Buddh International Circuit sees Mahindra Racing in action
Mahindra is one of the few manufacturers to develop an all new electric powertrain for a racing series. The M2Electro was developed to Mahindra specifications with world leading manufacturers including McLaren and Hewland, and designed to compete in the second season of the Formula E championship. It showcases technology that will eventually find its way into new electric road cars and does 0-100 km/h in under 3 seconds.
Formula E cars represent the future of electric car technology with racing taking place on city streets on all-weather treaded tyres that are similar to the tyres on road car. The narrow, bumpy street tracks are a demanding test ground for racing, and the M2Electro has excelled with no mechanical failures in its first few races in season two of Formula E.
Piloted by former Formula 1 stars Bruno Senna and Nick Heidfeld, the M2Electro has scored the team’s maiden podium finish on its first outing in Beijing. Each driver races two Formula E cars during a race. During a mandatory pit stop about half way through the race, the driver pulls into the garage and swaps to a second car within a specified time.
The MGP30 Racing Motorcycle has a new engine, gearbox and aerodynamic packages with several refinements to the chassis and electrical components. All these offer greater performance in tune with a new double exhaust system developed by Arrow.
The new Mahindra MGP3O will be campaigned by factory entry Team Aspar with retained riders Pecco Bagnaia (19, ITA) and Jorge Martin (18, SPA). Three Mahindra customer teams will see six further MGP3O machines on the grid run by Team CIP, the Outox Reset Drink Team, and MTA Team Italia, all running two-rider outfits.
New to the Mahindra family in MotoGP is Peugeot Motocycles factory team, SP Racing. An impressive line-up of Frenchman Alexis Masbou (28) and Briton John McPhee (21) will contest the Moto3 World Championship on an MGP3O-derived Peugeot.