The Sanya ePrix was an

automobile race Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organis ...

of the

Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, w ...

championship in

Sanya Sanya (; also spelled Samah) is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China. According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, li ...

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...

. Its first and only appearance on the Formula E calendar was in the 2018–19 season.

Background

Jean-Éric Vergne at 2018 Berlin ePrix podium

China had hosted two

ePrix Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, wh ...

before on the Beijing Olympic Green Circuit, located in the grounds of the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

used initially for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The two races took place in 2014 and 2015. In July 2018 it was announced that Formula E would return to China for the 2018–19 season, now in Sanya. The first race took place on 23 March 2019, as Race 6 of the calendar. The inaugural event was won by

Jean-Éric Vergne Jean-Éric Vergne (born 25 April 1990), also known as JEV, is a French racing driver who competes in the FIA Formula E Championship with Dragon Racing. He became the 2017–18 ABB Formula E Champion, after clinching fifth in the New York ePrix ...

driving for

DS Techeetah DS Techeetah (, ) is a Sino- French motor racing team under ownership of SECA - China Media Capital that competes in the electric racing series, Formula E. Formula E Team Aguri principal Aguri Suzuki announced he would leave the team in April 2 ...

. The race was not without incidents, with an early crash causing

Stoffel Vandoorne Stoffel Vandoorne (born 26 March 1992) is a Belgian professional racing driver who is currently racing for Dragon Racing in Formula E. He had previously competed in Formula One for McLaren from 2016 to 2018. He is currently a test driver of ...

and

Sam Bird Sam Jamie Bird (born 9 January 1987) is a British professional racing driver who currently drives for Jaguar TCS Racing in the FIA Formula E World Championship. Career Formula BMW Bird made his name in single seater racing in the Formula ...

to retire, before finishing the race under a yellow flag due an incident involving

Robin Frijns Robin Frijns (born 7 August 1991) is a Dutch motor racing driver. He is the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion, and the first driver to have won the series in his debut season since Robert Kubica in 2005. Frijns is currently competing in F ...

Lucas Di Grassi Lucas Tucci di Grassi (born 11 August 1984) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competes in the FIA Formula E World Championship for Mahindra Racing. He became the FIA Formula E Champion in 2016–2017, achieved three overall podi ...

and Sebastien Buemi. The Sanya ePrix was on the Formula E schedule for March 2020, but was cancelled due to the

Covid-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

pandemic. The race was due to return in March 2021, but it did not materialise and again for March 2023, however it is now likely to be postponed until 2024.

Circuit

The Sanya ePrix is hosted on the

Haitang Bay Circuit The Haitang Bay Circuit is a street circuit located in the Haitang Bay area of Sanya, in the Chinese island of Hainan. It is used for the Sanya ePrix of the single-seater, electrically powered Formula E championship. It was first used on 23 Marc ...

which located from the city. It is a temporary

street circuit A street circuit is a motorsport racing circuit composed of temporarily closed-off public roads of a city, town or village, used in motor races. Airport runways and taxiways are also sometimes part of street circuits. Facilities such as the ...

with 11 corners. The circuit runs anticlockwise. The circuit featured a number of tight 90° and 180° turns, whilst also enjoying two long straights that passed over two bridges. The pitlane exited between turns 2 and 3, and the "Attack Mode" boost was located on the outside of Turn 3's exit. The pit and paddock is a temporary construction in a car park. Before the circuit hosted the 2019 Sanya ePrix, it was treated with a resin to ensure it did not break up.

Results

References

{{motorsport-stub Formula E ePrix Motorsport competitions in China Sport in Sanya Recurring sporting events established in 2019