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January 2024 will see the world’s first electric boat championship get underway
foiling
, the
E1 Series
. The first race of the UIM E1 World Championship will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on a course facing the waterfront of the city overlooking the Red Sea. The proximity between the shore and the race courses is a central element of the project because this will make it possible for fans and spectators to observe the progress of the competitions already from the ground. The championship events, namely practice sessions, qualifying and knockout races, will take place over two days, during which drivers will compete in different heats to select who will advance to the next stage. The fastest teams and drivers will then compete in the final, which will decide the winner.
SeaBird Technologies engineers have finished testing to optimize the performance and configuration of RaceBird prototype 1, in preparation for the prototype 2 race boat, which will be manufactured and assembled by Italian Victory Marine, led by naval architect Brunello Acampora. There are 10 spots available on the E1 grid for teams to receive their RaceBirds by the end of the year. Each team must field two drivers, one male and one female, who will take turns driving during the race weekend. After Jeddah, the other stops planned for 2024 are Venice, Italy, Monaco, Geneva, Switzerland, and Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
At the head of the project is Spaniard Alejandro Agag, president of E1 Series, while the CEO is Rodi Basso, a Naples-born engineer with a background as an aerospace engineer and collaborations with brands such as Ferrari and Red Bull Racing.
The boats used for this championship will be RaceBirds, designed by Sophie Horne and built by Victory Marine. From a design point of view, building fast foil, electric hulls designed for agile racing maneuvers is easier said than done. First, because it is a pioneering idea for which everything was done almost from scratch.
Performance-wise, these units will be capable of reaching a speed of 50 knots with an electric motor, supplied by Mercury, with peak power of 150 kW (equivalent to 200 hp). Connected to this are Kreisel‘s modular batteries, already used in the world of electric competition.
For electronics, however, technology from Navico, with brands such as Simrad and C-Map, will be installed on board, which also allows for full integration with Mercury motorization,
as they are all part of Brunswick
.
From the world of auto racing, however, comes Sparco. The famous racing brand was chosen as the RaceBird’s supplier of technical accessories, including the seat, seat belt and footrest.
LOA length: 7 m
Beam B.max: 2 m (with foils 3 m)
Foil Height Foil Height: 0.5 m
Weight Weight: 800 kg (carbon fiber)
So far, five teams have already been announced to take part in the championship. First was Majorcan Rafael Nadal at the helm of Team Spain, which was followed by F1 driver Sergio Perez with his Mexico team and the Venice Racing Team.
New entrants to the team scene are former soccer player Didier Drogba with his own team, while the latest team owner to espouse the project is NFL legend, Tom Brady, a seven-time SuperBowl winner.
Check out the calendar and race formulas here
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