Jaguar has announced its return to global motorsport. In the autumn of 2016, Jaguar will enter the third season of the exciting FIA Formula E Championship as a manufacturer with its own team. FIA Formula E is the world’s first global single-seater championship for electric powered cars. FIA Formula E offers a unique opportunity for Jaguar Land Rover to further the development of future EV powertrain including motor and battery technology.
“I am proud to announce Jaguar’s return to racing with an entry into the innovative FIA Formula E championship,” said Nick Rogers, Group Engineering Director for Jaguar Land Rover. “Electric vehicles will absolutely play a role in Jaguar Land Rover’s future product portfolio and Formula E will give us a unique opportunity to further our development of electrification technologies. The Championship will enable us to engineer and test our advanced technologies under extreme performance conditions.”
Williams Advanced Engineering will be Technical Partner to the Jaguar Formula E Team and provide extensive motorsport knowledge, combined with high performance EV Systems experience and success.
“The FIA is pleased to welcome Jaguar as a new manufacturer to enter the FIA Formula E Championship. We built this series to offer an alternative competition for manufacturers to step into the sport and develop road-relevant electric technologies,” said Jean Todt, President of the FIA.
“We looked in detail at alternative ways of returning to motorsport. This was such an important decision for Jaguar and we wanted to get it right. With our future EV plans, Formula E was the obvious choice and we believe that the benefits are enormous,” said James Barclay, Jaguar Team Director. “The FIA and the promoter have exciting plans for the future of the championship and we are proud to be one of the first vehicle manufacturers to commit to the series with our own team. We have a lot of work to do ahead of the first race but it is a challenge we relish. We hope that we can welcome a new generation of fans to Jaguar through this exciting programme.”
Jaguar Land Rover employs over 8,000 engineers and is the UK’s largest investor in research and development across any business sector. Jaguar’s Formula E team will be able to draw upon this industry leading resource with Jaguar Land Rover engineers working closely with the race operations team.
Tosan Aduayi is the founder of Trendy Africa Magazine and has been an Auto columnist since 1994
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