ENGINEERING OUTCOMES

The ERA championship is not only about developing drivers in electric motorsport nor even only developing electric technology. It also focuses on developing electric engineering talent.

And it has two specific schemes that underline the point. First it has the ERA Cup for those aged 14 to 18. For this you order an ERA base kit for a 100% electric car, then design and build the bodywork and race it at regional events for points.

“At the races they come and race in the paddock where the championship cars are driving and they can [think]

‘if I now go to university I can be involved with the championship car’,” Dieter Vanswijgenhoven says.

And this progression is aided by that ERA also offers for universities a three-stage concept competition, that can even be a precursor to racing in the Innovation Class for real.

“The first step is they develop something [a technical concept] on paper,” Vanswijgenhoven explains, “then they get the sub-chassis where everything has to fit into as a second step, they build a physical version of it. And then the third step is connecting that physical version to the rest of the car and go race. So that’s the stepping stones we give to universities to get into the Innovation Class.

“And then the next step for the young engineers [is thinking] ‘I’ve finished university now I can go to a professional team in ERA championship or maybe go and work for one of the Formula E teams, or go to work for BMW, Porsche or whatever automotive to go and develop whatever is on the road’. So [it’s] a career path for a 14-, 15-year -olds all the way up to having a career in motorsport or automotive that we’re trying to set out.”