Formula E announces new Berlin race venue

(Reuters) - The electric Formula E series plans to race in central Berlin in May because last year's venue at the city's disused Tempelhof airport is now being used to shelter asylum seekers, organisers said on Monday. Formula E said in a statement that the new layout, which remains subject to approval by city authorities, will wind around Strausberger Platz towards Alexanderplatz with the pitlane on Karl-Marx-Allee. "It is fantastic news that we have been able to find a new location to race in Berlin," said Formula E chief executive Alejandro Agag, whose series has important German partners including DHL and BMW. Germany, home to major car manufacturers, is a key market for Formula E -- the world's first fully electric series now in its second season. Facilities at the old Tempelhof airport to the south of the city are being used to shelter some of the million people who have sought refuge in Germany, many of them fleeing conflict in the Middle East and Africa. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond)