» FE: 2015-16 Calendar revealed

The calendar for the second season of the FIA Formula E championship has been unveiled by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

Taking on a familiar feel to the inaugural season, the calendar again features 11 ePrix in 10 locations around the world. The calendar is more compact than in 2014/15, and some of the large gaps early in the season have been removed. The Beijing ePrix again start the series, this time being held in mid-October (rather than mid-September), and a double header in London will again finish the season on a date to be announced, most likely again in late June.

2015/6 FIA Formula E World Championship Season Calendar
Date	Event	Location
17 October 2015	Beijing ePrix	Beijing Olympic Green Circuit, China
07 November 2015	Putrajaya ePrix	Putrajaya street circuit, Malaysia
19 December 2015	Punta del Este ePrix	Punta del Este street circuit, Uruguay
06 February 2016	Buenos Aires ePrix	Puerto Madero street circuit, Argentina
19 March 2016	TBA
02 April 2016	Long Beach ePrix	Long Beach street circuit, United States
23 April 2016	Paris ePrix	Les Invalides street circuit, Paris, France
21 May 2016	Berlin ePrix	Tempelhof Airport circuit, Germany
04 June 2016	Moscow ePrix	Moscow street circuit, Russia
TBA	London ePrix	Battersea Park street circuit, London, United Kingdom
TBA	London ePrix	Battersea Park street circuit, London, United Kingdom

Whilst there has been notable interest in hosting an event from many countries around the world, there are in fact only two location changes to the 2014/15 season: The Miami ePrix is gone from the calendar with its replacement still to be finalised but is likely to remain somewhere in the Americas. As had previously been announced the Monaco ePrix has been replaced with an event around the Les Invalides architectural complex in Paris, France, owing to the 2016 edition of the biannual Monaco Historic Grand Prix occupying the weekend used by Formula E in 2015.

For Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag the second year calendar is about building upon the successes of season one, and strengthening the partnerships with the cities that initially welcomed the series with open arms.

“We are pleased to confirm that the second season will again feature 11 ePrix. It’s an important sign of stability and it consolidates the presence of the Championship in the panoply of major global motorsport events run under the aegis of the FIA,” he said.

“Over the past few months, we have received many indications of interest from numerous cities from all over the world, which is another confirmation of the extraordinary reception that Formula E has received all over the world during its first season. We have chosen to keep the number of races the same, with the aim of planting even more solid roots in the cities which trusted in us right from the start.

“We have added one of the world’s most important capitals and an amazing city, Paris, which will be one of the highlights of the season. As for the location of the fifth round, the one on 19th March, we are working to maintain the same geographic allocation of races: the aim is to have a fourth ePrix on the American continent. The first season only ended a short time ago in the fantastic setting of Battersea Park in London and already we cannot wait to get the new season underway with FIA, the teams and our partners.”

The 2015/16 Formula E season will again feature ten teams of two drivers, with the same teams from the inaugural series returning. Season two will also see individual constructors enter the series developing their own electric powertrain technology to fit into the control Dallara chassis. These constructors, combined with new technical partnerships (such as Citroën’s DS Automobiles pairing with Virgin Racing) and sponsorship changed have resulted in some minor changes to some team names. For 2015/16, the teams’ entry list reads as follows:

2015/6 FIA Formula E World Championship Seasn – Entry List
Team		Chassis / Powertrain Manufacturer
ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport		Spark / Abt Sportsline
Andretti Autosport		Spark / Andretti
NEXTEV Team China Racing		Spark / NEXTEV
Dragon Racing		Spark / TBA
DS Virgin Racing		Spark / Citroën
e.DAMS Renault		Spark / Renault
Mahindra Racing		Spark / Mahindra
Team Aguri		Spark / McLaren
Trulli Formula E Team		Spark / Motomatica
Venturi Formula E Team		Spark / Venturi

Private testing for the new manufacturer powertrains (which feature increased performance allowances compared to the 2014/15 control package) has already begun, and as was the case prior to season one official sanctioned pre-season test days for the series with all teams present will be held at Donington Park. Three two-day tests are scheduled for August 10th/11th, 17th/18th and 24th/25th.

Image via FIA Formula E Championship