Leading IndyCar outfit Dragon Racing has today signed an agreement with series promoters Formula E Holdings to become the fourth team to enter the FIA Formula E Championship – the new fully-electric race series beginning in September 2014.
Dragon Racing is owned by media and publishing entrepreneur Jay Penske, with its headquarters based in Los Angeles – a city which has recently become the top market in the world for electric vehicles.
It now joins Andretti Autosport, Drayson Racing and China Racing as one of the 10 teams to be put forward to the FIA for final approval by its World Motor Sport Council.
“It’s an honour for Dragon Racing to have been selected as one of the founding teams in Formula E,” said Jay Penske, Owner and President of Dragon Racing. “Formula E symbolizes a vision for the future of motorsports and the automotive industry, while directly appealing to a new generation of global race fans. Formula E offers a tremendous opportunity for our many technology and media partners, and we look forward to its inevitable growth and ascendancy over the next decade.”
Dragon Racing first began in 2006 under the original banner of Luczo Dragon Racing founded by both Penske and Steve Luczo, Chairman and CEO of Seagate Technologies. In May 2007, they made their debut at the Indianapolis 500 finishing an impressive fifth with Ryan Briscoe. Two years later they completed their first full IndyCar season claiming Rookie of the Year with Raphael Matos. Currently Dragon Racing fields two cars in the IndyCar Series with drivers Sebastian Saavedra and four-time Champ Car World Series champion Sébastien Bourdais.
Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E Holdings, said: “We’re extremely happy to welcome Dragon Racing to the FIA Formula E Championship and are convinced that Jay Penske and the team will be a major contribution to our grid. Today’s announcement also brings an LA based team to the Championship. That has special significance as California has become the ‘land of electric cars’, an example that we want to spread to the rest of the world.
“With Dragon Racing lining up alongside fellow IndyCar giants Andretti Autosport, what’s apparent is the continued interest from the States Formula E is receiving from not only teams but also cities, with races taking place in Los Angeles and Miami. We still have more teams to announce over the coming weeks, with the full grid to be made public by the end of November.”
