FIA completes Formula E 2023 calendar without Seoul race

The FIA announced Wednesday that the 2023 Formula E World Championship will include a race in Portland, Oregon, completing the season calendar and effectively confirming that Formula E has pulled out of the Korean market

The Formula E Gen 3 car [FORMULA E]

The International Automobile Federation announced Wednesday that the 2023 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will include a race in Portland, Oregon, completing the season calendar and effectively confirming that Formula E has pulled out of the Korean market.

“The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is set to race for the first time in Portland, Oregon on June 24 next year following approval at the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting today,” the FIA said in a statement.

According to the FIA, the Oregon race completes the 2023 Formula E World Championship calendar, with races in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, India, South Africa, Brazil, Germany, Monaco, Indonesia, the United States, Italy and Britain.

The calendar for the 2023 FIA ABB Formula E World Championship season [FORMULA E]

Formula E in October canceled the 2023 Seoul E-Prix that was scheduled to be held in Jamsil, southern Seoul next year due to planned renovations at the Olympic Stadium.

“Renovation work at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, the venue for our first races in South Korea earlier this year, means we cannot return to the same location next season as originally planned and so we are exploring other options in South Korea to replace this venue,” Alberto Longo, co-founder and chief championship officer for Formula E, said in a statement at the time.

Wednesday’s announcement of the Oregon race and the lack of any remaining gap in the Formula E calendar suggests that the hunt for a new Korean venue was unsuccessful.

Formula E held its first two races in Korea this year on a road track in and around the Olympic Stadium complex in Jamsil in August.

The race had originally been planned to be held in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, years earlier, but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. When the race was finally rescheduled, feasibility studies pushed organizers to the Jamsil route, which was significantly less disruptive.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]