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Electric GT: New motorsport series to feature Teslas, drift-offs and eSports

Story highlights
  • Electric GT unveils details of new motorsport championship
  • Electric Production Car Series will visit several top European circuits
  • Organizers vow to contribute to sustainable travel

(CNN) For the past four years, Formula E has dared to be different, forsaking petrol engines and taking motorsport to the people on street circuits.

Now there's a new electric racing series in town.

Details of the EGT Championship were unveiled Tuesday, with the inaugural season set to commence in the southern Spanish city of Jerez on November 3, 2018.

Ten teams of two cars will traverse several top European circuits in a specially modified Tesla S, from Britain's iconic Silvertone to the legendary Nürburgrin in Germany.

And organizers aren't afraid to buck the trend.

Each race weekend comprises a simultaneous electric karting series as well as an eSports competition.

A "drift off" will even take place at suitable circuits, where the top two finishers and two fan-voted drivers will undertake a series of drifting challenges in a bid to win three further Championship points.

Mark Gemmell, CEO of Electric GT Holdings, called it a "very exciting day" for everyone involved in the series.

"Without a doubt, we have secured some of the most exciting European tracks for our first season of the Electric Production Car Series and this gives us a great platform to further expand the championship," said Gemmell.

"We have received a great deal of interest from circuits around the world excited by the possibilities that electric racing brings. We've got lots more news to come very soon. I am stoked about the future, and we are all looking forward to bringing elbows-out electric racing action to fans around the world."

READ: The world's first electric Ferrari is even faster than the original

READ: Can motorsport still be exciting without human drivers?

'Something spectacular'

Each race weekend comprises a electric karting and eSports.

Six of the electric GT drivers involved so far for season one are women -- among them racing driver, broadcaster and journalist, Rebecca Jackson.

"I truly believe that Electric GT will offer fans a thrilling racing championship but I am also excited by how convincingly it will deliver its core messages of sustainability," said Jackson.

"I've driven the Electric GT car and I am impressed by its performance. I'm no stranger to all-electric road cars and this fully race-prepared machine is something spectacular to experience."

While the teams and full championship calendar are yet to be finalized, we do know that the first season will feature identical Tesla Model S P100D machines, running on Pirelli tires with Alcon brakes.

Rounds will consist of a 20-minute practice session, a one-hour qualifying heat , a day race and a dusk race.

READ: Is the Formula E Gen 2 the race car of the future?

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The FIA-sanctioned championship is zero-emission and, like Formula E, hopes to contribute to the future of sustainable technology.

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