First Formula E race in South Africa: Questions & Answers about the Cape Town E-Prix 2023

Formula E's efforts to hold a race in South Africa began several years ago, and now the dream is becoming a reality: at the Cape Town E-Prix, the electric series will make its debut in the shadow of Table Mountain next weekend. Why Porsche faces a challenge despite its good form, and what fans can expect from South African local hero Kelvin van der Linde, you can read in our preview.

The fourth journey in the 2023 Formula E season will take teams and drivers to a new place on the championship map: Cape Town. On a street circuit specially built for the series around a 2010 World Cup stadium, the first E-Prix in South Africa will take place on Saturday. Porsche travels to Cape Town as the favorite, but pressure from Jaguar, Envision and DS Penske is mounting

Where exactly will the first Formula E race take place in South Africa?

The Green Point district has been chosen as the venue for the Cape Town E-Prix. There, Formula E will make a guest appearance on the streets around the "DHL Stadium", which was originally built for the 2010 World Cup.

Cape Town is located not far from the Cape of Good Hope and is the seat of the South African Parliament. The region was first settled by the San and Khoikhoi before becoming a Dutch colony in the 17th century and eventually a British colony in the 19th century. During this time, Cape Town grew into a major port city, in part because of its importance to sailors en route from Western Europe to India.

During apartheid, when the rights of South Africa's non-white population were curtailed, there were repeated clashes in Cape Town before Nelson Mandela announced the beginning of a new era South Africa on the balcony of the city's City Hall in 1990. Since then, Cape Town has developed rapidly, becoming safer and more prosperous. An estimated 4.7 million people now live in the metropolitan area.

Fast Facts | Cape Town

• The population of Cape Town is decidedly young, with about half of all residents:inside being under 25 years old.
• In 1967, surgeon Christiaan Barnard performed the first heart transplant on a human being at Cape Town's Groote Schuur Hospital. The patient's heart continued to beat for more than two weeks before he died of pneumonia.
• Since 1805, a cannon is fired daily at 12:00 on Signal Hill - much to the amazement of many tourist:in. On the summit, there is also a second cannon as a reserve, but according to one myth, it was used only once, because a spider had disturbed the remote control.
• The Cape Winelands are among the most renowned wine regions in the world and are even recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
• The national animal of South Africa is the springbok. The antelope can run at a sprint speed of almost 90 km / h and would thus be around 1:59 minutes on a lap on the Formula E track of Cape Town.

Who will broadcast the Formula E race in Cape Town on TV & Livestream?

Although Cape Town is about a twelve-hour flight from Germany, the time difference is only one hour. As usual this year, the E-Prix begins already on Friday with the 1st Free Practice. All other sessions will take place on Saturday.

* alle Angaben in Mitteleuropäischer Zeit (MEZ)

In Germany, ProSieben will broadcast the Formula E race from South Africa as usual. Qualifying will be streamed at ran.de. All free practice sessions can be followed as usual on the livestream page of e-Formel.de. Eurosport 2 will also be showing the Cape Town E-Prix in full, incidentally also in Austria. There, however, fans can also follow the race on ORF Sport+ or in the ORF TVthek. In Switzerland, the race will be shown on Eurosport 1 as well as in the program of the pay channel MySports Edge.

What distinguishes the race track in Cape Town?

The "Cape Town Street Circuit" is in many ways a classic Formula E street circuit: narrow passages are combined with sharp turns and few opportunities for recuperation. Compared to other tracks, the track has a comparatively large full-power component. The drivers have to negotiate a total of 13 turns over 2.927 kilometers.

The best overtaking spot is likely to be in turn 4, a traffic circle converted into a chicane. The passage through turns 8 to 10, where the drivers have to maneuver their cars past concrete walls with centimeter precision at high speed, is also challenging.