Marrakesh, the Red City, is becoming a staple of the Formula E calendar. 2020 marks the fourth time that Formula E has come to Morocco and the race is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
Here are the key things you need to know ahead of the Marrakesh race.
Where is the race held?
The Marrakesh race is held at the Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan circuit in the Agdal district of the city. It’s one of the most energy-draining circuits on the calendar and features 12 turns and three straights. The track’s length is 2.971 km and the lap record is currently held by Audi’s Lucas di Grassi.
The track has not traditionally boded well for drivers who qualify on the front row of the grid. Drivers starting on the front row have never taken the win in Marrakesh. Maybe 2020 will be the turning point for pole-sitters!
Which drivers have strong track records in Marrakesh?
Mahindra have taken the win in the last two races with Jerome d’Ambrosio last year and Felix Rosenqvist in 2018. They’ll be hoping d’Ambrosio repeats his winning performance in 2020. His teammate for this year, Pascal Wehrlein, will undoubtedly hope for a better result than his DNF in last year’s race.
Sebastien Buemi rounds off the Marrakesh winners’ club. He took the top step of the podium in the first Marrakesh race back in the 2016/17 season for Renault e.dams. After a podium finish in Mexico City, Buemi is certainly one to watch in Marrakesh.
What happened in the last Marrakesh race?
As always with Formula E races, there was plenty of action in the 2019 Marrakesh E-Prix.
Jean-Eric Vergne spun on the first corner of the first lap after trying to take the lead from pole-sitter Sam Bird. Despite this putting him to the back of the grid, Vergne fought his way back to finish fifth.
BMW teammates Alexander Sims and da Costa collided in a battle for first place, putting da Costa out of the race.
The late safety car caused by the BMW collision led to a very tight finish. Jerome d’Ambrosio took the win for Mahindra, finishing just 0.143 seconds ahead of second-place man Robin Frijns.
Despite the spins and collisions, there were only 4 DNFs in the race.
When is the race? Where can I watch?
If you’re based in the UK, you can watch the race live on BBC iPlayer or Eurosport 2. Click here for ways to watch in other locations.
The race will start at 15:00 local time, which is 14:00 GMT.
We’ll also be running a live blog on Formula E Fanzone from 14:00 GMT.
