Think you know Formula E? Prove it. With just days to go until all 22 Gen2 cars and drivers are let loose on the streets of Bern, here's 10 things you probably didn't know about Formula E's second race in Switzerland.
10. Small but powerful
While Bern is only the country’s fifth largest city, with a population of around 134,000, it's official title is Bundesstadt, meaning Federal City. Switzerland technically has no capital but, since 1848, Bern has been the seat of the Federal Parliament and government so is the country's de facto capital.
9. Think Swiss
Outside of Politics, Bern is known as being home to the famous, distinctive brand of chocolate, Toblerone. As if that wasn't enough, the city conjures prides itself on a relaxed lifestyle, with its population enjoying an environment consisting of a world-class public transport system and a Unesco-listed old town.
8. Small city life
Bern consistently ranks amongst the top cities to live worldwide for quality of life and safety. Full of history and culture, it has countless museums and galleries and the iconic red roofs of Bern can be seen from the surrounding hills.
7. The City of Bears
The city of Bern has had a close relationship with the bear since its foundation. According to legend, the city owes its name to the bear, which now appears on flags, fountains, and buildings, and can even be visited in the city’s tourist attraction, the Baerengraben (Bern’s public Bear Park). The bear has featured on the city seal and coat of arms since at least the 1220s.
6. Second Straight Season
Formula E returns to Switzerland for the second consecutive season after the success of last year’s event in Zurich. With hundreds of thousands attending the race in Zurich, the showdown in Bern is expected to be just as popular.
5. Motorsport memories
Despite the ABB FIA Formula E Championship's arrival in Switzerland last year marking the end of more than a 60 year hiatus from motorsport in the country, Bern does have a history of racing.The city hosted the Swiss Grand Prix from 1933 to 1954 (Formula One, 1947 to 1954). Remembered for its historic Old Town, surrounded by the Aare River and overlooked by the spectacular Bernese Alps, the city now promises to deliver another exciting street racing experience on June 22.
4. Ups and downs
The Bern circuit - similar to the city - is characterised by strong elevation changes. With steep slopes and inclines never before seen in Formula E, the race promises to be both exciting and challenging as all 22 cars and drivers battle it out ahead of the final in New York City.
3. New circuit, new challenge
Measuring in at 2.750km, the 14-turn track starts on Laubeggstrasse, before the drivers race anti-clockwise past the idyllic Rosengarten park, down to the world-famous Baerengraben with a spectacular view on the river Aare and the World Unesco Heritage site of the old city centre of Bern. To finish up, the drivers race up the Grosser Muristalden in the direction of Schosshalde.
2. Local heroes
Two drivers will be racing on home soil on 22 June, the 2015/16 Season champion, Sebastien Buemi, with Nissan e.dams, and Edoardo Mortara, who is enjoying his second season in the all-electric series with Venturi.
1. Looking ahead
Another Swiss driver will be rejoining the series next season, after a couple of outings with Dragon in Hong Kong at the start of the last campaign. Le Mans 24 Hours winner Neel Jani has been named as Porsche's first signing for its Formula E works team. The Swiss driver will return to the series in the first race of the 2019/20 Season in Saudi Arabia.