Join Qatar 365 as they buckle up for some flying laps on the track and high-speed thrills on the water. The team goes behind the scenes at the world’s first all-electric powerboat championship, the E1, and hits the circuit at the pinnacle of long-distance racing, the FIA World Endurance Championship
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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
02:04everybody is still learning a lot but the progress from of course the first race in season one to here now in our second race of season two 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 their own
02:34everything together perfectly and it's going quite well we're going to be one to watch for sure unlike other racing championships like Formula One E1 teams currently don't design their own boats or batteries rather they all race in this same design the race bird inspired by birds in so-called glide mode when they fly really close above the surface of the water and that position is the sweet spot that all teams are aiming for they just all have their own thoughts and secrets on how best to achieve it
03:01this foil is kind of what it's all about isn't it it is yeah it all senses around this um so it essentially imagine it like an airplane wing um so although it's emerged in water it's the same principle so as the boat gets faster you have a area of low pressure and it lifts the boat water so the faster you go the more will lift up and uh that's essentially how it works
03:23The E1 isn't just about racing towards a sustainable future it also champions gender equality for this generation and the next
03:30I think the gender equality side is one of the biggest messages behind the championship so what each team has one male and one female driver that's become normal to me but in other racing series it's not normal and I think what we learned is that giving drivers whether you're a female or a male the same access to the testing to the engineers to the seat time you see that the talent levels itself out between the males and the females quite equally
03:53The weekend is coming to a close and team Alula didn't quite get the result it was hoping for as team Rafa delivered its first ever win but with a packed race calendar scheduled throughout the year there's no time to dwell as they all push forward to be crowned E1's kings and queens of the waves
04:11The E1 championship is the brainchild of CEO and co-founder Roddy Basso I sat down with the Italian former aerospace and racing engineer to talk about his move away from traditional motorsport and his drive to launch a thrilling new racing sport that's both fast and friendly to the planet
04:33Roddy you worked on your thesis at NASA and then went on to spend decades at the pinnacle of motorsport the Formula One and now your new venture is the E1 can 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 and I passionately believe in this combination because through the sport you can test new technologies new solution which in few years can be applied on commercial products and I have the strong feeling and the certainty that this can impact billions of people in the future and I'm sure E1 with this exclusive
05:21license for 25 years for 25 years for world electric powerboat championship given by the UIM the worldwide federation of motor of powerboarding has a great opportunity to accomplish this task the races the E1 races are take place all around the world in iconic cities like Venice Monaco Miami so how important are scenic backdrops like the pearl here in Doha to the championship success we don't want to be
05:51perceived like the one going to be perceived like the one going only in nice places like for a touristic reason so we are in Monaco and Monaco is you know the capital of yachting very interested in the future we come in Doha where the yachting I know that is coming very strongly and there is a strategic vision to make the Qatar the place to be and the port to be we need to be where there is interest in the future of water mobility connection to the water all the
06:21E1 teams are owned by celebrities in the sporting or entertainment world so what does it mean this backing from these famous people or celebrities what does it mean for the sport in terms of popularity and growth they are people that jumped on board to the project because they love the purpose the impact that they can provide through it and you know that we have launched this year the blue impact championship
06:51through their teams and they will be put in competition and they will be put in competition and they also are on board because they they reckon this is a great business and 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 the FIA World Endurance Championship is back in Qatar for the second year in a row opening its 13th season a 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 the Endurance Series is a different beast altogether and I'm here at the Lucille International Circuit to find out more
07:38if Formula One is the 100m dash in athletics the World Endurance Championship is a full marathon two classes of race cars 36 entries on the grid 108 drivers and races that vary in duration from 6 hours to a whopping 24 hours
07:59drivers compete in either the LMGT3 class which works more or less like a road car or the hyper car
08:08known for its sleek aerodynamic build the Qatar curtain raiser is 335 laps and 10 hours of non-stop racing action
08:18the teams have seven other races to compete in with the climax undoubtedly being 24 hours at Le Mans in France the longest race in the calendar and 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
08:40someone who has won four times at Lucille Circuit but in a different vehicle is nine-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi he switched from two wheels to four in 2022 with Team WRT and has quickly adjusted to an entirely new format of racing
08:56the braking the braking and the line are similar but you know with the motorcycle the limit is more physical because you have to move more on the bike and with the car you are on the seat with the car you have a lot more grip because you have four wheels so in the corner you can go faster you can go you can have a better speed
09:18One of Rossi's teammates is Ahmad Al-Harty hailing from Oman Ahmad is the only Arab driver in the endurance line-up this season which he hopes will help build the region's interest in the sport
09:30It means a lot it's been a lot it's been a lot of hard work over the last 18 plus years doing so much in terms of trying to build myself in terms of being a quick driver hopefully and a fast one but more importantly I really hope that this gives an opportunity for the younger drivers to really learn the right and correct path in motorsport
09:50Ahmad gave me a tour around the team garage and 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 we're not in the car for for more than depending on the championship regulations sometimes not exceeding two or three hours so at least you get you it's a safety brake we have to come out freshen up do what you need to do and you know come back in the car
10:17On top of an already crowded grid this year also sees the most number of major auto manufacturers looking 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 so 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 it's made many manufacturers come back into the sport and yeah we welcome it it's very good for the work
10:47Another initiative that's been good for the sport is the addition of the Iron Dames the all-female team in the series
10:55It's a very unique project that is supporting females in sports in general and the idea from Deborah who is the founder of the project was that she wanted to show that female can compete on the same level as men on the highest level of motorsport endurance sprint racing single-seater whatever and I really believe that we have achieved that with the project that we can compete on the highest level
11:19With so much competition innovation and big names in the sport it's clear that there's a lot more gas in the tank than there's ever been in the world endurance championship giving motorsport fans excitement through every checkered flag
11:37From racing on the water in electric power boats to witnessing the sheer determination of endurance drivers and their hyper cars we hope you've enjoyed this thrilling episode but that's all the time we have for now
11:48For 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