Jakarta was chosen as one of the hosts of the Formula E electric car racing tournament in 2020. Formula E Chief Championship Officer Alberto Longo said, Jakarta was chosen because it had a common vision with its institutions in the environmental field, one of which was to overcome air pollution in urban areas.
“The reason for making Jakarta (as the host) is because we share the same vision. The vision is that we need to take care of our planet and protect ourselves as people who live in big cities,” Longo said at the Jakarta E-Prix 2020 press conference in the Monas area , Central Jakarta, Friday (9/20/2019).
Longo said, one solution to overcome air pollution is to adopt electric vehicles. The Formula E tournament is a platform to transport electrification.
“Formula E is a weapon against climate change and pollution in cities,” he said. Formula E racing, said Longo, is only competed in the heart of the biggest big city in the world.
For information, the Formula E event for the 2019-2020 season only leaves one empty slot for December 14, 2019. A number of 11 cities have entered the calendar, namely Ad Diriyah (Saudi Arabia), Santiago (Chile), Mexico City (Mexico), Hong Kong , Sanya (China), Rome (Italy), Paris (France), Seoul (South Korea), Berlin (Germany), New York (United States), and London (United Kingdom).
Quoted from Deutsche Welle, now many cities in the world are scrambling to become Formula E organizers, such as Munich, Vienna, Shanghai and Marrakech.
The cities hosting the Formula E tournament include New York, Mexico, Rome, Paris and Hong Kong. “And Jakarta is now on a very special list,” Longo said.
The electric car racing event is planned to be held in the Monas area, Central Jakarta, on June 6, 2020. However, details of the race route have not yet been decided. Nonetheless, it is likely that there will be road closures for a week.
For details of the circuit, Anies said it would announce it after the preparation had been completed. “The picture will be announced at the same time whether there will be a road closure or not. Because from the calculations, God willing, will not disturb the traffic too much,” said Anies.
Formula E is known as an electric car racing event that uses urban highways as a racecourse.
