http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/sports/autoracing/formula-e-racing-brooklyn-new-york.html 2016-09-21 20:28:11 An Event That Is Truly Electric: Formula E Races Coming to Brooklyn The series for electric cars will stop in Red Hook, Brooklyn, for two races next July, officials announced on Wednesday. === New York City is home to the Yankees and the Knicks, the In July, that will change, when the The twist is, that while the cars look like the open-wheel speedsters you would see in Indianapolis or Monaco, they run Of course, the races will be held in Brooklyn. “The world has been trying for years to race in New York City, and it has never been possible,” Alejandro Agag, the chief executive of Formula E, said. “Everyone has been trying to race in New York City. Formula One, everyone. New York is the capital of the world. We are really over the moon.” The city and Formula E announced the races at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. They will be held on a Saturday and Sunday to be determined in late July 2017 as part of the circuit’s third season. The course will be laid out at the The cars do not look like the Volt or Prius you were stuck behind yesterday on the Deegan. They are single seaters that to an untrained eye could pass for the rides of Marco Andretti or Lewis Hamilton. The cars race like that, too. In a straight, they can reach 180 miles an hour, Agag said, but in a race over a twisty road-style course, they will top out about 140 to 150 m.p.h There are expected be 20 drivers in the races, but 40 cars. The cars cannot finish the race on one battery, and charging them midrace would be less than riveting for the spectators. So each driver has two cars and executes a switch midrace. By Season 5, Agag said, batteries are expected to have improved so much that the switch will no longer be needed. Organizers said they believed the Red Hook venue would join the pantheon of picturesque racecourses. "It’s a phenomenal setting in terms of view,” said Fred Dixon, the president of NYC & Company, the city’s official tourism organization. “Governors Island, the The Formula E series has involved companies like Audi, Jaguar, Renault and Richard Branson’s Virgin. In the first two years of the series, drivers included the former Formula One star Jacques Villeneuve as well as Nelson Piquet Jr., the son of the former champion, and Bruno Senna, nephew of the great Ayrton Senna. Leonardo DiCaprio has also lent his name as the “head of the sustainability committee.” Formula E has raced in Beijing, Buenos Aires, Mexico City and Paris, among other places. Season 3 kicks off in Hong Kong in October and is due to conclude in Brooklyn. City officials emphasized the tourism the race would bring, but were clear that a commitment to renewable energy was also a crucial attraction. “New York City is where technology, sustainability and commerce collide,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “We are thrilled to be the new home of the E-Prix.” Maria Torres-Springer, the president the city’s Economic Development Corporation, said: “This is a tremendous opportunity to promote the borough as a leader in sustainable technology. Promoting sustainability has been part of the mayor’s agenda." It is not easy to stage an auto race in the urban Northeast. Formula One has had several aborted attempts to race in Weehawken, N.J., and an IndyCar race scheduled for Boston this year was scrapped, in part because of objections from neighbors and conflicts with the city. Formula E and New York officials are keen that these races minimize disruption. The track is “assembled and disassembled very quickly,” Agag said. “We come in five or six days before the race and we assemble it and take it away in a similar amount of time or less.” Grandstands will also be assembled for paying customers. The cars are far quieter than the earsplitting din made by Formula One racers. “These cars are quiet,” Agag said. “They make some sound, but it is a limited sound. But if you are there, it is exciting. It is science fiction sounding.” He said the cars produced about 80 decibels, a little more than a standard car. “It’s summer; not a lot of events are happening,” Dixon said. “It’s not expected to be disruptive.” The race will be contained in the Cruise Terminal and will not involve public streets. The race contract is just for one year for now, but Agag said: "We would love to have it every year. We are committed.” The race will be shown on Fox Sports 1. Though Formula E is eager to gain the respect held by venerable circuits like Formula One, it is not above adding quirky elements to get attention. During the race, fans vote for their favorite drivers. The three leading vote getters are awarded the Fan Boost, 50 extra horsepower for three seconds to be used in the last six minutes of the race. The boost could be enough to overtake a car in front. In Mexico City last season, the boost made the difference between victory and defeat when fans boosted Lucas di Grassi to a win. And if