Valencia E-Prix

Valencia E-Prix
E-Prix Details
Name	DHL València E-Prix
Location	Cheste, Valencian Community, Spain
No. Held	2
Circuit	Circuit Ricardo Tormo
Previous Circuits
First Race	2021 Valencia E-Prix I
Last Race	2021 Valencia E-Prix II
Only Race
Most Recent Results
Name	2021 DHL Valencia E-Prix II
Pole	Jake Dennis 1:28.548
First	Second	Third
Jake Dennis	André Lotterer	Alex Lynn
Fastest lap	Alex Lynn 1:30.263

The Valencia E-Prix is a major motorsport event, which was staged for the first time on 24 April 2021 as the fifth round of the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. A late addition to the calendar amid the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic, the Valencia E-Prix would be the first E-Prix to be staged on a purpose built racing circuit, with the Circuit Ricardo Tormo hosting two E-Prix as part of the 2020/21 campaign.

City History

Valencia was originally founded as a Roman colony in 138 BC by consul Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus, with the settlement given the Latin name Valentia Edetanorum. The town would remain in Roman and later the Catholic Church's control until the Moors overran and occupied the area around the town in 714 AD. Their occupation led to Muslim customs and beliefs being introduced into Valencia, with the Cathedral of Saint Vincent notably converted into a mosque.

A Turbulent Territory

The famed Castilian nobleman Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, named El Cid would conquer the area of Valencia in 1092, and would hold Valencia as a fiefdom for five years before the Almoravids reclaimed the city for the Muslim population. Valencia would transfer between various Muslim powers until King James I of Aragon reclaimed the city for the Christian population in 1238, with Valencia becoming the capital of the titular Kingdom of Valencia as a result. 50,000 Moors were evicted as part of the Reconquista, before the population of the city was devastated by the Black Death in 1348.

After the Black Death and various riots, including the total destruction of the Jewish quarter of the city in 1391, Genoese traders began to fund development of Valencia, with silk in particular becoming a major commodity for Valencia. The slave trade would also serve to fund Valencia's expansion in the 1400s, which come the end of the century was the second largest city in the Iberian Peninsula after Lisbon.

The Revolt of the Brotherhoods would lead to a civil war in 1521-22, with Valencia particularly battered as the nobility challenged the crown. Pirates from North-Africa would also hit Valencia in the sixteenth century, before it reached its nadir during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1702-1709, which saw the Kingdom of Valencia dissolved. Regardless, after the war silk and tiles would help to fund the rebuilding of Valencia after centuries of turmoil, and would briefly become the capital of Spain in 1812 during the Peninsular War.

Modern Ideals

After Ferdinand VII claimed the Spanish thrown he initially chose Valencia as the base of his royal power, with his absolutist rule causing clashes in the city in the later years of his reign. After the turmoil was settled by the ascension of an adult Isabella II in 1843, Valencia received an economic boom with the introduction of oranges and vineyards to the area, while Valencian customs and language were allowed to flourish. The city would go on to survive the Glorious Revolution unharmed, only to greatly effected economically by the First World War, before becoming the capital of the Republican Spain during the Spanish Civil War.

The city was subsequently bombed heavily by fascist Italy and Francoist Spain until it surrendered in 1939, before riding out the Second World War courtesy of Franco's neutrality. After the war the city would slowly be updated, with new major infrastructure projects seeing what remained of the old city torn down in place of more modern architecture. In 2008 the city was picked to host Formula One and the European Grand Prix, which it hosted until 2012, while the nearby Circuit Ricardo Tormo has consistently hosted the Gran Premi de la Comunitat Valenciana de motociclisme for Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

Formula E History

Valencia's Circuit Ricardo Tormo had been selected as the main off-season test venue for the FIA Formula E Championship since the 2017/18 season, with the circuit hosting the annual pre-season test each year since 2017. During the 2019/20 season the Valencian circuit was lined-up as a back-up venue to host several rounds of the championship after the Covid-19 Pandemic ravaged the calendar, although the season would ultimately conclude in Berlin instead. However, after the Covid-19 Pandemic's effects continued to affect the 2020/21 calendar, Valencia was added to the calendar for the first time, with the series aiming to host the fourth round of the season at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

On 26 March 2021 the Valencia round was expanded to a double header, with the circuit layout revealed a few days later to both the teams and the media.

Records

A full list of records for the Valencia E-Prix are outlined below, including a list of race winners.

Winners

Below is a list of all of the winners of the Valencia E-Prix:

Valencia E-Prix Winners List
Season	Name	Circuit	Date	Winner	Report
2020/21	2021 DHL Valencia E-Prix I	Circuit Ricardo Tormo	24 April 2021	Nyck de Vries	Report
2020/21	2021 DHL Valencia E-Prix II	Circuit Ricardo Tormo	25 April 2021	Jake Dennis	Report

References

Images and Videos:

References: