The Hong Kong ePrix was an annual race of the

single-seater An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...

Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who is ...

championship, held at the Hong Kong Central Harbourfront Circuit in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. The track was touted as a potential venue for the all-electric series’ inaugural race. It was first raced in the 2016–17 season as the first major international motorsport event in Hong Kong. In 2018–19 season, the 2019 Hong Kong ePrix was the 50th race of Formula E since its inception in 2014. It was widely expected to be the first wet race in Formula E racing history. Drivers tested the grip levels in both shakedown and practice sessions on a fully wet track, but it did not eventuate. The ePrix was scheduled to be on the 2019–20 calendar, but it was replaced due to pro-democracy protests and the

COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong The COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Hong Kong on 23 January 2020. Con ...

Circuit

The ten turn circuit, located in the Central Harbourfront area is a firm favourite on the Formula E calendar. Making use of existing roads, all racing cars and drivers drive past landmarks including the International Finance Centre,

Hong Kong Observation Wheel The Hong Kong Observation Wheel (abbr. HKOW) is a tall Ferris wheel located at the Central Harbourfront, Central, Hong Kong. It has 42 gondolas, including one VIP Gondola with leather seats and a clear glass bottom floor. All gondolas are equipp ...

, and

Hong Kong City Hall Hong Kong City Hall () is a building located at Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Since Hong Kong is a " Special Administrative Region" and not a normal Chinese city, there is no mayor or city council; therefore, the ...

. Significant portions of the track were covered with painted road signs, which could turn the race to extremely unexpected under serious rainy conditions according to some drivers. There were different tarmac and painted road markings around the circuit, which made some parts of the track slippery and treacherous on an adverse camber section. Still, the drainage is facilitated by the presence of concrete blocks with holes. The circuit failed to meet regulations set forth by the

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...

(FIA). FIA regulations require tracks to be long but the Hong Kong Central Harbourfront Circuit was only long. The FIA required Hong Kong to extend the circuit to for the 2019–20 season, in which two more teams were expected to enter the E-Prix. Lawrence Yu, governor of the Hong Kong Automobile Association, cited difficulties in extending the track to the west as the

Hong Kong Station Hong Kong () is a station of the MTR metro system in Hong Kong. It is the eastern terminus of the and . It is situated between Man Cheung Street and Harbour View Street, Central, Hong Kong Island, and sits underneath the International Fina ...

on the western side of the circuit links up the city with the

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

. An extension to the east of the circuit through a tunnel considered too dangerous for the cars to be running at high speeds along a straight road before they enter the tunnel. The Hong Kong ePrix was eventually dropped from the 2019–20 season on the ground of continued

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

in the city.

Results

Controversy

With over 350 skyscrapers sitting on Hong Kong's shoreline, it was claimed several drivers encountered radio communication problems due to the buildings blocking the signal, which forced them to recalculate their energy management unassisted.

References

International sports competitions hosted by Hong Kong Motorsport in Hong Kong Recurring sporting events established in 2016 {{Motorsport-stub