masses, with wheel-to-wheel action, affordable ticket prices and unpredictable racing. That’s not something that can be said about other series right now, and Formula Racing is putting the sport back into motorsport,” added the Formula Racing boss.

Starting from 12th, DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne made it through the first few laps unscathed following his main opponent Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler) in 11th. With 40 minutes left on the clock, Geox Dragon’s Jose Maria Lopez stopped on track after Turn 7 owing to damage sustained from a collision with DS Techeeath’s Andre Lotterer. The BMW i8 Safety Car was deployed while Lopez’s car was retrieved while Lotterer returned to the pits and retired from the race.

After the Safety Car returned to the pits, the racing restarted with all drivers going through the ATTACK MODE Activation Zone to engage ATTACK MODE – receiving an extra 25kW of power. With each activation lasting four minutes, the drivers are permitted to activate the power boost up to three times during the race. Starting the race on Pole, BMW i Andretti Motorsport’s Alex Sims led the way followed by Envision Virgin Racing’s Robin Frijns and Nissan e.dams’ Sebastien Buemi. With 25 minutes remaining, title challengers di Grassi and Vergne had moved up ninth and tenth respectively. Both in the points, di Grassi would need nothing short of a win to secure the title here in New York while Vergne was looking for just eight points. 

With 20 minutes left on the clock, Frijns challenged Sims for the lead, forcing the Brit wide on Turn 1 while relegating him to second. In a bid to better his position, di Grassi passed HWA Racelab’s Stoffel Vandoorne on the inside of Turn 1 to take eighth before passing Nissan e.dams rookie Oliver Rowland to move up to seventh. Further down the pack, Vergne held strong in 10th until he passed Vandoorne to move into ninth. 

By the last lap, Frijns held the lead from Sims and Buemi in third, while Vergne safely brought home the title win in seventh. Further down the order, while battling for second and third in the championship, di Grassi and Evans collided coming into Turn 11, taking both drivers out of the running with just meters to go. 

Drained, Vergne lifted his hand and saluted the crowds as he crossed the line in a historic back-to-back title win. 

THE FAVOURITE – JEAN-ERIC VERGNE

For DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne, the Frenchman was half expecting to be heading home from day one of the double-header with the Championship trophy in hand. With a 32 point lead on nearest rival Lucas di Grassi, it looked all but certain that he’d go down in history as the series’ first driver to seal a second consecutive title in New York City. But, after a chaotic race on the streets of Brooklyn, the Frenchman was left broken after a brutal last lap crash with Felipe Massa destroyed any chance of scoring points. 

“I’m feeling pretty disappointed with the race today, but it is motorsport – you have good days and bad days,” said the reigning champ. 
“The incident with Massa, I went down the inside like I did for nearly all the drivers I overtook in the race.
“We touched and my car was destabilised and I went wide and he passed me again and then I was next to him in the corner.
“And then he did not leave me any room, I was breaking but I had the wall and his car, so we collided,” he explained. 

What he needs to do to win…

Now, Vergne retains his top spot, although the points gap separating him and di Grassi has been reduced from 32 to just 22 points – less than a race win. In the final race, Vergne must score eight points to win the championship, which means he needs to place at least sixth.

Starting from Pole, DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne lad the pack around the 2.750km, the 14-turn “rollercoaster” of a track in the heart of Bern, followed by Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s Mitch Evans and home race hero Sebastien Buemi (Nissan e.dams) in third. 

Seconds in, a jam at Turn 1 caused by a collision between Mahindra Racing’s Pascal Wehrlein and Geox Dragon’s Max Gunther brought out the red flag, pausing play. Involved in the incident after he was shunted by Mahindra’s Jerome d’Ambrosio, Envision Virgin Racing’s Robin Frijns was left stranded on track with a broken drivetrain, ending his race almost before it had even started.

Having cleared the track, the remaining cars returned to the pit lane to repair the damage, reorder (as they started the race) and restart behind the BMW i8 Safety Car with 44 minutes left on the clock.

Back in the action, Vergne led Evans and Buemi while Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler’s Lucas di Grassi battled at the back in a bid to climb through the pack. Pulling away from Buemi’s dual-motor Nissan, Vergne and Evans battled for the lead. 

Attempting to pass race leader Vergne on Turn 3 downhill, Evans backed off before heading into the chicane, keeping close to the reigning champion. Further down the pack, Jaguar driver Alex Lynn engaged ATTACK MODE by passing through the ATTACK MODE Activation Zone between Turn 8 and 9. Each driver can use ATTACK MODE twice, with each activation lasting four minutes. 

Battling for fifth, Envision Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird took Gunther in an ambitious move on Turn 3. With Gunther down to sixth, Bird focused on working his way further forward. 

Slowing on track, Pascal Wehrlein ground to a halt just after Turn 8. Under a Full Course Yellow, the Mahindra driver’s car was pulled off track. With the pack regrouped, Buemi was back behind Evans having successfully defended his podium position while Sam Bird had made it into fourth. 

Still intent on taking the lead, Evans attacked Vergne again on Turn 3. Unable to pass, the Kiwi stuck to his tail hoping for another opportunity.

Making use of his FANBOOST, home race hero Buemi attempted to take Evans for second place with less than seven minutes left until the end of the race. Behind Bird in fourth, Lotterer had made his way into fifth. Reliving former rivalries following a battle in Hong Kong earlier in the season, Lotterer went on the attack, determined to take Bird as retribution for the damage he sustained in Asia. Eventually slipping past him on Turn 7, Lotterer took fourth with a podium position in mind.

In the final seconds, heavy rain led to slippery conditions as Vergne desperately tried to retain his lead and get across the line despite Evans continuing to attack. Drifting through the corners, the top four went nose to tail across the finish line with Vergne first, Evans second and Buemi leading Lotterer in third and fourth. 

Across the line, the reigning champion was verbally relived as he brought his car back to the pit lane having significantly extended his lead ahead of the final in New York City.

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