Since Formula E was founded 10 years ago, organisers of the all-electric championship have tried for over a decade to race in Japan’s capital, now the most populous city on earth with a population of more than 37 million.
That dream has finally become a reality, and the inaugural Tokyo E-Prix will take place this Saturday around a 1.604-mile circuit in the Tokyo Big Sight area of the city. To say it is the blue-riband event on Formula E’s 2024 calendar is something of an understatement, with the race highly anticipated by drivers, teams and fans.
Ahead of the inaugural event in Japan, this writer was given the unique chance to sample the new circuit on Mahindra’s simulator at its Banbury factory, with the hour-long session allowing me to get to grips with the 20-corner circuit and offer a peak at what challenges awaits the drivers.
A time just over two seconds slower than Mahindra’s simulator driver and ex-IndyCar racer Jordan King put me somewhere in the ballpark of the same speeds, and first impressions are that unlike the previous street circuit in Sao Paulo, overtaking will be much harder.
Twisting turns follow one after another with little in the way of straights and there are two noticeable elevation drops coming out of Turn 2 and through Turn 16.
Unsurprising for a street circuit, there are also numerous bumps, although whether these are as harsh in real-life remains to be seen as teams up and down the grid battle to get the most accurate representation of the circuit as possible.
With no racing having ever been held at the venue, and with it not actually existing until earlier this week, a laser scan of the surface is the best that teams can hope for prior to any track action.
Source: Autosport