Clean Machines

Fast and furious – and possibly even a little bit green – Formula E returns to Hong Kong this month for the city’s major annual motor sport event. Jon Wall previews the action

Unlike with other forms of motor sport, when the Formula E circus arrives in Hong Kong on March 10, the Central Harbourfront won’t resound with the rasp of racing engines, nor will the city’s air be heavy with the odour of high-octane petroleum. Indeed, it might just be a tad cleaner and possibly even marginally quieter than usual.

That’s not to say, however, that the 2019 hKT Hong Kong E-Prix will be lacking in sensory overload and certainly not in excitement. The fifth in an international 13-race calendar that began in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh on December 15, 2018, and ends in New York on July 14 this year, the event pits 22 top-flight drivers – in electrically powered cars that resemble single-seat Batmobiles – against one another on a narrow and tortuous 1.85km circuit through one of the world’s most exhilarating cityscapes. And with ingredients such as those, the opportunities for drama are boundless.