"MIAMI - Thousands of fans turned out on Saturday for the first Formula E electric car race in the United States, with organizers saying the event along downtown Miami's bayfront would help boost more energy efficient mainstream automobile technology.

"Formula E will pioneer technology which will be used on normal road cars," British entrepreneur Richard Branson, the Virgin Racing team owner, told a press conference before the race.

"I hope 10 years from now the smell of exhausts from cars will be a thing of the past as much as the smell of cigarettes in restaurants," added Branson, whose Virgin Group sponsors a two-car team.

Miami is the fifth of 10 cities around the world to host races for the inaugural year of the Formula E championship, launched in Beijing in September 2014."
 
David Adams reports for Reuters March 14, 2015. [2]