Envision Virgin Racing Formula E team have today unveiled their 2019/2020 ABB FIA Formula E Championship challenger – the Audi e-tron FE06 – alongside renewed driver pairing of Sam Bird and Robin Frijns ahead of official pre-season testing in Valencia.
The fully-electric single-seater features a refreshed livery in the team’s iconic purple, silver and red colour scheme, with subtle tweaks throughout. As one of the championship’s most successful teams since its inception in 2014, Envision Virgin Racing will continue to race with the Audi Sport technical package in season six following an encouraging first season with the partnership in which the team scored an impressive three race wins and six podiums finishes, as well as being the only team to have recorded victories with both drivers.
With its seasoned driver pairing of Briton Sam Bird and Dutchman Robin Frijns confirmed for a second season, the team will capitalise on the wealth of experience gained from the consistency across the technical package and driver line-up. The drivers, who will appear in new-look race suits for the first time, will head to their first official test of the season in Valencia between 15th-18th October.
Envision Group’s Franz Jung and Chairman of the Board of Envision Virgin Racing, who will be on site with the team in Valencia, said: “The team really solidified its technical prowess with third place in the teams’ championship in season five and gained a large wealth of experience in the new era of Formula E. The Envision Group and I have been extremely impressed by the progress made by the team since becoming majority owner, especially with the limited testing that an independent team has and are excited to see what our second year together has to offer. It shows the commitment that every member of the team has given, and continues to give, as the championship grows. We are confident that we will continue to be even more competitive in the upcoming season.”
Sylvain Filippi, Envision Virgin Racing’s Managing Director, said: “Formula E has become the most competitive championship in the world and with new manufacturers joining – alongside those we were competing against in season five – having consistency is key for the team. Retaining our strong driver line-up has allowed us to focus all our efforts on the upcoming season and to really utilise our knowledge and experience. Having concluded an extremely successful first full season with Envision Group, we’re now looking ahead to the upcoming seasons where we can develop our team experience, both as a team and with our partners.”
Sam Bird said: “I’m excited for season six, as a team we really showed that our experience in Formula E is a huge strength last season and with a top three finish I think we can continue to use this and push forward. It’s great to have Robin back with the team for a second season and in our new-look race suits I think we look great. The team, and our partners, have worked incredibly hard over the summer and are ready to head to Valencia for pre-season testing.”
Teammate Robin Frijns added: “It’s great to be continuing with the team for a second season of Formula E. Season five was a real learning curve, as it was for all drivers with the introduction of the Gen2 car, so I’m excited to see what this new season has to offer. We ended last season on a high – with my season finale win in New York City – and we want to continue this momentum. We’ve worked hard over the summer period and are now looking forward to pre-season testing in Valencia.”
Three days of collective testing take place at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit, beginning on Tuesday 15th October, through to Friday 18th, with a one-day break on the Thursday. Each day of testing will be split into two sessions, with cars running between 9am-12pm in the morning session and 2-5pm in the afternoon.
2019/20 ABB FIA Formula E Championship – Calendar
1/2 Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, November 22 & 23, 2019
3 Santiago*, Chile, January 18, 2020
4 Mexico City*, Mexico, February 15, 2020
5 Marrakesh, Morocco, February 29, 2020
6 Sanya, China, March 21, 2020
7 Rome, Italy, April 4, 2020
8 Paris, France, April 18, 2020
9 Seoul*, South Korea, May 3, 2020
10 Jakarta*, Indonesia, June 6, 2020
11 Berlin, Germany, June 21, 2020
12 New York City, USA, July 11, 2020
13/14 London*, UK, July 25 & 26, 2020
*Subject to FIA circuit homologation
