After a decadelong wait, Formula E will make its debut in Japan on Saturday as Tokyo’s Odaiba entertainment hub hosts the whirring engines and squealing tires of the world’s fastest electric cars in the first Tokyo E-Prix.
It took a curiously long time for the series — which has held races on five continents, with events as close as in Seoul and Beijing — to debut in the country of Toyota, Honda and Nissan.
But that’s not been for a lack of will on the part of the series’ organizers, according to Pablo Martino, the head of the Formula E championship with FIA, the global motorsports governing body that also oversees Formula One and the World Endurance Championship among other racing categories.