PURE ETCR racers prepare for Copenhagen street fight 06.08.2021: - Danish capital the next venue to host PURE ETCR in 2021 - Bellahøj Park the first street track to appear on series schedule - Swede Mattias Ekström to be challenged hard by rivals

- Danish capital the next venue to host PURE ETCR in 2021

- Bellahøj Park the first street track to appear on series schedule

- Swede Mattias Ekström to be challenged hard by rivals




The battle for the world’s first all-electric, multi-brand touring car title continues in Denmark this weekend as the city of Copenhagen plays host to PURE ETCR’s first-ever street fight with Race DK.



 Following third place at the season-opener and victory at MotorLand Aragón last time out, CUPRA X Zengo Motorsport’s Mattias Ekström leads the Drivers’ Standings with 146 points; 22 more than Hyundai Motorsport N’s Jean-Karl Vernay.



Ekström and team-mate Mikel Azcona were unbeaten across Rounds 1 and 2 at each of the first two events and have picked up one event victory apiece, while Vernay and his fellow Hyundai Veloster N ETCR driver Augusto Farfus have both had one runner-up spot.



Now the battle for supremacy moves onto the Bellahøj Park temporary circuit as the showpiece series of the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix - moving the event into new territory as the ultra-innovative series, complete with Starting Gates and the most powerful touring cars ever created, joins a host of classic racing cars to show the advances in technology and point towards motorsport’s cleaner future.



Copenhagen was the scene of the official launch of the 2021 season last October as Farfus drove his Hyundai racer through the city’s streets and finished his run inside the Energy Station, where he announced Hyundai’s participation in the series.



Copenhagen aims to become the world’s first net-carbon-neutral capital city by 2025 and currently has more electrified vehicles per head than almost any other city in the world. Denmark, as a whole, has targeted having 775,000 all-electric vehicles on the road by 2030.





Eng joins Romeo Ferraris-M1RA



One new driver joins the series in Denmark as Philipp Eng - winner of both the Spa and Daytona 24 Hours and a former Porsche Supercup Champion - joins Romeo Ferraris-M1RA in place of Stefano Coletti. Eng is the first Austrian to compete in PURE ETCR.



His arrival is sure to create further interest in the Italian team, who achieved their best overall result in Spain with Rodrigo Baptista third overall and Luca Filippi in contention to become King of the Weekend until a technical issue prevented him taking his place on the front row of DHL SuperFinal B.



The Giulia ETCRs will carry a special livery in tribute to the late Aldo Cerruti, an instrumental part of the team’s step into electric racing.



‘Ciao Baronio’ messages will be displayed on both cars, which will carry a ‘black eye’ to replicate the livery he carried on his way to winning the 2009 Italian GT title with the team.



With 11 drivers having already scored a Battle win across the opening two events, every indicator points towards Copenhagen being just as unmissable.





Click here for Drivers’ & Manufacturers’ standings






TRACK GUIDE - Copenhagen


The Bellahøj Park venue has hosted the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix since 2013, after the event’s original temporary track, Fælledparken - which circled the national government building once a year - was deemed unsuitable. Among the notable drivers who have tackled the track during various runnings of the CHGP are Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen, three-time FIA World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx, Formula 1 racers Jan Magnussen and Prince Joachim of Denmark.



Located 5km north-west of the central business district, Bellahøj has become an ultra-popular venue with drivers and fans and is set to provide a thrill a minute in what is set to be the 20th running of the CHGP. Due to the narrow circuit and lack of natural run-off areas at the exit of its corners, the Race Director has the authority to remove Power-Up or reduce constant power levels in the event of wet weather.





(IN CASE YOU MISSED IT) HOW IT WORKS - THE PURE ETCR FORMAT


There is no qualifying in PURE ETCR. Instead, a random draw - which fans can watch live on the series’ Facebook page and YouTube channel - will determine the rest of the weekend.



The Draw



Twelve drivers are randomly split into two Pools - A and B - with six drivers in each. Drivers in Pool A and Pool B will be kept separate from each other for the rest of the event. Each car will be shared between two drivers, meaning one of each pair will be placed in Pool A and the other in Pool B.



Each Pool is then randomly split into two groups of three cars each, with grid positions also determined at this stage. Once the groups are drawn, one driver per pool will be randomly selected to make the ‘Drivers’ Choice’, giving them the option to swap their grid position with a rival.


One team representative will then be randomly selected to win the ‘Golden Ticket’. This will give them the option to swap either one of their drivers’ grid positions or switch their designated pool with their co-driver.




In Denmark, The Draw takes place at 11h15 on Friday morning.



Round 1 (Saturday)

Two Battles per pool are held with three cars taking part in each. Battles last no more than 15 minutes. Typically 300kW constant power is available to each driver, plus a ‘Power-up’ boost of between 20 and 60 seconds (40s in Denmark), taking their car to the maximum 500kW. Power-up can be used as an overtaking aid.




Round 2 (Saturday)

Three Battles are held per pool, each comprising two cars. Round 1 winners face each other, second faces second and third faces third for a maximum of 12 minutes. Again, a typical scenario involves 300kW constant power is available plus 200kW ‘Power-up’.




Round 3 (Sunday)

A solo time trial with the maximum 500kW available for the duration. This will last one or two laps (one in Denmark), dependent on circuit length, with the fastest driver in each Pool qualifying on pole position for their DHL SuperFinal.



DHL SuperFinals (Sunday)

One per pool, with six cars per battle and every driver still in with a chance of becoming King or Queen of the Weekend. SuperFinals are up to 20 minutes duration and typically feature all cars on 300kW constant power with Power-up taking them to 500kW.




Points are awarded as follows:


Round 1: 15-10-4 for the first three finishers

Round 2: 12-6 for the first two finishers

Round 3: No points awarded

Round 4: 50-42-35-27-20-15 for the first six finishers



The driver with the highest score from the event is the King or Queen of the Weekend and also wins the TAG Heuer Most Valuable Driver Award. Points won on each day count towards each driver’s end-of-season championship score, so consistency is key.




TYRE TALK: Sebastian Trinks, Goodyear PURE ETCR Series Leader


“Copenhagen is the first street track for PURE ETCR. It’s totally new for the drivers, teams and us because you never have a chance to test on a temporary circuit. It’s quite an interesting layout with lots of 90-degree corners that will mean very hard braking.


The surface is very smooth and very low-grip, and with rain forecast it’s going to be a big challenge for the drivers and engineers. That low-grip surface means less friction between the track and the tyre, so that will generate more temperature on outer part of the tread block.


What you prefer is a high-grip surface so that the heat seeps into the whole tyre and helps increase the grip levels again. You get more debris off-line on a street track because there’s less wind in a built-up area to blow it away, and the close concrete barriers hold it in.


Plus, as we’re sharing the event with some older cars, we’d expect some fluids to be dropped and more crashes, so a bit of extra debris. That all plays its part in making it more slippery, so drivers may have to be a bit creative with overtaking.


The corners aren’t that fast, so there’ll be less load on the outside tyres, but as drivers get more used to the track, laptimes and corner speeds will increase and it will be interesting to see who adapts to this best.”







TIMETABLE (all times CET and subject to change)



Friday 6 August:

The Draw: 11h15-12h00

Free Practice 1: 17h30-18h00

Free Practice 2: 21h15-21h45




Saturday 19 June:

Round 1 (Pool A): 08h05-08h30

Round 1 (Pool B): 10h25-10h50

Round 2 (Pool A): 14h15-14h55

Round 2 (Pool B): 17h30-18h10




Sunday 20 June:

Round 3 (Pool A): 08h30-08h50

Round 3 (Pool B): 09h45-10h05

DHL SuperFinal (Pool A): 12h25-12h45

DHL SuperFinal (Pool B): 15h30-15h50






HOW TO WATCH



Friday - The Draw is live on the PURE ETCR Facebook page and Youtube channel.


Saturday - All the track action is live on the Eurosport Player and other OTT broadcasters and streamed via the PURE ETCR Facebook page and Youtube channel.


Sunday/Monday/Tuesday - Live coverage of Round 3 on Eurosport Player and OTT platforms. Live or delayed coverage of DHL SuperFinals (featuring Round 3 highlights) on more than 25 broadcasters in 150+ countries plus Eurosport Player & OTT platforms.




 Jamie O’Leary, photos Pure ETCR