Formula E Malaysia ePrix Race Discussion

[cider_and_toast]

So here we go with round two being held on the 22 November from Putrajaya in Malaysia.

More details can be found at the official Formula E website here >>> http://www.fiaformulae.com/

The track layout can be found here >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_P...iewer/File:Litar_jalan_daripada_Putrajaya.svg

Coming at a time when there has been growing discontent among race fans with Formula One, perhaps the hype surrounding Formula E has been greater than would have been expected. As start up series go, F-E had some novel features (perhaps a few that were too novel as well) that got people talking and added to the general interest.

So what did we learn from the first round in Beijing back in September (yes it really was that long ago) ?? Well, firstly, the cars look slow, really slow, it was only when Prost and Heidfeld decided to put on a last lap victory dance that we gained any real impression that they were moving at all.

This could have been down to the race coverage, camera angles and lack of a known reference to gauge how quickly they were moving. The track also didn't help matters being all right angled corners with a little nobbly bit here and there.

Thankfully the track in Malaysia looks far more interesting. We shall see if this has any effect on the racing but it could and should be better than Beijing.

We've also seen that F-E cars can actually overtake each other which is a bonus. Franck Montagney in the Andretti car made himself the hero of the race with his journey through the field which certainly gave viewers the impression that the series was not all lost on the entertainment front.

The fan boost gimmick continues with fans able to vote for who they would like to award the much coveted boost in power via the website. Let's just hope we actually get better info-graphics this time so we can actually see when and where it was used.

Let's be honest, there were a number of things wrong with Formula e including the totally pointless warm up lap, the e-J, the slow looking cars, the dull track and the potential of the rapid pit stop change of cars being ruined by a safety rule that creates a minimum time for a car change.

The coverage from ITV left a massive amount to be desired as well.

Hopefully a number of creases have been ironed out since that first race because after all, that was surely the point of the long gap between the two.

The big question remains though, how many people are willing to give the series a second chance ??

 

[gethinceri]

Nice looking circuit, I'll be watching, though prob not live. The last round wasn't shit, it just asn't very good.

 

[teabagyokel]

I'm absolutely willing to give this series every chance; its intentions are noble and I doubt the 1906 French GP was without its problems. One way of looking at it: every Formula E race ever has been decided on the last corner.

Beijing wasn't brilliant, but I've sure as shit watched worse Formula 1 races.

 

[FB]

I quite enjoyed the novelty of the first race, let's see if the second one will be better. There are only two things I think they should reconsider - 1. the minimum time the driver must wait in the pits during the car change, motor racing pit stops have always been about who can do it the fastest and if you get an advantage then great, and 2. that bloody DJ.

 

[Greenlantern101]

I will be watching live and hoping the music will of been axed. It would also be nice to see actual pit stops and know when the fan boost is used. Fingers crossed someone with a brain has looked at the criticism from the last race.

 

[Bushi]

Good thing is, I didn't hear any music last time around. Let's hope for the same this time around.

Don't think we will see any pit stops for tyres with their puny 270bhp Greenlantern101. The only reason they have to stop is because of the battery, which is also artificial since williams could deliver a battery for a full race distance.

 

[Greenlantern101]

They can make a battery to last the whole race! So why do we have this stupid car swapping stuff when we could just have tyre changing. Weird.

 

[RasputinLives]

They are doing the car swapping thing because whilst they could get them to last the whole distance the weight and power outage would seriously put a crimp on the speed and raceability of the car.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I propose a double speed system for this race, lets hope they get above 120 kph this time out...

 

[Bushi]

I've read that it was because people could see the evolution of the battery better through the years.

 

[marksawatsky]

I am very interested in this series and am willing to give it a few more chances. I hope they will eventually ditch the car change minimum time or better yet have a battery swap instead. The Beijing track was about as poor a design as possible for showing speed of cars, somebody in charge should have known better. I voted in the fanboost and hope they will show us who is using the boost and when.

 

[teabagyokel]

A good race today, and they improved many of the things that we've been banging on about, like the Fan Boost graphic and lack of a tortuous formation lap.

Abt's run may be important for the series; shows just how far an undercutting converse strategy could get you if you want to throw a spanner into the works.

 

[Dash Racing]

I figured I'd give this a look, so I've just watched Beijing on youtube. My first impression was that it has a quirky kind of charm with them sounding like RC cars. Racing-wise, it reminds me very much of Formula Ford and Formula 3 - short races, and plenty of opportunity for drivers to actually race. I'd like different music choices if they're going to have music in the background, but I actually kind of like having music in the background for racing, it reminds me of video gaming. If their goal is attracting younger viewers who don't remember a time before home gaming consoles, and barely remember an age before the internet, they're probably going about it in the right way.

I might be watching Putrajaya if I've resolved my argument with Formula E's online streaming by then. I can't even watch their Beijing footage on their website as it stands. Either way, I will be following Formula E as best I can, even if that means waiting for it to hit youtube.

 

[marksawatsky]

This was a much better race than the first one. There were a lot passing attempts made although I wonder if all the mistakes were because the drivers are second rate, or that the simple aero allows close racing, the tires are very low grip or a combination of these things. Whatever the case, it was great seeing errors made and passes made.

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

I quite enjoyed it. The track still seemed pretty terrible. There were a few incidents that seemed to go completely unnoticed that would result in a penalty in F1. One example was weaving to prevent an overtake - a few times there seemed to be quite a lot of moves. Maybe the milk floats are more difficult to keep going in a straight line.
The music seemed less prominent on the recording I watched too. It was there at the start but seemed to fade out fairly early on. The sound of the cars still seemed quite low though. I wonder if they cut corners with the microphone budget.

 

[teabagyokel]

The track was infinitely better than Beijing, I think that is without doubt.

 

[FB]

When you watch this you realise just how much effort Bernie has put in to making the F1 tracks look professional as this track looked very second hand. Great race though and Sam Bird dominated it. Looking forward to the next one and toying with the idea of making the trip to London for the season finale.

 

[FB]

A rather facile comment, isn't Jenny Gow's mouth and chin fascinating? And how does Alex Brundle keep his eyes in his head? I was sure they were goign to pop out at some point. Well done ITV4 though, much better effort than last time but please get rid of the useless bint in the pit lane, I'd rather have Louise Goodman she was that bad.

 

[Bushi]

Already a classics returns like the Trulli train. Well it was an action packed race and I liked it again. Much better track than the Bejing track.
Heidfeld hasn't been very lucky again, Montagny was a bit reckless in that certain corner he collected Heidfeld, as it was a few laps before where he almost collided with someone else. Great drive from Bruno after racing around in a damaged car for a few laps, till he got a bit carried away in the last lap. Great drive from Sam Bird.

 

[marksawatsky]

A rather facile comment, isn't Jenny Gow's mouth and chin fascinating? And how does Alex Brundle keep his eyes in his head? I was sure they were goign to pop out at some point. Well done ITV4 though, much better effort than last time but please get rid of the useless bint in the pit lane, I'd rather have Louise Goodman she was that bad.

OMG_ was thinking the same thing about her mouth and his eyes-lol