Motor racing - London to host part-indoor Formula E race in 2020

LONDON (Reuters) - London will host the season finale of the all-electric Formula E series in July next year with a double-header of races that will start and end indoors at the ExCel centre in the city's Docklands.

The return to the capital after a three-year absence was announced by Formula E chairman Alejandro Agag at the Geneva Motor Show on Tuesday.

The ePrix on July 25-26 will have an indoor stadium section as part of a 2.4km clockwise circuit taking in the waterfront of the Royal Docks and streets around the centre in East London which hosted events at the 2012 London Olympics.

"Every motorsport series would love to host an event in London. This has been our desire for quite some time now," commented Agag.

"Formula E coming back to the UK extends beyond pure racing excitement, it’s also a strong message for London to tackle inner-city air pollution by promoting clean technologies and electric sustainable mobility."

Formula E is based in Britain but London has been off the calendar since 2016 after a race in Battersea Park led to complaints by local residents about disruption on their doorstep.

Agag, a Spaniard, had likened Formula E's absence from London to Real Madrid not playing in Madrid.

The series is in its fifth season with a race in Hong Kong this weekend.

Mercedes and Porsche are set to enter the sixth season in 2019-20, joining manufacturers like Nissan, Citroen, BMW, Jaguar, Audi and Mahindra.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Amlan Chakraborty)