FIA Electric GT Championship

The FIA Electric GT Championship (abbreviated as eGT[1]) is a sports car racing championship for electric cars set to premiere in 2023. The series was announced by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) on May 6, 2021,[2] following the reveal of its new technical regulations for electric-powered grand tourers.[3] The FIA has appointed Discovery as the worldwide promoter of the championship.[4]

This article is about the planned FIA series. For the previously proposed Electric GT championship, see Electric Production Car Series.
FIA Electric GT Championship
CategoryElectric grand tourer
CountryInternational
Inaugural season2023
Drivers14 (Minimum)
Teams7 (Minimum)
Manufacturers2 (Minimum)

Format

The series will race at full-length permanent circuits, with a minimum of six events across Europe and Asia planned for the inaugural season, expanding into the USA the following year. Each event will be held on the weekend, with a qualifying sprint race on Saturday followed by a 45-minute main race on Sunday. The main race will feature at least one mandatory fast-charging pit stop.[5]

The FIA has also announced plans to integrate an element of esports into the series.[6]

Technical regulations

The regulations of the new category have been created to match the performance of current GT3 cars, with manufacturers being permitted to fit an electric powertrain to an existing GT3 model. The cars will be limited to a power output of 430 kW, though manufacturers may use either two or four electric motors in a rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive configuration.[7] Torque vectoring will also be permitted to aid performance.[8]

Every manufacturer will use battery cells supplied by Saft to build their own battery packs with customised layouts. The batteries will have a maximum energy capacity of 87 kWh and recharge at a rate of 700 kW, which will replenish 60% of their capacity in "a few minutes", according to the FIA.[9]

Entries

For the first two seasons of the series, the FIA has aimed at a minimum of fourteen full-season entries divided across seven teams with two cars each. From 2025 onwards, this will rise to a minimum of twenty entries divided across ten teams. The championship will also feature a minimum of two manufacturers, rising to a minimum of four from 2025.[1]

Markus Flasch of BMW M said in June 2021 that the company is "very interested" in the Electric GT Championship.[10] BMW's Head of Motorsport Mike Krack later stated that he considers the timeline as "very ambitious", but that the company is seriously looking at the new series.[11]

In August 2021 it was revealed that Bentley and RML Group had begun development on an electric test car based on the Bentley Continental GT3. However, Bentley's Director of Motorsport Paul Williams stressed that no decision had been made on whether or not the company would enter the championship, adding that "If there was a fully electric endurance option that is where we would probably be."[12]

General Motors also expressed interest in the new championship that same month, with sports car racing program manager Laura Klauser saying she considers Electric GT "one of the more intriguing" new series the company is evaluating for the future.[13]

See also

References
  1. "FIA Electric GT Championship (eGT) Appointment of a promoter" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  2. "Discovery to promote groundbreaking Electric GT Championship under long-term partnership with FIA". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 2021-05-06. Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  3. "FIA ANNOUNCES GROUNDBREAKING ELECTRIC GT CATEGORY". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 2021-04-21. Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  4. "FIA reveals Electric GT Championship plan ahead of 2023 launch". www.autosport.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  5. "Electric GT Championship plans revealed ahead of 2023 launch". www.motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  6. Lloyd, Daniel. "Discovery, Eurosport to Promote FIA Electric GT Championship – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  7. "Electric GT racing is coming thanks to the FIA's new category". Motor Authority. Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  8. "FIA reveals details of "groundbreaking" electric GT category". www.autosport.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  9. "FIA reveals details of "groundbreaking" electric GT category". www.motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  10. "BMW considering LMDh, Electric GT as post-Formula E options". www.motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  11. Dagys, John. "BMW: "Very Ambitious" Timeline for Electric GT Launch – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  12. "Bentley working on electric Continental GT3". www.motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-20. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  13. Dagys, John. "GM: Electric GT "One of the More Intriguing" New Series – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Archived from the original on 2021-09-06. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
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