'It's the future of the sport': Local racer chases dream in electric car

Ever sinceStefanRzadzinskican remember, he's wanted to be behind the wheel on a racetrack, with the roar of anengine at his back.

TheEdmonton-born race-car driver is doing that now, but these days the car is alot quieter than what he's used to.

"As I was pulling out of the pits for the first time, the words that came out of my mouth were, 'Weird!'" saidRzadzinski, who signed a deal last week with racing giants TomWalkinshawRacing andTecheetah, a Chinese motor-racing team which competes in the electric racing series, Formula E.

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"When you talk to yourself in the car,you can't really hear [the car],but you can hear yourself very clearly because it's so quiet.

'Missing that sound'

"You're missing that sound for sure, but all your other senses take over," he said. "As soon as you're racing, it becomes completely normal you don't notice it anymore."

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Last week,Rzadzinskiwas racingin Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,the firstof10 racesaround the world.

Despite a good start, Rzadzinski made contact with other cars and finished 12th.

Rzadzinski first made a name for himself racing at the Edmonton Indy, before moving onto NASCAR, thenthe Canadian Nissan Micra series for several years.

'Road relevant'

Last year he drove for Porsche in the GT3in Torontoand now he's trying his hand at electric racing, which hebelievesisthe future of motor sports.

"There's a reason why Mercedes and Porsche are going to be in the seriesand Audi, Jaguar, and Nissan are all already there. They're not there for fun;they're there to compete and win."

Rzadzinskiis home for Christmas, thenoff next week to Mexico City for the next race.Two more races in China follow in March.