- Cars and team equipment were unloaded at the Port of Miami today
- Miami ePrix on Saturday, March 14, is fifth stop for new auto-racing championship series
- Pioneering event is part of the first fully-electric car racing series
DHL, the official logistics sponsor and a founding partner for Formula E, recently delivered cars and equipment for the 10 teams that will compete in the Miami ePrix on March 14. It will be the fifth round in the new FIA Formula E Championship, the world’s first fully-electric car racing series that began in Beijing last September and ends in London in June. The new Championship features single-seater open-wheel cars powered exclusively by electric energy.
Gathered at the Port of Miami to greet the cargo were Mike Parra, CEO of DHL Express U.S., Pierluigi Ferrari, deputy managing director of DHL Motorsports, Andretti Sports Marketing General Manager Chuck Martinez, local organizer for the Miami ePrix, Gemma Roura Serra, Miami ePrix Event Manager, City of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, and Fred Wong, assistant director for operations for the Port of Miami.
DHL is providing the FIA Formula E Championship with an extensive range of logistics services, incorporating the most efficient, green technology and processes available today. DHL worked with Formula E to set up the race calendar, allowing for enough time between races to be able to use transportation modes with the lowest carbon emissions possible. The cargo traveled from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Miami via ocean freight, arriving at the Port of Miami and Port Everglades. Between Miami and the next race in Long Beach, Calif., all the cargo will go via rail and road freight. For the 11 race locations worldwide, DHL is ensuring that 40 racing cars, spare parts, lithium-ion batteries that power the cars and all other equipment – approximately 450 tons of cargo -- are delivered safely and on time.
“In the Formula E racing series, DHL, a pioneer in green logistics meets a pacesetter in clean auto racing. The logistics side of this new championship presents a great opportunity to showcase how the transport of all the equipment needed to stage this great event can be done while minimizing the carbon footprint of the entire operation,” said Parra . “Our strategy is to first minimize emissions and then offset whatever is left so Formula E can be a carbon-neutral Championship. Our goal is a ‘GoGreen’ Championship.”
The Formula E Championship series provides a global platform for promoting sustainability and the further development of electric-car technologies. The Formula E Championship comes to Miami after races in China, Malaysia, Uruguay and Argentina. After the Long Beach race on April 4, the teams move on to Europe for five more races.
“We’re very excited to have the new Formula E Championship in Miami, the first of two stops in the United States, and want to thank city and county officials, including Mayor Regalado here with us today, for their enthusiasm for this event as well as their support allowing us to bring the future of auto racing to Miami,” said Martinez from Andretti Sports Marketing. “We believe this race will be a fantastic event for South Florida residents and for Formula E fans around the world.”
Regalado said: “We are committed to providing a world-class welcome to the 10 teams competing in the Miami ePrix and want to ensure that their experience in Miami proves to be an awesome one so the series returns every year.”
“The Port of Miami is happy to facilitate the arrival of the Formula E cargo for the Miami ePrix. We’re excited to see the Spark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E cars take their turns on the ePrix circuit on Biscayne Blvd, which is practically at our front door,” said Wong from the Port of Miami.
