Kiro Race Co have stepped away from being a factory team in Formula E as they enter a new partnership with Porsche.
Previously known last season as ERT, the team have been taken over by American owners and will become a Porsche customer team starting in Season 11 for the Gen3 Evo era.
The team was in desperate need of investment off the track and need to find some success on it. ERT finished rock bottom of the Teams’ Championship in 2023/24 with just 23 points.
In fact, this has been a common site in Formula E. The team have not won a race since Nelson Piquet Jr grabbed two wins on his way to becoming the series’ first world champion in 2014/15.
Going through several rebrands over the years, the team will be hoping the latest American ownership will see a change in fortune as FE enters the Gen3 Evo era.
Florian Modlinger explains how Kiro Race Co are at the ‘same’ stage as Porsche were with Andretti two years ago
With Kiro Race Co’s new partnership, there will be six cars on the FE grid in Season 11 with a Porsche powertrain, with Andretti and the factory Porsche team making up the other four cars.
Andretti became a Porsche customer team in 2022/23 after previously running BMW powertrains. That year, the American outfit gave a title-winning package as he claimed the championship by 30 points.
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Andretti fell back in Season 11 as Dennis could only manage one win and seventh in the standings, and the team will be hoping to get back to the front and fight for the championship. Speaking with The Race, Porsche’s director of factory motorsport in Formula E Florian Modlinger explained how their new partners Kiro are at the ‘same stage’ as Andretti were two years ago.
“The powertrains are already integrated but it was a short amount of time from London [the 2024 season finale] to make this happen, but the cars are ready,” he said.
“They’ve done their rollout and prepared for Valencia. Clearly we are at the stage where we were two years ago with Andretti, so we need to get to know them better and they need to get to know us, how we work and so on.
“The first time we will go together on track will be Valencia, and then let’s see how the cooperation builds up.”
Who will drive for Kiro Race Co in 2024/25?
Kiro will sport a striking bright yellow livery for the 2024/25 season, but at the time of writing, they are yet to confirm the drivers that will drive their new Porsche powered car.
Dan Ticktum has reportedly secured his seat with the team for next year, with 2024/25 marking his fourth season in FE. The Brit has spent the last three seasons with the Nio/ERT outfit.
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But Ticktum has struggled to find consistent results. The 25-year-old has only scored 41 points across the last thee years, registering his best result at Misano in Season 10 with fourth.
Sergio Sette Camara was also expected to retain his seat alongside Ticktum, but the Brazilian’s future has been thrown into uncertainty. Sacha Fenestraz was reportedly in talks with Kiro over a possible move as he hopes to keep his FE career alive.