Electric Cars To Race In Downtown Long Beach This Weekend

LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Electric cars will be racing on the streets of downtown Long Beach this weekend during the world's first all-electric motorsport called Formula E racing

The event is in its round six of an eleven stop series and the second in the United States following a race in Miami last month.

"A lot, a lot of buzz around it so we're quite excited about it," said Racing Legend Michael Andretti, who owns two of the cars in a field of 20.

Andretti says the technology that's being developed for these electric race cars will one day filter into everyday life.

"Hopefully, they will get over to the road cars and make our cars more efficient and faster and everything that we want in a road car," he said.

Driver Salvador Durán from Mexico says going greener and cleaner shouldn't be limited to his sport.

"Cars that do not pollute but also the public transportation. It's going to be a big issue and we're being a part of it," he said.

The cars run on batteries that are electrically charge, which is why great care and constant research have gone into preventing a case of electrocution.

"We've had big crashes and no one has gotten hurt yet and they're very safety-conscious for us," Driver Scott Speed said.

Saturday's race is free for spectators.