ACE electric series aims to find a world champ on the cheap

ACE, a new electric junior single-seater series designed to slash costs in racing, has put out a talent call for drivers, engineers and other motor sport staff. The new category, which is scheduled to have its first race in August 2024, aims to run compressed three-month regional championships costing a quarter of the price of a Formula 3 campaign.

The project is the vision of former Mahindra Formula E team boss Dilbagh Gill who told Motor Sport that the new ACE championship aims to create an entirely new “pipeline of motor sport talent”.

To reduce budgets, the entire grid of all-new chassis will be owned by ACE and leased to the teams, with eight outfits from Formula E, WEC, Formula 2 and Formula 3 so far lined up to join.

The weekend’s running will be split between two classes running in separate races: Championship (with a power output of 250kW, equivalent to a Gen2 FE car) and Challenger (180kW).

Though set to support some Formula E races, ACE will not be joined to its big brother equivalent full-time, also running on permanent tracks such as Brands Hatch, Valencia and Portland.

If Gill’s project is a success, he hopes it will offer a far wider number of people “the chance to become a world champion”.