The Zurich Street Circuit was a street circuit located in Zurich, Switzerland, used for the Zürich ePrix of the Formula E Championship, and held its first race, as well as the first Swiss motor race since 1954, the 2018 Zürich ePrix on 10 June 2018.[1]
History
Preparations for a Formula E race in Switzerland commenced in March 2015 when the Council of States backed a motion put forward by the National Councillor Fathi Derder to exempt electric car racing from a long-standing ban on motor racing in the country.[2] The motion was adopted by the Federal Council in December, allowing electric vehicles to race in Switzerland starting from 1 April 2016 pending authorisation from local authorities with regards to the maximum speeds allowed. Subsequently on 21 September 2017, the Zürich ePrix was then announced to be added to the Calendar of the 2017–18 Formula E Championship.[3] The final track design was revealed on 3 April 2018.[4]
The circuit was a 2.465 km (1.532 mi) long track, with 11 turns, and was designed by the CEO of e-Mobil Züri Roger Tognella and his son Andrin by using Google Earth on their home computer, unlike most circuits.[5] The track featured a mix of surfaces, with asphalt and concrete, and crosses several tramlines, some of which were filled for the event. In addition, it also featured a mixed surface pit lane, with half the pit lane having cobblestones on the surface, which resulted in teams running adapted software for the pit limiter, due to the reduced speed limit of 30 km/h (19 mph) .[6]
