FORMULA SOL, S.C., a Mexican non-profit organization founded in May 1994, is dedicated to developing human resources in the field of electric vehicles, mainly through racing events.
ELECTRATON MEXICO 95, the first FORMULA SOL project, was launched in January 1995 with a one week course on how to build Formula Electrathon Experimental vehicles (F/Ex). Students from twelve universities attended and, as a result, eleven vehicles were built over an eight month period. Seven competitions were held in the season, four of which took place in Mexico City and the other three in the cities of Puebla, Colima and Acapulco.
Formula Sol projects are designed for accessibility to any committed group, regardless of their socio-economic status. For the 1995 season, in light of the economic crisis in Mexico, Formula Sol endeavoured to find sponsors to provide motor, controller and potentiometer to all participating teams.
The sponsors who came forward were the government of Mexico City (Departamento del Distrito Federal, DDF), the Institute of Engineering of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (IIUNAM), The Body Shop, Loaly Donuts, Aqua Nova, INVISA, Rio y Montaña, Kayak and Hotel Santa Catalina Acapulco.
The Mexican Federation for Motor Sports (FMAD) has been supportive since the outset of the project, providing qualified personel to assist in the safety and professional development of the sport.
The eleven teams that participated in the ELECTRATON MEXICO 95 project were:
The National Champion is presently QUANTUM (#21), a second generation vehicle built in the Universidad Autonoma de Colima (UAC). This University made good use of its previous experience to build a most efficient vehicle. The UAC also won the award for Best Institutional Support.
ELECTRATON MEXICO 95 marked the reintroduction of electric vehicle racing in Mexico. In the early 1970s, two electric car competitions took place, known as the "Carreras del Silencio" (Races of Silence). Participants in these early events were true pioneers and found next to no support. This contributed to the sport coming to a halt at that time.
The second project of FORMULA SOL, ELECTRATON MEXICO 96, will follow the same pattern as the previous one, save for the fact that, while the new vehicles are being built by the new teams, a championship will be held with vehicles already in existence.
Our CALENDAR OF EVENTS for 1996 was the following:
| February 22- 25: | Electric Vehicle Construction Workshop |
| February 25: | First race of the First Championship ELECTRATóN MÉXICO '96. |
| March 24: | Second race of the First Championship ELECTRATóN MÉXICO '96. |
| April 28: | Third race pf the First Championship ELECTRATóN MÉXICO '96. |
| May 26: | Fourth and final race of the First Championship ELECTRATóN MÉXICO '96. |
| June 9: | First race of the Second Championship ELECTRATóN MÉXICO '96. |
| June 23: | Second race of the Second Championship ELECTRATóN MÉXICO '96. |
| July 7: | Third race of the Second Championship ELECTRATóN MÉXICO '96. |
| July 21: | Fourth and final race of the Second Championship ELECTRATóN MÉXICO '96. |
FORMULA SOL wishes to acknowledge the support of Steven Lee van Ronk (Global Light and Power, publisher of Electrathon Competition News), and Ron Svensson, Ecosystems). Steve van Ronk introduced the idea of Electrathon racing in Mexico, taught the first two workshops and has been an advisor to FORMULA SOL. Ron Svensson has given general support in the import of components and in the setting-up of our internet page.
Contact: Lily Cohen
Electratón México
e-mail: organizacion at electraton.com.mx