“The future is electric,” they say. As sales and market share of electric cars increase rapidly in Europe and China, more and more automotive brands are beginning to launch newer, more advanced models.

The automotive industry is shifting to electric cars quickly, and motor racing industry is well aware that it can’t miss the train.

FIA Formula E Championship that visited Hong Kong for three occasions, has been a great success attracting the OEM. Following the footsteps of the FIA all-electric single seater series, a bunch of new all-electric series will soon start to pop up around the world.

Last year TCR promoters WSC Technology confirmed the first all-electric multi-brand touring car series, ETCR, which is due to make its debut in 2020. Eurosport Events Ltd will serve as the promoter of ETCR, adding to its current portfolio as promoter of FIA WTCR.

The British company has recently signed a long-term agreement with TCR owner WSC to remain promoter of FIA WTCR, the flagship global TCR series, and taken on the upcoming all-electric ETCR platform.

“Eurosport Events will indeed be the promoter of ETCR at world level,” said François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events. “Both WTCR and ETCR will provide a global platform for car manufacturers who are willing to promote their combustion and electric racing cars.”

Two manufacturers have committed to ETCR so far: the Spanish brand Cupra, the series’ launch partner, and Hyundai. A third manufacturer is expected to be announced soon. What the races will be like is unknown today, but it is believed that they have to be different from the current ones.

It is not only because of the autonomy of the batteries, it’s about doing something different and still attracting a public that is very reticent to accept electric cars in racing. The series organizers are aiming to follow a similar path to the introduction of TCR a few years ago by establishing regional and national series after solidifying the global championship that will be mainly for factory teams and not privateers.

Almost a decade ago, China surpassed the US to become the world’s biggest car market. Even if the sales are falling this year, after the government scaled back subsidies, the country accounts for about half of the world’s electric-vehicle sales. There are no doubts that the new ETCR promoters are looking at this part of the world with special attention.

To bring the ETCR to Asia, and to Chinese territory in particular, is one of the priorities in the near future.



Two of the XPT-powered prototypes from the China Electric Car Championship completed demonstration laps during last year’s Macau Grand Prix and were on display in the paddock. The all-new Chinese electric racing series that runs a multi-class format featuring prototype and touring cars, aimed to race at Macau Grand Prix this year, but the championship struggled to have enough cars to fulfil a decent grid over the year.

The Macau Grand Prix has been involving since its first edition and the event organisation has been aligning itself with FIA, introducing the latest concepts and categories to the weekend programme.

Due to the fact that today’s Formula E cars are unable to race at Guia Circuit – due to the circuit layout and long perimeter – ETCR is in privileged position to be the first all-electric series to be part of the Macau Grand Prix programme. Bringing this newest series to Macau is not out of the equation for the WTCR promoter.

“Some events will be common to both series, and some events will be run separately, but the ETCR sporting format will be very different from WTCR,” explains Ribeiro. “We have long-standing relationship with Macau and will discuss with AAMC what is best for them to keep positioning the Macau Grand Prix in the future as a top international event with a worldwide media footprint.”

The future is moving faster than ever, as the pace of innovation is speeding up. When the Guia Race was introduced in 1972, no one could imagine that one-day we could be talking about all-electric racing cars. Whether you like it or not, sooner or later, the Macau Grand Prix will have to embrace this new reality to keep up with the demands of the new world.



CUPRA e-Racer Curiosities



• Reaches a top speed of 268 km/h (167 mph)

• Accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 3.2 seconds and from 0 to 200 km/h (124 mph) in 8.2 seconds

• Its 450 kg battery is as powerful as 9,000 mobile phone batteries connected at the same time

• Its four engines combined reach 12,000 revs compared to 6,500 on a petrol-powered racecar, and all with a single gear

• It delivers 300 kW of continuous power, reaching peaks of 500 kW