The scenery around the 2.927-kilometre circuit is impressive. The track is located in the middle of the city, runs around the stadium and also along the coast and harbour. 30 laps will be completed on Saturday starting at 4 p.m. local time. It is the premiere of Formula E in South Africa and only the second venue on the African continent after Marrakesh. Cape Town is one of four new locations on the 2023 race calendar.
At Formula E’s most recent appearance in Hyderabad, India, ABT CUPRA had shown a clear upward trend in the fourth race of its comeback year: Nico Müller drove the fastest lap of the race and, in eleventh place, narrowly missed scoring the first points for the newly formed team.
Nico Müller: “Challenge for us drivers”
Before boarding the plane to the racetrack, preparation in the simulator was on the agenda. “After the first laps there, I think we’ll be facing the fastest track on the calendar,” says Nico Müller. “Especially with the Gen3 car and its higher output, it will be exciting and definitely a challenge for us drivers. We’ve been working intensively on our to-do list despite the short break after India and want to make further progress in Cape Town.” There is also anticipation about the location itself: “The scenery will be impressive. The pictures from Cape Town will go around the world.”
Kelvin van der Linde: “The dream becomes reality”
Quite a lot on the agenda for Kelvin van der Linde these days: spontaneous replacement for Robin Frijns in the Formula E World Championship, his first ever races in a formula car and now, as a Johannesburg-born South African, the home race in his own country. “Now this dream is actually coming true and I’m driving a World Championship race in South Africa,” says van der Linde. “We all hoped that Robin would be fit in time. But of course, I will now give everything to represent him decently in Cape Town as well. The interest is enormous, my phone doesn’t stop ringing and buzzing. I’m really looking forward to the weekend.”
Thomas Biermaier: “The goal must be to race for points”
“The anticipation for the debut of Formula E in Cape Town is huge, you can feel it throughout the paddock,” says team principal Thomas Biermaier. “It’s a bit of a dream come true for our local hero Kelvin, even if he would of course have wished the circumstances of his home race to be different.” In sporting terms, the direction is clear for Kelvin and Nico. Thomas Biermaier: “We recently made steps forward in India, and that’s exactly where we want to pick up: the goal in Cape Town must be to race for points again.”
