The Electric Racing Academy (ERA) Championship will launch an entry-level electric formula racing series in Summer (northern hemisphere) 2020, in partnership with Dome. The series features a dual-class structure allowing teams participating in the Innovation Class to self-develop specific elements of the vehicle.
The inaugural ERA Championship racecar will be revealed in June this year, with a Dome chassis, 130kW motor, a 24kWh battery capacity, and custom-designed safety features. Dome Co., Ltd. was established in 1975, Kyoto, Japan which saw “Dome-Zero”, a road going sports car as its first ever creation unveiled to the world, the success and passion of which still invigorates Dome.
Kicking off in 2020, Season 1 will include a minimum two test events and eight races, taking place on race circuits (calendar to be announced Q4 2019) in Belgium, the Netherlands, and the UK. Featuring two entry classes, Sports and Innovation, teams will either compete with the standard Championship racecar in Sports Class, or race in the Innovation Class where they can self-develop the powertrain and energy storage system within Championship regulations.
Races will occur across double-header weekends, with no charging of vehicles permitted between the two qualification sessions that last 15 minutes each. Each race will be 23 minutes long. Championship points will be allocated to the top 10 finishers in each race and an additional 3 points awarded for qualifying in pole position, with both a team and driver championship title at the end of the season for each class.
ERA Championship Technical & Business Director, Dieter Vanswijgenhoven said, “It is our goal with ERA Championship to launch an accessible electric racing platform, that creates opportunities for up-and-coming drivers, whilst also inspiring technical innovation on track. Alongside our partners Dome we are able to achieve our innovation and accessibility goals,and are highly anticipating the reveal of our car this Summer.”
Dome Co.,Ltd President Takuya Takahashi added: “This is a great opportunity knowing that our F110 chassis will hit the ground of Europe for the first time. Furthermore, it is also for the first time that our F110 chassis is utilised in an electric racing series with unique regulations that enable the entrant to develop their own powertrain.
“We are looking forward to entrant’s innovative developments on the energy storage system and indeed the powertrains. We are proud to be providing the base for the future of racing, utilising our years of experience of chassis development.”
The ERA Championship is part of Belgium-based motorsport group The Driving Force, with headquarters in Zonhoven. Established in 1993, the group is home to a wealth of motorsport experience including the official BMW Motorrad Factory Race Team, Porsche-works backed sportscar racing team Prospeed Competition, and as organisers of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux.
Photographs by ERA Championship.