Autonomous cars set to race in new support series
Autonomous cars have exploded onto the motoring scene in recent years, with Google, Apple and of course the usual car companies working on new and exciting self-driving cars to bring to market. Well now they are going to be taking over racing as well. The Formula E series has been going well for the past few years and recently announced that as of 2016 they will be running a support race exclusively for autonomous cars dubbed the Roborace.
Formula E to partner with Kinetic
The organisers of the Formula E series announced that the Roborace came about thanks to a new partnership with Kinetik, a maker of electric trucks. They want up to ten teams to compete in a full one-hour race before each Formula E race, and that they would run a full championship on all Formula E tracks. Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E, said: “We are very excited to be partnering with Kinetik on what is surely one of the most cutting-edge sporting events in history”.
Hopes to boost ratings
Agag also wants all major parties working on autonomous cars to run teams in the series to bring their technology to the forefront of motorsport. Whilst the Formula E series has seen a lot of success, viewing figures are said to have dropped since the first season in 2014. Many are hoping that the Autonomous cars will not only bring the viewing figures up but will also increase the amount of ticket sales to the events themselves.
