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As the Cental Harbourfront is transformed CEO of the Hong Kong Formula e Prix Alan Fang, the man who has quite amazingly managed to make this event happen – Chapeau Sir – walked bc around the track and pit lane and gave an insight into some of the problems involved in organising Hong Kong’s first street race. “Logistically it’s a massive undertaking, getting all the various government departments to sign-off was hard as often their needs and desires conflicted and as this is the first event of this kind in Hong Kong – government officials are naturally erring on the side of caution and extra safety”.
bc, like many fans may be, was disappointed to see that many of the grandstands are set a fair way back from the track. The reason Fang says is simply safety. “The cars are reaching speeds of up to 240km/h, these concrete blocks bordering the track are over 4 tonnes each. If, and we hope it doesn’t happen, car meets block then the car is designed to disintegrate to protect the driver and shards of carbon-fibre will be flying everywhere”.
If you bought an e village ticket you will not be able to see the racetrack, and will only be able to watch the racing on the big tv screens
When bc asked why? Fang replied “It’s principally safety, the layout of the track meant it was hard to ensure that enough evillage fans could safely see the track. We worked on 60%, could we safely ensure that an extra 5,400 race fans could watch the track. It wasn’t possible, so we opted for none. There are car manufacturer booths, race team tents, games, food, entertainment etc in the evillage at prices comparable to outside. We want people to have fun, enjoy the racing and experience the technology”.
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Fans walking between the evillage areas and on the public paths and the bridge to the Star Ferry will find the racetrack screened off. This is not Fang explained because the organisers don’t want you watching the race for free, but rather on police advice to keep the flow of people moving and not create unsafe bottlenecks caused by those looking to watch the race. The screens will undoubtedly frustrate some, but walking the area and given our civil servants fear of the new and different and their terror of being blamed if something goes wrong – you can’t really expect much else at this first running of the event.
It means the only ‘free’ places where you can watch the race live will be from the Apple Store, HK City Hall balcony and the IFC roof terrace. Unless that is you have friends with an office overlooking the track or know someone in the PLA barracks. The mini wheel is open as normal.
Ali Russell Formula e’s Director of Communications expanded further “Fans should not come expecting something like the Formula 1 events they’ve seen on television, this is Formula e. I compare it to skiing and snow-boarding – same, same but completely different.” He continued “The noise and atmosphere is, more like other sports, generated by the fans, the cars produce an aerodynamic whine passing through the air but are otherwise completely silent. This means the drivers can hear the fans, and they can (like regular drivers) hear their car”.
Concluding Russell said “Enjoy us for what we are, don’t judge us on your expectations based on another sport. Outside of Formula 1 these are some of the best drivers in the world”. bc would use the analogy that football and rugby are both balls sports, the match experience is very different for each, but we enjoy watching both.
If you don’t have a ticket, some evillage tickets are on sale on the day, the race is also live on free local TV.
Photos: Jayne Russell, bc magazine