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Three months after Sebastien Buemi took his first Formula E championship in controversial fashion, the electric racing series returns to competitive action at a brand new circuit.
The Hong Kong Cental Harbourfront Circuit is a 1.860km circuit in Hong Kong, featuring 10 corners that twist around the streets near Central Harbour.
The circuit, however, is not the only aspect of the season making its debut this weekend. A few drivers will make their debut: Jose Maria Lopez (DS Virgin), Maro Engel (Venturi) and Felix Rosenqvist (Mahindra).
Mitch Evans and Adam Carroll will also make their series debuts on Sunday, with brand new team Jaguar Racing entering Formula E for the first time. The Jaguar brand, in open-wheel racing, had previously competed in Formula 1.
There also is a debut for Techeetah, who took over the entry from Team Aguri brand. Ma Qing Hua and Jean-Eric Vergne will drive the Techeetah car, powered by Renault.
The driver line-up for the opening race of the 2016/17 season is:
| Sebastien Buemi | Renault e.Dams |
| Nico Prost | Renault e.Dams |
| Lucas di Grassi | ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport |
| Daniel Abt | ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport |
| Sam Bird | DS Virgin Racing |
| Jose Maria Lopez | DS Virgin Racing |
| Loic Duval | Faraday Future Dragon Racing |
| Jerome d’Ambrosio | Faraday Future Dragon Racing |
| Nick Heidfeld | Mahindra Racing |
| Felix Rosenqvist | Mahindra Racing |
| Stephane Sarrazin | Venturi Formula E |
| Maro Engel | Venturi Formula E |
| Robin Frijns | MS Amlin Andretti |
| Antonio Felix da Costa | MS Amlin Andretti |
| Jean-Eric Vergne | Techeetah |
| Ma Qing Hua | Techeetah |
| Nelson Piquet | NextEV NIO |
| Oliver Turvey | NextEV NIO |
| Adam Carroll | Jaguar Formula E |
| Mitch Evans | Jaguar Formula E |
Nico Prost is looking to become the first driver to win three consecutive races, having won both races in Battersea Park at the end of season two. Stephane Sarrazin, at Venturi, is currently on a run of 10 points scoring finishes in a row: he finished in the points in every race last season.
Although he finished in the points in all ten races, Sarrazin finished in five different positions: second, fourth, fifth, ninth and tenth.
Hong Kong is the opening race of what should be an excellent season: Jaguar entering, new teams, new drivers, new powertrains, a new, aggressive front wing, and new circuits including New York and Montreal.
