In its second year in Brazil, FE seeks to erase flaws and increase fan base – 03/15/2024 – Sports
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Back in Brazil for the second race in the country after its debut in 2023, Formula E arrives in São Paulo this weekend under pressure to correct the flaws of the first event, held on the street circuit designed around the Anhembi Sambadrome, at the while also working to expand his fan base.
This year’s scenario appears more favorable for the category, mainly due to external factors, such as the expansion of the supply of electric cars in the country, which, in the drivers’ view, ends up generating greater interest in FE — this year’s race will be held in this Saturday (16), at 2:04 pm (Brasília time), broadcast by Band.
“For the first time, the electric car is a tangible thing for Brazilians”, he tells Sheet Lucas Di Grassi, one of two Brazilians on this year’s grid. “An electric car is now in the R$100,000 range. This will also generate more interest in the category”, adds the 2016-17 season champion.
Sérgio Sette Camara is another Brazilian driver who also represents the country in this year’s championship.
In addition to the presence of the two on the grid, the FE organizers believe that the World Cup has great potential to attract a young audience here, as they understand that younger people pay greater attention to issues related to the sustainability of the planet, the main focus of the competition. of electric cars.
In addition to those interested in the technology promoted by FE, local organizers also want to improve the image of the championship in Brazil. Although the first stage in the country, held last year, was quite competitive on the track, the event had some flaws that FE promises to have corrected.
Long queues to access food and drink sales services, as well as water points for hydration for fans, in addition to problems with the asphalt conditions of the track layout were the points in which the category sought to improve for 2024.
Guilherme Birello, organizer of the São Paulo ePrix, recognizes that the first edition fell short of what the category wanted to offer Brazilians, but appreciates the fact that the country has finally entered the competition calendar. “FE has been trying to come to Brazil since its first season. The category’s first contract, when it was created [em 2014]went with Rio de Janeiro, and still didn’t come here”, he tells Sheet.
“So, the balance of 2023 is that we had an FE race in Brazil”, he adds. “But the experience for the public, as entertainment, as an experience itself, this aspect of having content, it was bad. Not for everyone, but for a good part. And it’s not what FE wants.”
According to Birello, all people who sought out the category’s customer service channels to make complaints regarding the 2023 race were invited to return to the event. “There were 110 people who actually made complaints on our channels. All of them were invited to return this year.”
“For this year’s race, we shortened the distance from the access gate to the event. We increased the hydration stations from four to ten, with more than 30 thousand glasses of water and expanded the areas with drinks and food services”, adds the organizer.
His expectation is that the event can surpass last year’s audience, when 23 thousand fans were at Anhembi. According to Birello, until last Monday (11), around 19 thousand tickets had been sold for the race. The total load is 25 thousand.
To surpass the number recorded in 2023, FE sought partners who could expand its reach in the country. One of the agreements signed was with Corinthians so that the club’s fans could buy tickets with a discount of up to 10%. The value of the entire conventional entry starts in the range of R$300.
“Brazil is a very important country for us”, says Alberto Longo, co-founder of FE. “That’s why we’re making an effort to engage with local fans who love football.”
The category has a contract with São Paulo to hold one race per year in the city until 2027. In 2025, Brazil should host the opening stage of the championship, possibly before Carnival.
In relation to 2023, there was also an investment to improve the conditions of the track. For Lucas Di Grassi, the big problem last year was the bumps on the main straight, “which have already been resolved”, he says. “The issue of grip [a aderência dos pneus] It’s part of it because it’s a street circuit”, he adds.
In addition to attracting fans to the Brazilian stage, FE’s objective is to establish a stronger bond with fans, something that did not happen last year. “We had a period of silence after the race”, says Guilherme Birello. According to him, the goal now is to spark interest in the continuation of the season. “Our publicity process will not stop until the end of the championship,” he adds.
Played for the first time in 2014, the World Cup is still not very well known here, although, since last year, it has been part of the Band’s schedule. The broadcaster, which also holds the F1 broadcasting rights, reached an agreement in 2023 to show all FE stages on Bandsports, Bandplay and the channel’s website, in addition to, from this year onwards, broadcasting up to nine races on TV open, including the Brazilian stage.
In 2023, however, only the São Paulo ePrix was shown on open TV, something that made the mission of breaking the bubble of those who are passionate about motorsport difficult even with the presence of two drivers from Brazil on the grid, Lucas Di Grassi and Sergio Sette Chamber.
Last year’s F1 stage, held in Interlagos, earned Band an average of 5.1 audience points in Greater São Paulo, the country’s main television market, while the ePrix had an average of 1 point — each point is equivalent to 191 thousand viewers.
São Paulo E-Prix 2024 Schedule
Friday, March 15
4:30 pm – 5 pm: 1st Free Training
Saturday, March 16
7:30 am – 8 am: 2nd free training
9:40 am – 11:03 am: qualifying training
2:04 pm: Race (Band broadcast)
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