Csatlakozzon a Qatar 365 stábjához, és tapasztalja meg az autó- és motorcsónakversenyek izgalmát.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00through the sport you can test new technologies new solution and I have the strong feeling and
00:08the certainty that this can impact billions of people in the future with the car you have a lot
00:14more grip because you have four wheels so in the corner you can go faster you can go you can have
00:20a better speed hello and welcome to Qatar 365 with me Laila Humaira on this episode we get
00:29our hearts pumping for a thrilling look at motorsports in Qatar from hypercars on the track
00:35to electric boats on the water but first we're here at Doha's Pearl District where Ioana Hoos goes
00:42behind the scenes at the E1 Doha Grand Prix to discover how a pioneering electric powerboat
00:48championship is hoping to revolutionize motor water sports racing there's a new racing championship in
00:59town and it's as spectacular as it is sustainable the world's first electric race boat championship
01:04the E1 series has docked on the Pearl Island for the visit Qatar Doha Grand Prix and team Alula is
01:10ready to make some waves E1 is a brand new electric motorsport and it's helping drive sustainable marine
01:18mobility whilst kind of pushing the boundaries of electric motorsport and it's super exciting
01:23because these are the first kind of foiling boats of their type electric foiling boats so yeah we're
01:28really pushing the boundaries in a lot of different ways what's really interesting about it is
01:32it's it's brought this mix of people together from power boating from sailing from Formula One from
01:38Formula E into this unique championship and we're all trying to figure out what's the best way to make
01:44these race birds fly to go as fast as possible owned by NBA legend LeBron James team Alula are the new kids on the block the latest to join E1 star studded paddock of teams with a list owners like Tom Brady
01:46Will Smith and Rafael Nadal this is team Alula's first season and the Doha GP is only its second ever race but the other eight teams don't have too much of a head start as the E1 World Championship only launched last year so everyone is still perfecting their racing strategies and figuring out how to go as fast as possible
02:04and how to optimize their battery powered boats everybody is still learning a lot but the progress from of course the first race in season 1 to here now in our second race of season 2 there's there's a lot of changes and everybody is really picking it up in a hurry but I think we got such a good team that everybody is putting in
02:09World Championship only launched last year.
02:12So everyone is still perfecting their racing strategies
02:15and figuring out how to optimize their battery powered boats.
02:19Everybody is still learning a lot,
02:21but the progress from, of course,
02:23the first race in season one to here now
02:26in our second race of season two,
02:27there's a lot of changes
02:29and everybody is really picking it up in a hurry.
02:32But I think we got such a good team
02:33that everybody is putting everything together perfectly
02:35and it's going quite well.
02:37We're going to be ones to watch for sure.
02:39Unlike other racing championships like Formula One,
02:42E1 teams currently don't design their own boats or batteries.
02:45Rather, they all race in this same design, the race bird,
02:48inspired by birds in so-called glide mode
02:51when they fly really close above the surface of the water.
02:54And that position is the sweet spot
02:56that all teams are aiming for.
02:57They just all have their own thoughts
02:59and secrets on how best to achieve it.
03:03This foil is kind of what it's all about, isn't it?
03:05It is, yeah, it all senses around this.
03:07So, it essentially, if you imagine it like an airplane wing,
03:12so although it's emerged in water, it's the same principle.
03:15So, as the boat gets faster, you have an area of low pressure
03:18and it lifts the boat water.
03:20So, the faster you go, the more will lift up
03:22and that's essentially how it works.
03:24The E1 isn't just about racing towards a sustainable future.
03:27It also champions gender equality for this generation and the next.
03:31I think the gender equality side is one of the biggest messages behind the championship.
03:35So, each team has one male and one female driver.
03:38That's become normal to me, but in other racing series, it's not normal.
03:41And I think what we learned is that giving drivers,
03:44whether you're a female or a male,
03:46the same access to the testing, to the engineers, to the seat time,
03:49you see that the talent levels itself out
03:51between the males and the females quite equally in a sport like this.
03:54The weekend is coming to a close and Team Alula didn't quite get the result it was hoping for,
03:59as Team Rafa delivered its first-ever win.
04:02But with a packed race calendar scheduled throughout the year,
04:05there's no time to dwell, as they all push forward to be crowned E1's kings and queens of the waves.
04:14The E1 Championship is the brainchild of CEO and co-founder Roddy Basso.
04:20I sat down with the Italian former aerospace and racing engineer
04:24to talk about his move away from traditional motorsport
04:27and his drive to launch a thrilling new racing sport that's both fast and friendly to the planet.
04:36Roddy, you worked on your thesis at NASA
04:39and then went on to spend decades at the pinnacle of motorsport, the Formula One.
04:44And now your new venture is the E1.
04:46Can you tell us, how did that idea of an electric powerboat racing championship come about?
04:52I worked two decades into the combination of high technology applied to sport.
04:58And I passionately believe in this combination
05:02because through the sport you can test new technologies, new solutions,
05:06which in few years can be applied on commercial products.
05:11And I have the strong feeling and the certainty that this can impact billions of people in the future.
05:18And I'm sure E1, with this exclusive license for 25 years for World Electric Powerboat Championship,
05:25given by the UIM, the Worldwide Federation of Powerboarding,
05:31has a great opportunity to accomplish this task.
05:35The races, the E1 races take place all around the world in iconic cities like Venice, Monaco, Miami.
05:43So how important are scenic backdrops like the Pearl here in Doha to the championship success?
05:50We don't want to be perceived like the one going only in nice places like for a touristic reason.
05:56So we are in Monaco and Monaco is, you know, the capital of yachting, very interested in the future.
06:03We come in Doha, where the yachting, I know that is coming very strongly
06:08and there is a strategic vision to make the Qatar the place to be and the port to be.
06:16We need to be where there is interest in the future of water mobility, connection to the water.
06:20All the E1 teams are owned by celebrities in the sporting or entertainment world.
06:25So what does it mean, this backing from these famous people or celebrities?
06:30What does it mean for the sport in terms of popularity and growth?
06:34They are people that jumped on board to the project because they love the purpose,
06:41the impact that they can provide through it.
06:44And you know that we have launched this year the Blue Impact Championship.
06:47So they need to contribute to the ESG awareness and solution through their teams
06:52and they will be put in competition and they also are on board because they reckon this is a great business.
06:59And today I can tell you that the team license is the value is five times the initial value in the beginning of last year.
07:09From making waves in the water to revving up gears on the track,
07:16the FIA World Endurance Championship is back in Qatar for the second year in a row, opening its 13th season,
07:23a fitting start for what looks to be the most competitive year to date.
07:27While most people are more familiar with the Formula One format,
07:30the Endurance Series is a different beast altogether.
07:34And I'm here at the Lucille International Circuit to find out more.
07:41If Formula One is the 100 metre dash in athletics,
07:44the World Endurance Championship is a full marathon.
07:48Two classes of race cars, 36 entries on the grid, 108 drivers,
07:54and races that vary in duration from six hours to a whopping 24 hours.
08:00Drivers compete in either the LMGT3 class, which works more or less like a road car,
08:06or the hyper car, known for its sleek, aerodynamic build.
08:10The Qatar Curtain Racer is 335 laps and 10 hours of non-stop racing action.
08:17The teams have seven other races to compete in with the climax undoubtedly being 24 hours at Le Mans in France,
08:25the longest race in the calendar.
08:27And that's why the World Endurance Championship is not only a test of innovation and engineering brilliance,
08:32it's also the embodiment of team spirit, determination and strategy in motorsport.
08:38Someone who has won four times at Lucille Circuit, but in a different vehicle,
08:43is nine-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi.
08:47He switched from two wheels to four in 2022 with Team WRT
08:51and has quickly adjusted to an entirely new format of racing.
08:56The braking and the line are similar.
09:00But you know, with the motorcycle, the limit is more physical because you have to move more on the bike.
09:06And with the car, you are on the seat.
09:10With the car, you have a lot more grip because you have four wheels.
09:13So in the corner, you can go faster.
09:16You can have a better speed.
09:18One of Rossi's teammates is Ahmad Alharti.
09:22Hailing from Oman, Ahmad is the only Arab driver in the endurance line-up this season,
09:27which he hopes will help build the region's interest in the sport.
09:31It means a lot.
09:32It's been a lot of hard work over the last 18-plus years doing so much in terms of trying to build myself,
09:37in terms of being a quick driver, hopefully, and a fast one.
09:40But more importantly, I really hope that this gives an opportunity for the younger drivers
09:46to really learn the right and correct path in motorsports.
09:50Ahmad gave me a tour around the team garage,
09:53and I had to ask him about the intensity of racing on the track for hours.
09:57It's never comfortable being in a race car, but it's as comfortable as possible.
10:01We're not in the car for more than, depending on the championship regulations,
10:06sometimes not exceeding two or three hours.
10:09So at least you get, it's a safety brake where you have to come out, freshen up,
10:13do what you need to do and, you know, come back in the car.
10:16On top of an already crowded grid, this year also sees the most number of major auto manufacturers
10:23looking to steal the crown from defending champs Toyota Gazoo Racing.
10:28We won the manufacturer's title last year, which was a great achievement with all these manufacturers here.
10:32So, yeah, I mean, the aim is to at least keep that, which is not easy.
10:36We've seen many, many different challenges along the way, different technologies with the hybrid systems.
10:41It's made many manufacturers come back into the sport and, yeah, we welcome it.
10:45It's very good for the work.
10:47Another initiative that's been good for the sport is the addition of the Iron Dames,
10:52the all-female team in the series.
10:55It's a very unique project that is supporting females in sports in general.
10:59And the idea from Deborah, who is the founder of the project,
11:03was that she wanted to show that females can compete on the same level as men,
11:08on the highest level of motorsport, endurance, sprint racing, single-seater, whatever.
11:12And I really believe that we have achieved that with the project,
11:16that we can compete on the highest level.
11:19With so much competition, innovation and big names in the sport,
11:23it's clear that there's a lot more gas in the tank than there's ever been in the World Endurance Championship,
11:29giving motorsport fans excitement through every checkered flag.
11:33From racing on the water in electric powerboats,
11:40to witnessing the sheer determination of endurance drivers and their hypercars,
11:44we hope you've enjoyed this thrilling episode.
11:47But that's all the time we have for now.
11:49For more, check out Euronews.com and connect with us through our hashtag.
11:52Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time on Qatar 365.