Formula E descended on the land of the rising sun last week, as part of the Ecology Mobility Fair in the business district of Marunouchi, Tokyo. With its incredible Japanese architecture, fused with the beautiful greenery in the heart of the city, this could very well be a perfect location for a future ePrix...
The street demonstration was organised by the Schaeffler Group. They brought the Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport FE02 and their very own rising sun, Lucas di Grassi, to the streets of Tokyo to give the people of Japan a little taste of the electric street racing series. The event also marked Schaeffler’s 29th anniversary of being in Japan.
The day started off with the unveiling of the Abt FE02, in front of an eager and excited Japanese crowd outside the Marunouchi Building for the EcoMo fair. The car was quickly surrounded by fans, media and every passer-by who couldn't resist a glimpse of the red, yellow and Schaeffler green machine on day where the skies were grey.
The organisers put on a whole host of events making it a real family day out. On one part of Naka-Dori street, you had young kids driving around a short circuit in electric go-karts, family members of all ages queuing up to play on a slot car track and the flocks of people trying to get a selfie with di Grassi and his Abt FE02.
The demonstration took place on a quarter-mile stretch of Naka-Dori street. Before Lucas was strapped into the car, he took to the microphone and spoke to the hundreds of people who lined the street and introduced himself, with his rather impressive Japanese. Di Grassi expressed his hope that this demonstration on the streets of Tokyo, would be a big step towards a Japanese ePrix in the near future.
Then the time came for Lucas to put his visor down and showcase Formula E to the incredibly enthusiastic crowd, on what was a very cold November morning. Lucas brought his phone on-board with him to capture his point of view and the awesome response from the fans, who were within touching distance of the Abt FE02. Lucas put on a great show as he went from burnouts to flat-out driving. After three laps of Naka-Dori Street, Lucas brought the car back and then made a bow to the crowd.
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The Abt Schaeffler mechanics put the car back on stand, where people of all ages just couldn’t resist a gawk. For the evening demonstration, illuminated under the festive lights in Marunouchi, Lucas entertained an even larger crowd. As he lit-up his rear tyres, he disappeared into the darkness, leaving a trail of tyre smoke in his wake. An interesting fact, the lights on the Naka-Dori street are illuminated by over one million LED bulbs
Ex-Formula E driver Sakon Yamamoto, was in attendance to catch up with Lucas and watch his electric machine roar into life.
As the number one Abt mechanic waved the chequered flag, the crowd cheered at the awesome spectacle of watching the all-electric racer in action and it proved to be a fantastic day for all.
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