Story by DinaRella / Photos courtesy of E-1 Series and OSO forum
Part Two
Having secured the all-important blessing of the UIM governing party of powerboat racing, the hope of E-1 Series co-founders Alejandro Agag, Formula E and off-road Extreme E sustainable motorsports pioneer; and Rodi Basso, former aerospace engineer from Ferrari and NASA, is to spark a shift toward greener marine practices by building an exciting sport showcasing the advancements in electromobility.
While garnering a global fan base of support, the concept of battery-powered boat racing hasn’t been without criticism; squawking Karens complain that it’s all show and no go from the lack of sound and high-performance stern drive speed. Defending the model, the organization says “it chose to use entertainment as the protagonist of the eco-narrative to overcome the strong interests blocking the movement across all forms of mobility.”
Pulling up at waterfront cities around the world before its November finale in Hong Kong , events commence with qualifications ranking teams from fastest to slowest. This decides which four go into Semi Final one and which four head to Semi Final two. The two top-performers from each group (after combined points from two contests) then advance to the Super Final. Teams have one male and one female pilot, so the Super Final is run twice, to give each a turn. The four remaining positions are then fought for in the Place Race.
Making headlines from Forbes to Sports Illustrated, the star-studded new team owners “wishing to extend their influence for sustainable change” stretch from athletics to music. Eco-warriors from the sports arena include the likes of: seven-times Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, tennis great Rafael Nadal, former Chelsea soccer player Didier Drogba and Red Bull F1 driver Sergio Perez.
From the entertainment world, E-1 most recently welcomed Grammy Award winning, Latin music legend Marc Anthony to the fleet with Team Miami. As the owner of a lifestyle company Magnus, next season in 2025 Anthony plans to make Miami one of the venues. “It’s a blank canvas. It will be a couple days of culture, entertainment, style, sexiness, just the right amount of danger,” he professed in a promo video.
Another in the celebrity line-up, this one following in the wakes of his father Rocky Aoki, legendary offshore champion who raced the 35’ Cigarette and 38’ Bertram Benihana boats, is cake-chucking (Goggle it for a laugh), global DJ and producer Steve Aoki spinning props instead of records.
The inaugural season kicked off under a sun-drenched sky on the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. Going into Saturday’s race Team Miami campaigned by professional Jet Ski racer from Lake of the Ozarks, Anna Glennon, and Swedish powerboat racer, Erik Stark held pole position from the qualifiers, but ultimately bragging rights were bestowed upon Team Brady as Sam Coleman and Emma Kimiläinen hailing from Britain and Finland made a convincing comeback to beat the fleet's day-one leaders.
The winning margin was almost 20 seconds with Team Brady clocking in a time of 6.58.51. Making the triumph a little sweeter for the team owner and NFL’s most successful quarterback of all time... the dates of the E-1 race and 2024 Super Bowl happened within a week apart!
Return to Part One for specifics on the RaceBird vessel.
https://www.riverdavesplace.com/forums/articles/plug-power-and-play-–-get-to-know-the-e-1-series-racebird.1163/
The Venue
Part Two
Having secured the all-important blessing of the UIM governing party of powerboat racing, the hope of E-1 Series co-founders Alejandro Agag, Formula E and off-road Extreme E sustainable motorsports pioneer; and Rodi Basso, former aerospace engineer from Ferrari and NASA, is to spark a shift toward greener marine practices by building an exciting sport showcasing the advancements in electromobility.
While garnering a global fan base of support, the concept of battery-powered boat racing hasn’t been without criticism; squawking Karens complain that it’s all show and no go from the lack of sound and high-performance stern drive speed. Defending the model, the organization says “it chose to use entertainment as the protagonist of the eco-narrative to overcome the strong interests blocking the movement across all forms of mobility.”
Pulling up at waterfront cities around the world before its November finale in Hong Kong , events commence with qualifications ranking teams from fastest to slowest. This decides which four go into Semi Final one and which four head to Semi Final two. The two top-performers from each group (after combined points from two contests) then advance to the Super Final. Teams have one male and one female pilot, so the Super Final is run twice, to give each a turn. The four remaining positions are then fought for in the Place Race.
Making headlines from Forbes to Sports Illustrated, the star-studded new team owners “wishing to extend their influence for sustainable change” stretch from athletics to music. Eco-warriors from the sports arena include the likes of: seven-times Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, tennis great Rafael Nadal, former Chelsea soccer player Didier Drogba and Red Bull F1 driver Sergio Perez.
From the entertainment world, E-1 most recently welcomed Grammy Award winning, Latin music legend Marc Anthony to the fleet with Team Miami. As the owner of a lifestyle company Magnus, next season in 2025 Anthony plans to make Miami one of the venues. “It’s a blank canvas. It will be a couple days of culture, entertainment, style, sexiness, just the right amount of danger,” he professed in a promo video.
Another in the celebrity line-up, this one following in the wakes of his father Rocky Aoki, legendary offshore champion who raced the 35’ Cigarette and 38’ Bertram Benihana boats, is cake-chucking (Goggle it for a laugh), global DJ and producer Steve Aoki spinning props instead of records.
The Victor
The inaugural season kicked off under a sun-drenched sky on the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. Going into Saturday’s race Team Miami campaigned by professional Jet Ski racer from Lake of the Ozarks, Anna Glennon, and Swedish powerboat racer, Erik Stark held pole position from the qualifiers, but ultimately bragging rights were bestowed upon Team Brady as Sam Coleman and Emma Kimiläinen hailing from Britain and Finland made a convincing comeback to beat the fleet's day-one leaders.
The winning margin was almost 20 seconds with Team Brady clocking in a time of 6.58.51. Making the triumph a little sweeter for the team owner and NFL’s most successful quarterback of all time... the dates of the E-1 race and 2024 Super Bowl happened within a week apart!
Return to Part One for specifics on the RaceBird vessel.
https://www.riverdavesplace.com/forums/articles/plug-power-and-play-–-get-to-know-the-e-1-series-racebird.1163/
