July 1, 2015

VIRGIN RACING AND DS BRAND ANNOUNCE THEIR PARTNERSHIP IN FORMULA E CHAMPIONSHIP

The Virgin Racing Formula E Team and the DS Brand have announced a new partnership and the creation of the DS Virgin Racing Team for the 2015/16 Formula E Season, new championship featuring electric vehicles.

The new partnership will see the DS brand, through its Racing Operations the Motorsport division, bring its technological expertise in research and development of the race car, together with the design strategy of Virgin Racing Engineering, with the aim of delivering the infrastructure, racing experience and design and integration expertise to compete at the highest levels and to win Championships.

Virgin Racing Team Principal Alex Tai said about the partnership, “Our collaboration with the DS brand is not only a partnership between two amazing brands, but is a great opportunity to showcase our intent of winning FIA Formula E championships. In addition, it highlights our ambitions to be at the forefront of pioneering new technology in Formula E to aid the technology transition to road cars.”

Founder of Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson, added, “I’m absolutely delighted that Virgin Racing has found a partner of the calibre of the DS brand. In Season 1, Formula E has delivered on its vision of creating exciting, fan-friendly racing spectacles where almost any team can win; now I look forward to building on this in Season 2 and with our new partner DS, aiming to compete to win multiple Championships. I’m thrilled that Virgin Racing is playing a leading role in another of Formula E’s visions, that of attracting the large automotive OEMs into the sport in order that the technology that is developed flows down into the cars that we can all drive. I have no doubt the partnership will prove a great success, not only on track but also in providing a catalyst to develop the electric vehicles of the future.

Yves Bonnefont, CEO of the DS brand, mentioned, “The engagement of the DS brand in Formula E with our partner Virgin Racing is fully consistent with the Brand’s positioning. We fully share the values of Formula E: avant-garde technology and proximity to the public. The experiences that we will accumulate thanks to the races are key factors for us in the improvement of our technology directly serving our customers.”

Formula E is a new FIA championship featuring Formula cars powered exclusively by electric energy. It represents a vision for the future of the motor industry over the coming decades, serving as a framework for research and development around the electric vehicle, accelerating general interest in these cars and promoting sustainability. Operating as an ‘open championship’, the series gives car manufacturers and constructors the opportunity to showcase their electrical energy innovations in a racing environment, designing cars to the technical specifications set out by the FIA.