The excitement just keeps on coming in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The new world champion for Season 10 of Formula E could be crowned as early as the Hankook Portland E-Prix, which takes place on the west coast of the USA from 28th to 30th June. Coming into the penultimate event of the season, the drivers best placed to clinch the title are championship leader Nick Cassidy (167 points/Jaguar TCS Racing) and his closest rivals Pascal Wehrlein (142 points/TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team), Mitch Evans (132 points/Jaguar TCS Racing) and Oliver Rowland (131 points/Nissan Formula E Team). The strength in depth throughout Formula E is reflected in the overall table: nine drivers still have a mathematical chance of winning the title going into the finale two double-headers of 2024.
Hosting races 13 and 14 of the current Formula E World Championship is the US city of Portland, which has a population of roughly 650,000. It is the largest city in the state of Oregon and lies on the banks of the river Columbia and the river Willamette, not far from the snow-capped peak of Mount Hood, which stands at 3,425 metres above sea level. The 22 drivers line up at “Portland International Raceway”, which is located roughly ten kilometres north of the city centre and has regularly been used by the IndyCar series in recent decades.
Hankook Director Motorsport Manfred Sandbichler: “The track surface at Portland International Raceway is very varied in places, meaning the grip levels are different. Concrete slabs have been laid before Turn 1, at the end of the start/finish straight, which the drivers approach at top speed. In contrast, the asphalt in the long right-hander after Turn 9 is badly eroded and slippery. If the drivers manage to keep our Hankook iON Race in the optimal working window, then our tyre will provide them with good performance and offer them maximum support on the track.”