世界電動方程式錦標賽首站北京開賽

BEIJING — The world’s first fully electric motor racing series, featuring battery-powered racecars that can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in three seconds, opened here Saturday.

北京——世界上首屆全電動車賽系列週六在這裏舉行，以電池爲動力的參賽汽車可以在三秒內從靜止加速到每小時60英里。

Known as Formula E, this 10-stop international circuit is approved by the International Automobile Federation and aims to inspire developments in electric car technology and attract a new generation of fans.

被稱爲電動方程式(Formula E)的賽車錦標賽由國際汽車聯合會授權，旨在激勵發展電動車技術，吸引新一代的賽車迷，錦標賽分10站進行。

The inaugural race, the Beijing ePrix, was unexpectedly dramatic. A crash at the last turn of the final lap involving the leading cars allowed the Brazilian driver Lucas di Grassi of the Audi Sport ABT team to win.

北京站的揭幕賽出乎意料地充滿戲劇性。發生在最後一圈的撞車，讓奧迪ABT車隊的巴西車手盧卡斯·迪·格拉斯(Lucas di Grassi)獲得冠軍。

Nicolas Prost had long been in the lead when his car touched Nick Heidfeld’s. Heidfeld’s vehicle flew end over end and landed upside down in pieces. He emerged unscathed.

尼古拉斯·普羅斯特(Nicolas Prost)駕駛的車在與尼克·海德菲爾德(Nick Heidfeld)的車碰撞之前，曾一直領先。海德菲爾德的車飛了起來，然後翻轉了180度，頂朝下落在地面，車身破裂成衆多碎片。不過，他毫髮未損。

The Beijing ePrix took place in Olympic Park, site of the 2008 Olympics. The cars made 25 laps on the 3.44-kilometer course (about two miles), weaving between the Water Cube and Bird’s Nest.

電動方程式賽車錦標賽北京站在2008年的奧運會場奧林匹克公園舉行。賽程共25圈，全長3.44公里，賽道在鳥巢和水立方之間穿行。

Among the 75,000 people reportedly on site were a large number of local residents who were pleasantly surprised to find an international sporting event to attend as long as they paid the park entrance fee.

據報道，有75,000人到現場觀看，其中大多是當地居民，他們驚喜地發現，出席一個國際性的體育盛事只需他們支付公園門票。

The series was the brainchild of the federation’s president, Jean Todt, and a Spanish businessman, Alejandro Agag, who came up with the idea in 2011.

電動方程式賽車錦標賽是國際汽聯主席讓·託德(Jean Todt)和西班牙商人亞歷杭德羅·阿加格(Alejandro Agag)的主意，是2011年想出來的。

“We expect this championship to become the framework for research and development around the electric car, a key element for the future of our cities,” Agag told the event’s website.

阿加格對錦標賽網站表示，“我們希望這個賽事成爲電動車的研發框架，電動車是我們城市未來的關鍵之一。”

The championship has strong backing — it took $100 million to get the project off the ground — and a number of Formula One veterans like Jarno Trulli strapped into racecars. Sir Richard Branson, the four-time Formula One champion Alain Prost and the actor Leonardo DiCaprio are among the team owners.

錦標賽有堅強的後盾——光籌備工作就花了1億美元，還吸引了幾位一級方程式賽車的老手參加，比如賈爾諾·特魯利(Jarno Trulli)。理查德·布蘭森爵士(Sir Richard Branson)、曾4次獲得一級方程式賽車冠軍的阿蘭·普羅斯特(Alain Prost)，以及演員萊昂納多·迪卡普里奧(Leonardo DiCaprio)擁有的車隊參加了比賽。

Unlike other racing series, Formula E schedules practice rounds, qualifying and races into a single day’s program instead of three, making it less disruptive to the host cities where the street circuits have been built.

與其他的車賽系列不同，電動方程式賽車把練習、預選和比賽都安排在同一天，而不是分爲三天，這給需要在街道上修建賽道的舉辦城市帶來更小的干擾。

To engage spectators, a gimmick called the FanBoost allows fans to vote for their favorite drivers; the top three get a chance to bump their car’s power for two and a half seconds.

爲了吸引觀衆，主辦方搞了一個名爲FanBoost的花招，讓車迷投票選出他們最喜愛的車手，獲選的前三名車手可加大他們汽車的馬力2秒半鍾。

“We have 1.4 billion people,” said Steven Lu, chief executive of the China Racing team. “If even .0001 percent of them vote, that’d be enough to win.”

中國賽車隊經理呂洋(Steven Lu)說，“我國有14億人口。即使只有十萬分之一的人投票，就足夠能贏。”

The fan favorites proved to be di Grassi, Bruno Senna and Katherine Legge, one of two women in the 20-car race.

賽車迷們最終選出的車手是迪·格拉斯、布魯諾·塞納(Bruno Senna)，以及凱瑟琳·萊格(Katherine Legge)，她是參賽的20名車手中的兩名女性之一。

For the series, Michelin designed an 18-inch all-weather tire intended to last an entire race. Each Formula One car receives 52 tires per race weekend; Formula E cars receive 10.

米其林爲這個車賽系列設計了一種18英寸的全天候輪胎，輪胎能持續整個賽程。一級方程式參賽車一個週末可能需要52個輪胎，而電動方程式賽車只需要10個。

All drivers drove a version of the Spark-Renault SRT_01E, equipped with a battery weighing nearly 800 pounds. It has enough power for 20 to 30 minutes of hard racing, so drivers switched cars midway through, substituting the poetry of Formula One pit stop tire changes for a hop into another vehicle.

所有車手開的都是斯帕克-雷諾(Spark-Renault)SRT_01E型車，其上的電池重200公斤，可供20到30分鐘的全力比賽，所以車手需要在半程時換車，把一級方程式停站換車胎的表演變成車手跳進另一輛車。

Ho-Pin Tung, a Dutch driver of Chinese descent on the China Racing team, said that the best drivers in this series would be those who mastered the ability to manage the battery’s energy.

中國賽車隊的荷蘭籍華裔車手董荷斌(Ho-Pin Tung)說，這個系列車賽的最佳車手將是那些能完好地掌握電池能量使用的人。

“In race mode, we will be playing around with the power all the time,” he said. “We have six different engine mappings on the steering wheel, which we have to adjust while driving.”

他說，“在比賽狀態，我們需要隨時調整動力。我們的方向盤上有6種不同的引擎映像，開車時需要對其作出調整。”

The local fans were disappointed by China Racing’s finish, as Tung placed placing 16th and his teammate Nelson Piquet Jr. placed eighth. What caught Tung by surprise the first time he drove the SRT_01E was the sound of the wind in his helmet.

當地的賽車迷們對中國賽車隊獲得的結果頗爲失望，董荷斌名列第16，他的隊友小納爾遜·皮奎特(Nelson Piquet Jr.)名列第8。董荷斌第一次駕駛SRT_01E時，令他吃驚的是頭盔中風的聲音。

“It’s always there of course, but normally there’s a screaming loud engine behind you,” he said.

他說，“當然，風聲總是有的，但通常你還能聽到身後振耳欲聾的引擎聲。”

The electric car’s motor emits an 80-decibel whir, about the same as a garbage disposal, compared with Formula One cars that sound like jet engines.

電動車的發動機會發出80分貝的嗡嗡聲，相當於廚房下水管裝的廢物處理機的聲音，而一級方程式賽車的聽起來像是噴氣式飛機的發動機。

“I had no idea electric cars could be so fast,” said Wang Zhigang, 60, a Beijing native who had seen racing only on television. He added, however, that he would not buy one soon.

“我還真不知道電動車能這麼快，”60歲的北京當地人王志剛(音譯)說，他在電視上看到了車賽。不過，他補充說，他不會很快買電動車。

“The government gives subsidies for them,” he said, “but there are just too few charging stations. What would you do if you ran out of battery here?”

“政府給了它們補貼，”他說，“但是，充電站的太少了。如果電池沒電了，你怎麼辦？”

But China is seeking to put five million electric cars on the road by 2020 in an effort to cut pollution. Indeed, Lu, whose team played a crucial role in bringing the race to Beijing, said that the Chinese government was willing to host because it wanted to promote electric cars.

不過，作爲削減污染的努力，中國正在尋求到2020年讓500萬輛電動車上路。的確，呂洋說，中國政府願意爲這個錦標賽做東，是因爲政府想推廣電動汽車，呂洋的車隊在把電動方程式車賽帶到北京上起了關鍵作用。

Speaking of government officials, Lu said: “They said: ‘Wow, this is really new. It’s a golden opportunity. Let’s do that.’ ”

呂洋在提到政府官員時說，“他們說，‘哇，這東西真新。這是一次難得的機會。我們來幹。’”

Stops on the Formula E circuit include Miami and Long Beach, Calif. The final race is in London in June.

電動方程式賽車錦標賽站還包括美國的邁阿密和加州長灘。最後一站是明年6月在倫敦。

A few years ago, few believed this series could come to fruition. Standing on a hastily built viewing platform, Lu was optimistic, saying, “It’s real, it’s fast, and it’s the future.”

幾年前，很少有人相信這個車賽系列會成爲現實。站在一個倉促修建的觀衆臺上的呂洋非常樂觀，他說，“這是真的，電動車也很快，它是未來。”