Track facts and key factors: BMW i Andretti Motorsport ahead of the New York City E-Prix.

5 July 2021 News Desk BMW, Motor Sports, Motorsport

Munich. After two successful races in Mexico, BMW i Andretti Motorsport will be competing in the tenth and eleventh races of the season in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship at the New York City E-Prix (USA) this coming weekend. On its previous appearance at the Brooklyn circuit, the team celebrated a pole position and two podiums to round off Season 5. As was the case then, the Manhattan skyline will once again provide a wonderful backdrop for the two races that will take place. Jake Dennis (GBR) and Maximilian Günther (GER) will take the momentum from their strong performances in Puebla (MEX) into the weekend. They are in eighth and 18th positions in the drivers’ standings with 54 and 28 points, while BMW i Andretti Motorsport is seventh in the team championship with 82 points. The two regular drivers will be joined in New York by BMW works driver Philipp Eng (AUT), who will be available as a reserve driver. Eng has received his FIA E-Licence and will also assume this role until the end of the season in London (GBR) and Berlin (GER). In our preview, we present the most important facts and key factors of the New York City E-Prix.

You can find detailed information in our media guide: https://b.mw/Formula_E_Media_Guide. It provides detailed information on the technology behind the BMW i drivetrain and the BMW iFE.21, background stories on the technology transfer between motor racing and production development, the BMW i Andretti Motorsport Team and the drivers as well as the BMW Group safety car fleet. It is updated with facts and figures on the respective event after each race weekend.

TRACK FACTS NEW YORK CITY.
Circuit length	2.320 km. Clockwise.
Corners	14 – 9 right, 5 left.
Track surface	Bumpy, but much less so than in Puebla.
Grip level	Low to medium. Significant improvement in grip expected between qualifying groups.
Track layout	Similar to layout from Season 5. Mix of slow, medium-fast and few fast turns. Some good overtaking opportunities. Primarily T6 and T10. T14 to start/finish is very fast, difficult to follow, therefore no ideal overtaking opportunity in T1.
Tyre wear	Relatively high, especially on rear tyres.
Top speed	Approx. 220 km/h before T1.
Attack zone	New position on outside of T10. Increased time loss compared to previous position. Also high probability of losing places.
Key factors	Energy management, temperature management if the weather is hot, good grid position to steer clear of potential midfield collisions.

Quotes ahead of the New York City E-Prix:

Roger Griffiths (Team Principal BMW i Andretti Motorsport):

“The BMW i Andretti Motorsport team heads to one of two home events; this one for the Andretti organisation with the double header in New York City. The track is familiar to the team and on the last visit produced a strong result with double podiums and a pole position. We know from the past there can be a reasonable evolution in the track conditions through qualifying and so our qualifying groups two and three should bode well for us. One of the bigger challenges for the team is the anticipated higher temperatures for this time of year in the New York area; this will mean that monitoring the RESS temperature during the race will be critical. After the double points scoring finish in Mexico for the team, we will be hoping for a repeat. That will be key to a successful outcome in the championship standings.”

Jake Dennis (#27 BMW iFE.21):

“I have been looking forward to this event since the race calendar was published. I’ve always wanted to go there since I was a kid, but I’d never made it. I can hardly wait to see the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge and to race in such a cool part of New York. I am sure that the double-header weekend will be very intense but I hope that we can build on our good performances in Puebla and get involved in the battle for the top three in the drivers’ championship.”

Maximilian Günther (#28 BMW iFE.21):

“Looking at the whole season, the races in New York are definitely some of the most special ones. Racing in front of that skyline gives the weekend that certain something. The circuit is superb, we have prepared well and I feel ready to have some fun in the Big Apple.”

The FANBOOST vote.

FANBOOST gives Formula E fans the opportunity to vote for their favourite driver and award them an extra boost of power during the race. The five drivers with the most FANBOOST votes receive an extra 100 kJ of power, which they can make use of during a brief time frame in the second half of the race. Fans can vote for their favourite driver in the four days prior to, and leading up to 15 minutes into, each race. Each fan can vote once per day. There are two ways to vote: Online at https://fanboost.fiaformulae.com/ or via the official Formula E App.

The BMW Group Safety Cars.
The BMW Group has been represented in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship as ‘Official Vehicle Partner’ since the very beginning and will continue to provide the fleet of safety cars for season 7 of the fully-electric racing series. Alongside the BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car (fuel consumption (combined): 2.0 l /100 km; energy use (combined): 14.5 kWh /100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 46 g/km)*, which has been modified specially for racing use, the MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW will be appearing as a new safety car from the Rome E-Prix onwards. The development of the car based on the new MINI Cooper SE represents a hitherto unique collaboration between MINI Design, BMW Motorsport, the FIA and Formula E. The fleet also includes the BMW i3s (Power consumption in kWh/100: 14.6-14.0 (NEDC); 16.6-16.3 (WLTP), electric range in km: 278-283 (WLTP))* as ‘Race Director Car’ and the BMW iX3 (Power consumption in kWh/100: 17.8-17.5 (NEDC); 19.0-18.6 (WLTP), electric range in km: 450-458 (WLTP))* in its roles as ‘Medical Car’ and ‘Rescue Car’.

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