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Breaking cover ahead of pre-season testing, Mahindra Racing's new challenger - the M5Electro - made its UK debut at CarFest South on Friday, August 24, with the team’s development driver, Sam Dejonghe behind the wheel.
The brainchild of BBC Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans, CarFest blends the boundaries of cars, food, live music and family entertainment to create a unique event, with proceeds going towards the BBC's Children in Need charity. Since the inaugural event in August 2012, a further eleven festivals have raised a total of £10.5 million for the charity so far.
Lining up in front of fan and families at the festival, Dejonghe took to the track twice a day to take the new M5Electro for its debut drive in the UK. “It has been a blast driving the M5Electro at CarFest today," said Dejonghe. "As a driver, it’s always great fun to do these kinds of events and see the reactions of both Formula E fans, and those who have never seen a Formula E car in person before. We hope that by the end of the weekend that there’ll be some more Formula E fans out there!”
With almost double the energy storage capacity and double the range of last season’s (Gen1) M4Electro, Mahindra's new challenger is a four-wheeled representation of the progress made in electric car technology in just four years. Season 5 of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship will be the first time in Formula E’s history that cars will be able to complete the full race distance without having to make a mandatory car swap.
“The whole team at Mahindra Racing have been working hard for many months developing the M5Electro, so it is exciting for us to have the opportunity to showcase what we have be working on (to date!) to the Great British public," said Dilbagh Gill, Mahindra Racing Team Principal.
"CarFest is also a great way to introduce the thrill and excitement of Formula E to new fans, and we hope everyone will enjoy seeing a Gen2 car run in the UK for the very first time.”
The Indian race team will continue to test the M5Electro in a series of private tests, before heading to Valencia on the 16th October for the four-day Teams Test. Click here to register to attend pre-season testing.
After finishing fourth in Season 4 of the series in New York City, Mahindra will be looking forward to the opening round of Season 5 in Saudi Arabia on the 15th December. Click here to see the full season calendar.