Zurich, the financial heart of Switzerland, may soon become one of the host cities for the fledgling Formula E racing-car championship. Bank Julius Baer, which sponsors the series for electric cars, is determined to make its home town a new hub for the sport.
The championship for electric motor cars is in its third season and public interest in the events is growing quickly. Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi (pictured below), the defending champion, is again in the lead after winning the first two races in Hong Kong and Marrakesh for his renault e-dams team.
Switzerland hasn't yet hosted a Formula E race despite interest from the Italian-speaking city of Lugano. The prospective organizers of the race last year failed with their bid because they weren’t able to produce the 10 million euros required to get the event.
Zurich in Pole Position
Julius Baer is the main sponsor of the racing series and harbors strong hopes to lure the sleek super-cars to Zurich, where the bank has its headquarters. «We believe that the Swiss confederation remains one of the most innovative economies in the world, and is an ideal setting for a high-level event like an ePrix,» said Marco Parroni, head of global sponsoring at Julius Baer, in an interview with «Motorsport.com».
Switzerland hasn’t hosted a major motor sports race sine 1954, a sport that has been deemed risky and a source of pollution. The country’s parliament in 2015 passed a motion allowing such events to take place again under certain conditions.
Prominent Supporters
Julius Baer, which is said to own about 4 percent of the racing-car series, will definitely support a Zurich ePrix, Parroni said. The ePrix would preferably be set along the shore of Lake Zurich, with the start and finishing line at Enge.
Zurich has been governed by a left-leaning coalition for decades and has promoted the construction of cycling lanes, while reducing the number of parking for cars.
Boris Collardi, the chief executive officer of Julius Baer, is a prominent supporter of the electric-car-racing formula, being a member of the sustainability committee of Formula E. The president of the committee is Leonardo Di Caprio. Jean Claude Biver, the head of LVMH, owners of watchmaker TAG Heuer, also sits on the committee. TAG Heuer is a sponsor of Formula E.
Sponsors of Hong Kong ePrix
Julius Baer was a prominent backer of the Hong Kong ePrix. The city is an important market for the private bank and hosted its second Formula E race in October. The race organizers will present the future host cities in June 2017. The Zurich bid currently is being evaluated at the operations center of Formula E in London.
