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Formula E ePRIX
in Long Beach, California

April 2, 2016

http://teslatouring.com/carl/LongBeachFormulaERace2016/

Photos and report by Carl Morrison,  Carl@TeslaTouring.com
on assignment for TeslaTouring.com


Formula E is a ground-breaking FIA single-seater championship and the world's first fully-electric racing series. The inaugural season began in Beijing in September 2014, ending in London in June 2015, with the series competing in 10 of the world's leading cities. The championship sees nine teams, each with two drivers, racing on temporary city-centre circuits to create a unique and exciting race series designed to appeal to a new generation of motorsport fans.


Click on any photo on this page for a higher resolution image.

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My favorite paint job:  No. 25 Jean-Eric Vergne, from France, coming into the pits.  There are 9 two-driver teams and each driver has 2 cars.  No. 2 is Sam Bird, from England.  Shot from top of grandstand, east end, above Turn 7 and pit entrance on Shoreline Drive.

The FIA Formula E Championship is the world’s first fully electric racing series featuring single-seater, open-wheel cars. Nine two-car teams compete in the championship, with involvement from key figures such as Michael Andretti [Amlin Andretti Formula E], Sir Richard Branson [DS Virgin Racing] and Leonardo DiCaprio [Venturi Grand Prix]. Their drivers include ex-Formula 1 pilots Nick Heidfeld, Bruno Senna, Sebastien Buemi and Nelson Piquet Jr.

Table of Contents

Paddock/Garages action

Map of the Circuit

Circuit Photo Tips

Tesla Suite

eVillage

LINKS


CLICK HERE FOR A SLIDE SHOW
of the photos on this page
plus some photos not show on this page.

Paddock/Garages action

This was my favorite area of the race event.  It is accessible with a Pit Pass purchased on site, a Media Pass, or is included with a Suite invitation or purchase.

Click on any photo on this page for a higher resolution image.

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Two panoramic photos to show the left (south) set of garages and the right (north) set of garages, that face eath other, with the Areana in between. 

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In this one day, there are three practice sessions, four qualifying sessions and the race itself (other series' take a week at a track to do all this).  Photographers can be in the Paddock area during all this, photographing the cars being pushed out to the Pit Areas for the next event. Note the "Green Light" sign.  This evidently means this car has met inspection and is not to be attended to any more until the driver takes it onto the track.

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I took a selfie with my iPhone to prove to my Facebook friends that I was actually this close to my favorite American team, Andretti Racing.

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This place was set up perfectly.  Above each garage is the name of the Formula E Team, and the two drivers' names, their birth-nation flag, their photos, and the number of their two identical cars each. (They drive one car for half the race, then switch to the second car to finish.)

Click on any photo on this page for a higher resolution image.

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The front of the garage tents are completely open and you can photograph to your heart's content.  Still, a medium telephoto will help.

Note:  These cars are all identical designs of the body.  Interesting how creatively they have been painted, or wrapped.

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Keep your eye out for drivers and celebrities.  I spotted Dario Franchitti who fits both categories.  He is a retired British racing driver. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion, a three time winner of the Indianapolis 500 as well as a winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona.  He is now a commentator in the Formula E series. See a video of his work as an announcer under Links below.

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I liked the logo above the Venturi team name. 
Leonardo DiCaprio has an ownership in this team.

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Da Costa and Duran 55 and 77

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Jay Penske with Steve Luczo, the Chairman of Seagate Technologies, own this team and their office address is 11175 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA!
Jerome D-Ambrosi No. 7

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Jerome D-Ambrosi's No. 7

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Click on any photo on this page for a higher resolution image.

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Nelson Piquet Jr. No. 1

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Sir Richard Branson of Virgin enterprises owns this Team.


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This is the car at the top of this report that I used as my favorite pain job.

While you are in the Paddock, keep your eyes open for cars being pushed out to the track for a practice or qualifying run.  You can also spot drivers by their driving suits which are sometimes turned down because of the head.  Keep in mind that all the cars have the same body, but the different paint schemes make them look very different.

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At this rollout time you can finally see the numbers behind the rear wheels.

No. 2 Sam Bird

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No. 7 Jerome D'Ambrosio

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No. 55 Antonio Felix Da Costa

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No. 77 Salvador Durn

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No. 28 Simona De Silvestro, the only lady in the Formula E Series

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No. 9 Sebastien Buemi

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No. 4 Stephane Sarrazin Finished 2nd.

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Bruno Senna chasing his No. 21 to the pits.

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No. 21 Bruno Senna

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No. 66 Daniel Abt or ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport Team

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A second spot for photographing cars is the exit from the Paddock to the pits.  I found an anchor block, to hold straps from a garage tent, to stand on to shoot down on the cars.

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This spot allowed me to shoot down into the cockpit without interfering with the crew pushing the car.

Note the driver's name, D. Abt, under his home country flag, on the air intake above the driver's seat.

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No. 11 Lucas Di Grassi, teammate of Daniel Abt.  Some drivers are in the cars when they are pushed out, as is Lucas.

This was the race winner! 41 laps in 2 identical cars. Time:  45.11.582  MPH:  72.1 avg. Best Lap:  58.765 seconds.

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Behind the Paddock tents were Michelin tires mounted on wheels specific to the cars.

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One tire changer for Team Aguri's car for Saldovar Duran set up a tire so I could get a good photo of it.

At track level, between the two grandstands, on Turn 6 is a good spot to get the cars running on the track.  You can jockey with other photographers to get a shot through the fences or in a crack between fences to gain some images.

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No. 88  Oliver Turvey  Obviously shot through the fence, from Turn 6 back to Turn 5, but I like the streaking of the fencing.

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No. 21 Bruno Senna, or No. 23 Nick Heidfeld, his Mahindra Racing teammate.

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It took a few shots through the fence at the low level to get two cars at speed, yet separated, one leaving turn 5 and the other heading for turn 6.

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The best place for an unobstructed view of cars racing is the top level of the Grandstand between Turn 6 and 7.

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Note the "Born Electric" BMW sign in back. 

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I backed off on the zoom to show the overall.  The cars passing below, eVillage past the empty grandstand, the large video board, and the beginning of Shoreline Drive.

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If some action happens out of sight, it is shown on the video board with the standings of the practice session on the left.

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No. 28, Simona De Silvestro in a telephoto shot of Turn 7 from the same shot.  Sign showing the turn number, the Exit just ahead, and the flagman with his several colored flags.

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Still from the top row of the Turn 7 grandstand, photo of No. 27 Robin Frijns, the other Andretti driver as he accelerates out of Turn 7 onto the long Shoreline Drive run.

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The Best Vantage Point for unobstructed Car and Driver photos with good background is the far east end of the Turn 7 grandstand on the top row.  Cars here have just made Turn 7 and are slowly entering the Pits.
No. 25 Jean-Eric Vergne Finished 13th of 18.

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No. 11 Lucas Di Grassi Won the race.

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No. 21 Bruno Senna  Finished 5th

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No. 27 Robin Frijns Finished 15th

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No. 88 Oliver Turvey  Finished 12th.

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No. 6 Loic Duval  Finished 8th.

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No. 23 Nick Heidfeld  Finished 4th

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No. 66 Daniel Abt  Finished 3rd

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No. 8 Nicolas Prost  Finished 11th

There is quite a break between qualifying and the race, giving attendees time to walk through East and West eVillage, have lunch, and enjoy their Suite, if they are so luck as to have access to a Suite. 



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The Tesla Model X, of the owner of TeslaTouring.com, that I drove to the Race.  Shown here parked at Shoreline Village with the Queen Mary and a Carnival cruise ship in the background.

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Viewed from Shoreline Village:  Queen Mary, a Long Beach icon.

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Another way to get to the Formula ePRIX:  CARNIVAL MIRACLE at the Long Beach Carnival terminal behind the Queen Mar.

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Beautiful day for an ePRIX in Long Beach

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Entering the concourse at the Start/Finish Line.

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BMW electric cars, on Shoreline Drive portion of the track, crossing the finish line, on a pre-race tour to set a Guiness World Record. (Shot through a hole in the bridge.)

Tesla Suite

After driving a Tesla Model X to the race, picking up my race credentials at the Renaissance Hotel, 111 E. Ocean Blvd. and parking in the Shoreline Village, 401 S. Shoreline Village Drive, for $16, I proceeded to the Tesla Race Suite on Pit Lane. 
 TeslaClubLA (info.@Teslaclubla.com) hosted a TCLA Flash event organized by Renee Swenson.



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Hostesses handing out wrist bands for access to the Tesla Race Suite.

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Click on any photo on this page for a higher resolution image.

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Renee Swenson, Event Organizer, Tesla Club LA

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Tesla Race Suite above Pit Row. (Upgraded from a location on Turn 5, for lack of attendance.)

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Early refreshments in the Tesla Suite.

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View from the enclosed suite toward the track with BMWs still going around the track.

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View from the front of the Suite with high tables and 4 rows of tables with a view of the pits and race course beyond.

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View of the Paddock from the back of the Race Suites.  Just a short walk to the garages if you have a Pit Pass.

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Another Signature Edition of the Model X parked below the Tesla Suite.

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Race track (with the winner's picture in the foreground), Pits, and Red-topped Tesla Race Suite above.

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Tesla Race Suite (center red top) above the Mahindra Racing and Team Aguri pits.

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Tesla Race Suite No. 8 from across the tracks with my empty seat next to the aisle.

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One of my many trips to the buffet.

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Pardon the personal reference, but I wanted to show that the Tesla Race Suite was directly above the pits.

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Tesla had drawings during the day and I won a shirt signed by the Formula E drivers.

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Team Aquri, Antonio Felix Da Costa's 2 cars (55) on the right. 
Mahindra Racing, Bruno Senna's 2 cars (21) on the left.


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Antonio Felix Da Costa's Team Aguri 55 ready for the race.

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Notice how Antonio Felix Da Costa's two No. 55 cars are positioned so he can transition from one to the other after 20 laps.

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The Tesla Race Suite was also a good place to take driver photos as they approached their cars which were already placed in the pit boxes.

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With a telephoto, you can see the creativity of the helmets.  A. Felix da Costa

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Antonio Felix da Costa without his helmet.






Map of the Circuit

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Circuit Photo Tips

Photos in this report are from on the ground in front of the grandstands to the right or T6, the top of the grandstands to the right of T6, the Tesla Suite above Pit Lane just to the right of the "Entrance" bridge to the right of the Start.  The Tesla shot is from the Shoreline Village parking lot, outside the track near T1.  The early shots of the BMWs on the track were from a hole in the bridge cover near the START line.  Pit Pass photos from the Paddock (garages) as well the cars pulled out onto the pit lane and track.

Video from top row of the grandstands to the right of T6 in the map above, to show the lack of sound of the cars in a Formula E race.




Direct link to video above:  https://youtu.be/KevkdOBlKBg

eVillage


eVillage is a place to go for all other activities other than racing.  A sponsor of the race was Faraday Future
, developer of electric vehicles.  There is an APP called Faraday Future Concept with more information about this concept car.

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Faraday had their all-electric concept car in the eVillage.

They had a post card in the booth that became interactive when you downloaded their app and focused your phone on the card. 



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Between Qualifying and the race, the "Grid Girls" assembled in front of the stage for the Drivers' Autograph Session

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These two less-photographed characters were constantly around as well.

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Michelin was s sponsor as well, and the Michelin man.

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The driver's seats for the autograph session were well labeled.

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The second white hat is the winner of the race, Lucas Di Grassi (No. 11).

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The second white hat is the winner of the race, Lucas Di Grassi (No. 11).

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Stephane Sarrazin (4) who finished second.

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The Grid Girls held umbrellas supposedly to shade the drivers.

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The second white hat is the winner of the race, Lucas Di Grassi (No. 11).

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I was surprised to find the track announcer in a booth with TVs, not in sight of the track.


Photos as the race progressed.

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Cars aligned on the grid for the start.  Grid Girls holding their car numbers high.

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There are monitors in the Race Suites so attendees can see how the grid looks from the TV cameras.

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Another view from the Race Suites while the race is underway.

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TV showing race leaders with % of energy left.  Di Grassi eventually won the race.

Short video showing the race under way and demonstrating how quiet electric Formula E race cars actually are.



Direct link to the video:  https://youtu.be/P-yIc8qMq4Y

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A lucky shot of the race winner, Lucas Di Grassi, during the race.  From outside the track, most views are through safety fencing.

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Bruno Senna, Mahindra Racing No. 21, changing cars at midpint of the race.

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He finished 5th in the race.

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Lucas Di Grassi flashed past the finish line during the race.  This photo was taken through a small hole in a pedestrian bridge over the track.

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Heading home.  To make Shoreline Village parking accessible, instead of using Shoreline Drive, they packed the sand for cars to enter and exit the large parking lot.  It was the most economical parking at $16 where most areas were $50 for the race.

Race Results


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Click on any photo on this page for a higher resolution image.



LINKS


Teams and Drivers:  http://fia-fe.com/en/teams.aspx

Formula E Long Beach Website:  http://longbeach.fiaformulae.com/

Race Highlights:  https://www.youtube.com/user/FIAFormulaE or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_Bg24pJUjE

Dario Franchitt's Track Walk: Long Beach Edition - Formula E  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYP78UgYi_U

Tesla Club LA:  https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/groups/35/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Teslaclubla/

Tesla Motors:  https://www.teslamotors.com

[ Top of this page | TeslaTouring.com ]

CLICK HERE FOR A SLIDE SHOW
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plus some photos not show on this page.


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