This Saturday, June 24, Formula E lands in the United States, where it will race for the sixth time in 9 seasons. Portland International Raceway will host the event for the first time after its passage through Brooklyn, New York.
Portland has a historic motorsports fan base that it hopes to add to with this innovative electric single-seater series. The permanent circuit is a familiar stop for U.S. motorsports series such as IndyCar, and the track has a history of great battles.
In 1997, the top-tier U.S. single-seater series saw the closest finish ever on a road course, with Mark Blundell beating Gil de Ferran and Raul Boesel by half a tenth of a second.
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Circuit History
The Raceway officially came into existence in the 1970s after several years in ruins. The track originated after a massive flood wiped out an entire town, leaving behind nothing but roads that could be used as a racetrack during Portland’s iconic Rose Festival.
The track became a home for professional motorsports in 1975 when the Trans-Am Series began, and in the decades that followed, IndyCar and the NASCAR Truck Series followed suit.
The track saw a significant slowdown in competition during the 2000s and 2010s, but is back on the scene as a coveted racing venue for IndyCar and the NASCAR Xfinity Series in recent years.
Now, Formula E is set to join the long line of prestigious series hitting the pavement at PIR, and make history as the first electric category to come to the region.
The track, one of the longest for Formula E consists of 3190km and 12 turns, so teams are predicting it will be fast and exciting heading into the remainder of the 2023 Championship.
Championship Standings
TAG Heuer Porsche‘s Pascal Wehrlein dominates the Championship, followed by Jake Dennis in the Avalanche Andretti Porsche 99X Electric GEN3 just one point off the top.
Long-time standings leader Wehrlein had lost the top spot in Monaco but struck an authoritative blow with a controlled victory in Round 10, taking home nearest rival Dennis.
That was an important result for the young German. Since his previous win in Diriyah, he had failed to reach the podium while Nick Cassidy hit a rich run of form, finally overtaking the German in the standings with his win in Monaco.
