ERA Championship

ERA Championship
Series Information
Official Name	Electric Racing Academy Championship
Announced	31 March 2019
Based	Zonhoven, Belgium
Inaugural Season	2020
No. Races	0
Supports
Current Season
Drivers Champion
Teams Champion
Constructors
Manufacturers	{{{manufacturers}}}
Tyres	TBA

The ERA Championship, formally known as the Electric Racing Academy Championship, is set to be an all-electric single-seater racing series, designed to operate at a "junior" level to introduce young drivers to electric racing. Based around the Mitsu-Bachi F110e, an FIA Formula 4 homolgated chassis, ERA will feature a dual class structure, with teams able to either use the base chassis/powertrain, or develop their own powertrain to the technical rulebook.

Background

The Electric Racing Academy was first announced on 31 March 2019, having been formulated by Belgian racing group The Driving Force, known for their work running factory teams for BMW and Porsche in various GT Championships. The initial plan was to use a car constructed by Dome Co. Ltd., which would conform to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's Formula 4 spec rulebook, albeit with an electrical motor, rather than a internal combustion engine. Dieter Vanswijgenhoven would headline the project as the technical and business director for ERA, intending the series to focus on both younger drivers and to allow manufacturers to explore their own powertrain and battery development plans.

Vanswijgenhoven later confirmed that the series was planned to work as a feeder series for the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, although no formal ties existed as of January 2020.

History

ERA intended to host their first series in the Summer of 2020, intending to host eight races across four weekends in Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, with two test-events along the way. The series subsequently picked Circuit Park Zolder as the base for the series, with a roll-out for the first Mitsu-Bachi F110e chassis and powertrain combination staged on 20 January 2020. The roll-out proved to be a success, reportedly generating a large amount of interest from teams in Formula 2, Formula 3, GT Racing and beyond, with initial entry fees set at €100,000 for the "Sport" class, and €70,000 for the "Innovation" class.

Rules and Regulations=

The ERA Championship will use the Mitsu-Bachi F110e, constructed by Dome Co. Ltd. as a base chassis, which conforms to the FIA Formula 4 rulebook with a monocoque, crash boxes, collapsible steering column and anti-intrusion plates for safety reasons. Entrants will then have the option of using the spec-powertrain in the Sport class, or develop their own according to ERA's own rulebook, and hence enter the Innovation class.

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