Rejoignez Qatar 365 pour quelques tours à grande vitesse sur circuit et des sensations fortes sur l'eau. Découvrez les coulisses du premier championnat du monde de bateaux à moteur entièrement électriques, l'E1, et de la prestigieuse course longue distance, le Championnat du monde d'endurance FIA.
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00:00Bonjour et bienvenue à Qatar 365 avec moi, Laila Humayra.
00:28On this episode, we get our hearts pumping for a thrilling look at motorsports in Qatar,
00:34from hypercars on the track to electric boats on the water.
00:38But first, we're here at Doha's Pearl District,
00:41where Ioana Hu's goes behind the scenes at the E1 Doha Grand Prix
00:45to discover how a pioneering electric powerboat championship
00:49is hoping to revolutionise motor water sports racing.
00:53There's a new racing championship in town,
00:59and it's as spectacular as it is sustainable.
01:02The world's first electric race boat championship, the E1 series,
01:05has docked on the Pearl Island for the Visit Qatar Doha Grand Prix,
01:09and Team Alula is ready to make some waves.
01:13E1 is a brand-new electric motorsport,
01:16and it's helping drive sustainable marine mobility
01:18whilst kind of pushing the boundaries of electric motorsport.
01:22And it's super exciting because these are the first kind of foiling boats of their type,
01:26electric foiling boats.
01:27So, yeah, we're really pushing the boundaries in a lot of different ways.
01:30What's really interesting about it is it's brought this mix of people together,
01:35from powerboating, from sailing, from Formula One, from Formula E,
01:39into this unique championship.
01:40And we're all trying to figure out what's the best way to make these race birds fly,
01:46to go as fast as possible.
01:48Owned by NBA legend LeBron James,
01:51Team Alula are the new kids on the block,
01:53the latest to join E1's star-studded paddock
01:55of teams with A-list owners like Tom Brady, Will Smith, and Rafael Nadal.
02:01This is Team Alula's first season,
02:03and the Doha GP is only its second-ever race.
02:06But the other eight teams don't have too much of a head start,
02:08as the E1 World Championship only launched last year.
02:12So everyone is still perfecting their racing strategies
02:14and figuring out how to optimize their battery-powered boats.
02:19Everybody is still learning a lot,
02:21but the progress from, of course, the first race in season one
02:25to here now in our second race of season two,
02:27there's a lot of changes,
02:29and everybody is really picking it up in a hurry.
02:32But I think we've got such a good team
02:33that everybody is putting everything together perfectly,
02:35and it's going quite well.
02:37We're going to be ones to watch, for sure.
02:39Unlike other racing championships, like Formula One,
02:42E1 teams currently don't design their own boats or batteries.
02:45Rather, they all race in this same design, the race bird,
02:48inspired by birds in so-called glide mode
02:51when they fly really close above the surface of the water.
02:54And that position is the sweet spot that all teams are aiming for.
02:57They just all have their own thoughts and secrets
03:00on how best to achieve it.
03:01This foil is kind of what it's all about, isn't it?
03:05It is, yeah.
03:06It all centers around this.
03:09So it essentially, if you imagine it like an airplane wing,
03:12so although it's emerged in water, it's the same principle.
03:15So as the boat gets faster, you have an area of low pressure,
03:18and it lifts the boat water.
03:19So the faster you go, the more you'll lift up.
03:22And that's essentially how it works.
03:24The E1 isn't just about racing towards a sustainable future.
03:27It also champions gender equality for this generation and the next.
03:31I think the gender equality side is one of the biggest messages
03:34behind the championship.
03:35So each team has one male and one female driver.
03:38That's become normal to me,
03:39but in other racing series, it's not normal.
03:41And I think what we learned is that giving drivers,
03:44whether you're a female or a male,
03:46the same access to the testing, to the engineers, to the seat time,
03:49you see that the talent levels itself out
03:51between the males and the females quite equally in a sport like this.
03:54The weekend is coming to a close,
03:56and Team Alula didn't quite get the result it was hoping for,
03:59as Team Rafa delivered its first ever win.
04:02But with a packed race calendar scheduled throughout the year,
04:05there's no time to dwell,
04:07as they all push forward to be crowned E1's kings
04:09and queens of the waves.
04:14The E1 championship is the brainchild of CEO and co-founder Roddy Basso.
04:19I sat down with the Italian former aerospace and racing engineer
04:24to talk about his move away from traditional motorsport
04:27and his drive to launch a thrilling new racing sport
04:30that's both fast and friendly to the planet.
04:36Roddy, you worked on your thesis at NASA,
04:39and then went on to spend decades at the pinnacle of motorsport,
04:43the Formula One,
04:44and now your new venture is the E1.
04:46Can you tell us,
04:47how did that idea of an electric powerboat racing championship come about?
04:52I worked two decades into the combination of high technology applied to sport.
04:58and I passionately believe in this combination
05:02because through the sport you can test new technologies,
05:05new solutions,
05:06which in few years can be applied on commercial products.
05:11And I have the strong feeling and the certainty
05:14that this can impact billions of people in the future.
05:18And I'm sure E1 with this exclusive license for 25 years
05:23for World Electric Powerboat Championship given by the UIM,
05:28the Worldwide Federation of Powerboarding,
05:32has a great opportunity to accomplish this task.
05:35The races, the E1 races take place all around the world
05:39in iconic cities like Venice, Monaco, Miami.
05:43So how important are scenic backdrops like the Pearl here in Doha
05:48to the championship success?
05:50We don't want to be perceived like the one going only in nice places
05:55like for a touristic reason.
05:57So we are in Monaco,
05:58and Monaco is, you know, the capital of yachting,
06:01very interested in the future.
06:03We come in Doha where the yachting,
06:06I know that is coming very strongly,
06:08and there is a strategic vision to make the Qatar the place to be
06:14and the port to be.
06:16We need to be where there is interest in the future of water mobility,
06:19connection to the water.
06:21All the E1 teams are owned by celebrities
06:23in the sporting or entertainment world.
06:26So what does it mean,
06:27this backing from these famous people or celebrities?
06:31What does it mean for the sport in terms of popularity and growth?
06:34They are people that jumped on board to the project
06:38because they love the purpose,
06:42the impact that they can provide through it.
06:44And you know that we have launched this year
06:46the Blue Impact Championship,
06:47so they need to contribute to the ESG awareness and solution
06:51through their teams,
06:52and they will be put in competition.
06:54And they also are on board
06:56because they reckon this is a great business.
06:59And today I can tell you that the team license
07:03is the value is five times the initial value
07:07in the beginning of last year.
07:12From making waves in the water
07:14to revving up gears on the track,
07:17the FIA World Endurance Championship
07:18is back in Qatar for the second year in a row,
07:21opening its 13th season,
07:24a fitting start for what looks to be
07:25the most competitive year to date.
07:27While most people are more familiar
07:29with the Formula One format,
07:31the Endurance Series is a different beast altogether.
07:34And I'm here at the Lusail International Circuit
07:37to find out more.
07:41If Formula One is the 100-metre dash in athletics,
07:45the World Endurance Championship
07:46is a full marathon.
07:48Two classes of race cars,
07:5036 entries on the grid,
07:52108 drivers,
07:54and races that vary in duration
07:56from six hours to a whopping 24 hours.
08:01Drivers compete in either the LMGT3 class,
08:04which works more or less like a road car,
08:06or the hyper car,
08:08known for its sleek, aerodynamic build.
08:11The Qatar Curtain Racer is 335 laps
08:14and 10 hours of non-stop racing action.
08:17The teams have seven other races to compete in,
08:21with the climax undoubtedly being 24 hours
08:24at Le Mans in France,
08:25the longest race in the calendar.
08:27And that's why the World Endurance Championship
08:29is not only a test of innovation
08:31and engineering brilliance,
08:33it's also the embodiment of team spirit,
08:35determination, and strategy in motorsport.
08:39Someone who has won four times at Lusail Circuit,
08:42but in a different vehicle,
08:44is nine-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi.
08:48He switched from two wheels to four in 2022
08:51with Team WRT,
08:52and has quickly adjusted
08:54to an entirely new format of racing.
08:57The braking and the line are similar,
09:01but with the motorcycle,
09:02the limit is more physical
09:03because you have to move more on the bike.
09:06and with the car,
09:09you are on the seat.
09:10With the car,
09:11you have a lot more grip
09:12because you have four wheels.
09:13So in the corner,
09:15you can go faster.
09:16You can go,
09:17you can have a better speed.
09:19One of Rossi's teammates
09:20is Ahmad Al-Harty.
09:22Hailing from Oman,
09:23Ahmad is the only Arab driver
09:25in the endurance lineup this season,
09:27which he hopes will help build
09:29the region's interest in the sport.
09:30It means a lot.
09:32It's been a lot of hard work
09:33over the last 18 plus years
09:35doing so much
09:35in terms of trying to build myself,
09:38in terms of being a quick driver,
09:39hopefully, and a fast one.
09:41But more importantly,
09:42I really hope that this gives an opportunity
09:44for the younger drivers
09:45to really learn the right
09:48and correct path in motor sports.
09:50Ahmad gave me a tour
09:51around the team garage,
09:53and I had to ask him
09:54about the intensity of racing
09:56on the track for hours.
09:57It's never comfortable
09:58being in a race car,
09:59but it's as comfortable as possible.
10:01We're not in the car
10:02for more than,
10:04depending on the championship regulations,
10:07sometimes not exceeding
10:08two or three hours.
10:09So at least you get,
10:10it's a safety break
10:11where you have to come out,
10:12freshen up,
10:13do what you need to do,
10:15and come back in the car.
10:17On top of an already crowded grid,
10:19this year also sees
10:20the most number
10:21of major auto manufacturers
10:22looking to steal the crown
10:24from defending champs,
10:26Toyota Gazoo Racing.
10:28We won the manufacturer's title
10:29last year,
10:30which was a great achievement
10:31with all these manufacturers here.
10:33So, yeah, I mean,
10:33the aim is to at least keep that,
10:35which is not easy.
10:36We've seen many, many
10:37different challenges along the way,
10:39different technologies
10:40with the hybrid systems.
10:41It's made many manufacturers
10:42come back into the sport,
10:44and, yeah, we welcome it.
10:45It's very good for the work.
10:47Another initiative
10:48that's been good for the sport
10:50is the addition of the Iron Dames,
10:52the all-female team in the series.
10:55It's a very unique project
10:56that is supporting females
10:58in sports in general,
10:59and the idea from Deborah,
11:01who is the founder of the project,
11:03was that she wanted to show
11:05that females can compete
11:06on the same level as men,
11:08on the highest level of motorsport,
11:10endurance, sprint racing,
11:11single-seater, whatever,
11:13and I really believe
11:14that we have achieved that
11:15with the project,
11:16that we can compete
11:18on the highest level.
11:19With so much competition,
11:21innovation,
11:22and big names in the sport,
11:23it's clear that there's
11:25a lot more gas in the tank
11:26than there's ever been
11:27in the World Endurance Championship,
11:30giving motorsport fans
11:31excitement through every checkered flag.
11:37From racing on the water
11:38in electric powerboats
11:40to witnessing the sheer determination
11:42of endurance drivers
11:43and their hypercars,
11:44we hope you've enjoyed
11:45this thrilling episode.
11:47But that's all the time
11:48we have for now.
11:49For more, check out euronews.com
11:51and connect with us
11:51through our hashtag.
11:52Thanks for watching
11:53and we'll see you next time
11:55on Qatar 365.