Cape Town revving up for its first E-Prix event

The Cape Town E-Prix is a culmination of more than five years of work between local Formula E promoters E-Movement, its partners and the City of Cape Town.

 Cape Town joins 11 other global cities for Season 9 of the Formula E World Championship, which opened in Mexico City last month. 

Formula E cars run on 100 per cent renewable energy and there is a major focus on developing alternative energy solutions. 

Staging Formula E in Cape Town will assist the City in raising awareness of the adverse effects of air pollution. 

‘We are positioning Cape Town as a leading city for renewable energy and a major event such as Formula E aligns perfectly with this strategic objective. A ticket to the event gives spectators more than just a race day experience as the festival also offers an E-Village dedicated to the fans. These initiatives will assist in strengthening and growing the Western Cape’s strong green economy ecosystem,’ said Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. 

The Mother City is looking forward to putting its scenic route around the iconic Green Point Precinct under the shadow of Table Mountain to the test.

‘We have been hard at work over the last few years to prepare the Green Point precinct and Cape Town is on track to deliver a spectacular race event for motorsport enthusiasts. In addition to the extensive economic benefits for our city, this event’s legacy will deliver improved road infrastructure for the precinct which will benefit residents and allow for better access for non-motorised transport. This all forms part of the event’s core goal to transition to a greener future,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

How can the E-prix go ahead if there’s loadshedding?

Iain Banner, co-founder of E-Movement says a primary power plan is in place and the organisers have guaranteed electricity supply up to Stage 6 of loadshedding. Banner says “as is standard at every Formula E race globally, there is a full set of back-up in the form of generators running on bio-fuel because this is all about sustainability.” Organisers have secured 28 generators which run on bio-fuel to provide enough energy to fuel the race.

The Street Circuit

The Cape Town E-Prix will see Formula E’s third Generation cars, which reach top speeds of 320 kph, race on the track that runs from Vlei Road, down Beach Road in Mouille Point and Fritz Sonnenberg Road.

 The 22 cars will race their way through the Green Point and Waterfront precincts, with Signal Hill and other famous Cape Town landmarks as the track backdrop.

 The 2,94 km, 12-turn track is predicted to be one of the fastest in the series.

 As it stands, over 20 000 people are expected to line up in spectator areas along the track area for Africa’s first E-Prix.     

 Traffic Management

Due to the street circuit in the Green Point precinct and Mouille Point areas, a number of roads will be closed for the event build up and on the event day.      

 A list of Road Closures is available here: https://bit.ly/3YPD08Y

 In addition, the following MyCiTi routes will be affected and commuters can expect delays:

 ·       104 – Civic Centre to Sea Point

·       108 – Adderley to Hangberg via Sea Point and Hout Bay Harbour

·       109 – Adderley to Hout Bay Beach

·       113 –  Waterfront to Upper Kloof Street 

·       118 – Adderley to Hangberg via Sea Point and Imizamo Yethu

·       T01 – Waterfront to Dunoon via Civic Centre

 Road closures are subject to change. For more information on road closures, contact the E-Prix hotline on 083 666 1636 between 08:00 and 20:00 or email traffic@eprix.capetown. 

 Motorists who intend to access Sea Point on these days can use Somerset Road or High Level Road.

 The City of Cape Town will deploy Traffic Service officers to work in conjunction with event marshals to ensure flow management.

 In an effort to minimise traffic congestion to the Green Point precinct, the City is availing a free MyCiTi shuttle service for ticket holders to travel to the event space.

 Buses will depart from the Civic Centre and MyCiTi stations from 07:00 on Saturday.

 The service will run on demand.

 The last bus from the P12 parking on Green Point Main Road to the Civic Centre will leave at 20:00.

 Ticket holders are encouraged to utilise a park-and-ride system where they park their vehicles in the city centre and take the MyCiTi shuttle to the stadium.

 A dedicated E-Hailing drop-and-go area will be established in Parking P15 on Helen Suzman Boulevard.

Issued by: Media Office, City of Cape Town