Amongst some motorsport followers, Method E has been dismissed as insignificant. However possibly that’s lacking the purpose, for maybe it’s a championship that’s not likely meant for traditionalists, as a substitute belonging to future generations.
Method E CEO Jeff Dodds, who’s now 18 months into the position, is relaxed and fascinating as Autosport sits down for an interview. His workplace isn’t lined within the typical motorsport memorabilia, and within the nook of the room is a putter and a few stray golf balls.
We kick off by asking for his sincere evaluation of the championship after its first decade.
This author was on the inaugural London E-Prix, the ultimate two races of the 2014-15 season held in Battersea Park. The racing was dreadful; the TV protection was even worse (helicopter photographs have been obscured by all of the timber).
“I discuss there being three totally different time horizons for Method E,” says Dodds. “The primary being the plucky start-up section. Then you definitely’ve acquired this disruptive teenager section, after which hopefully we’ll go on and be a sort of maturing grownup.
“If you happen to return and have a look at the start-up section, very a lot promoting a dream. The yr it was shaped, there was solely 300,000 electrical autos offered worldwide. This yr, they’ll in all probability be 17-18million. So it was very a lot rising know-how. It was making an attempt to get organisations on board that believed in electrification, believed within the vitality transition, believed in sustainability.
Jeff Dodds has break up Method E’s life cycle into three totally different time horizons to stipulate its evolution
Picture by: Andreas Beil
“We’ve now moved into these curious teenage years the place the enterprise continues to develop actually quickly. We’re on a progress spurt. So virtually 400million followers, virtually half a billion TV attain, and the know-how isn’t corresponding to the place it was when it began.
“While you watched that race in Battersea the highest pace would have been 140mph, 0-60mph would have been three seconds, and the battery lasted half the race. Now it’s 200mph, the automobile that hits the monitor this yr can be 1.8s [for 0-60mph], so 30% quicker than
an F1 automobile accelerating, and the battery lasts for the complete race.
“When you concentrate on that leap in solely 10 years, it’s fairly unbelievable. So I might say my report card could be: nice begin to the time period, tough center interval punctuated by COVID. However momentum is actually sturdy, so issues look good for us.”
“If I speak to my youngsters – one in every of them is a giant motorsport fan – the fact is, they’ll in all probability by no means drive a automobile that’s not electrical” Jeff Dodds
Dodds makes a legitimate level concerning the technological adjustments on monitor, and there have been appreciable enhancements. However Autosport is struck by two issues. Firstly, the metrics he’s utilizing to measure the game’s recognition, for a TV attain of “half a billion” is sizeable and requires substantiating, plus a perception that the recognition of the sequence is linked with the worldwide buy of electrical autos. We first ask concerning the latter and whether or not Dodds believes there’s a correlation between the 2.
“Yeah, after all,” he says decisively. “Our progress has largely mirrored the expansion of electrical automobile take-up. Our relevance grows with electrical automobile take-up. So when you have been seeking to change automobiles and also you’re seeking to validate your choice to maneuver to an electrical automobile, you’d search for causes and once you begin wanting up electrical autos and understanding electrification, you clearly discover our race sequence, when you didn’t learn about it earlier than.
“If I speak to my youngsters – one in every of them is a giant motorsport fan – the fact is, they’ll in all probability by no means drive a automobile that’s not electrical. Whereas I’m of a era that’s grown up with V8s, V12s, V10s, the sound, and the scent of petrol; however possibly with the subsequent era, one thing else appeals. If I am going to see F1 or IndyCar, I just like the sound, however possibly I’m not the era that Method E is being constructed for. It’s motorsport for the subsequent era.”
By way of measuring progress, Dodds says he has “about 25 totally different metrics” to evaluate the enterprise, with the top-level ones designed for “noise metrics; are we getting noisy? Are extra individuals following us? Are extra individuals watching us?”
Method E races within the UK, however protection stays behind a paywall
Picture by: Andreas Beil
One factor is the significance of TV. Method E previously has chased free-to-air UK TV offers, however has struggled to take care of a wholesome relationship. The races have usually been bumped onto ‘purple button’ protection or just pulled for clashes with scheduling.
Now, although, Dodds is assured that an as-yet-to-be-announced partnership will result in larger publicity. “We added plenty of broadcast offers final yr,” he says. “So CCTV, the massive state broadcaster in China, Fuji TV in Japan, Sony TV in India; as you go all over the world, we’ve completed some actually huge media offers.
“The deal we did within the UK final yr was TNT Sport, and there’s plenty of positives to that. The published high quality was wonderful however, being behind a paywall, you scale back the publicity to the variety of individuals which might be going to observe it. So with out saying an excessive amount of, I feel we discovered a extremely, actually good win/win as we transfer into season 11 that can enable us to take care of the published high quality that you just get from being behind a paywall. However will even give us a route to reveal that product to much more individuals within the UK.”
For its eleventh season, the championship is hoping to introduce pitstop charging to boost the motion, which the cynics will little doubt label as a gimmick, however Method E isn’t going away. The naysayers might scoff, but when Dodds and his metrics are proper, then the subsequent decade may very well be extra vital to FE than its first.
Method E isn’t going away. After a profitable first decade, what does the longer term maintain?
Picture by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Pictures