Da Costa Drives to Victory for BMW in Ad Diriyah
– Season starts in style with nail-biting finish to SAUDIA Ad Diriyah E-Prix
– Da Costa earns maiden victory for BMW i Andretti Motorsport in Formula E
– Gen2 car, timed races and ATTACK MODE provide scintillating spectacle
2018 SAUDIA Ad Diriyah E-Prix (Rd 1)
Race re-cap
Antonio Felix da Costa narrowly clung on to victory in Ad Diriyah, fending off a fast-charging Jean-Eric Vergne in the closing laps to deliver a maiden win in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship for BMW i Andretti Motorsport.
The Portuguese driver led away from pole position – despite the blushes of having to reverse into his grid slot after overshooting his mark. Da Costa looked comfortable out front in the opening phase of the race confirming the pace of the BMW powertrain shown in pre-season testing.
However, the ominous speed of DS TECHEETAH and Vergne meant Da Costa briefly dropped to second, before the reigning champion fell down the field as he served a drive-through penalty for a technical infringement relating to power regeneration.
Vergne exited the pits in fifth and fought his way through the pack and back onto the tail of the race leader. With a late safety car to recover Jose Maria Lopez’s GEOX DRAGON machine – which suffered suspension damage – the cars closed up and gave Vergne a chance to make a lunge for victory. Even though the gap reduced to under half a second, the countdown clock ran out with Vergne having to settle for second place.
Joining Da Costa and Vergne on the podium was Jerome D’Ambrosio in his first race for MAHINDRA RACING. Starting the race in sixth, D’Ambrosio held position over his nearest rivals, including Andre Lotterer who missed out on a podium place – suffering the same fate as his team-mate with a penalty.
With an exciting new era of electric racing underway, Formula E returns to Marrakesh on January 12 – for round two of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship. There’s all to play for in the closest, most intense and unpredictable racing series on the planet.
For more analysis and to read the full race report, visit – www.FIAFormulaE.com
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
Antonio Felix da Costa
“I feel good. I’ve had two really hard years to be honest. You know how it is, this motorsport world – people quickly forget, and you’re only as good as your last race. It wasn’t always easy, but it was always the plan. We kept together, kept working hard – I have to thank the team for that.”
DS TECHEETAH
DS TECHEETAH
Jean-Eric Vergne
“First of all, I want to congratulate Antonio and BMW – I know how it feels to have a couple of hard years. I think we had an amazing venue racing in the desert. I want to wish a massive welcome to DS in our team – I wanted to do it with a win, but I’ll take what I have today. All I can promise them is to fight for more wins.”
MAHINDRA RACING
MAHINDRA RACING
Jerome D’Ambrosio
“I also come from two difficult years, so it’s great to start this new relationship with the team in this way. We’ve worked really hard over the past few months to be ready and I think we were really fast and good in race pace. I’m really happy to be a part of such a great team – there are loads of great people and a great atmosphere. I think we’ve got some good days ahead of us.”
How about that for an arrival? @afelixdacosta, @JeanEricVergne and @thereal_JDA pull up onto the podium in Ad Diriyah! #AdDiriyahEPrix pic.twitter.com/xcKjiM9GIm
— ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) December 15, 2018
Tunnel trio as top-three park on the podium
New era of racing – new car and new start
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About the ABB FIA Formula E Championship:
The ABB FIA Formula E Championship is the closest, most intense and progressive category in motorsport, bringing electrifying racing to the streets against the backdrop of landmarks, skyscrapers, and skylines in some of the world’s most famous and recognisable cities – such as Hong Kong, Rome, Paris, and New York.
Formula E enters a new and exciting era in season five with the competitive debut of the next generation car. The striking new model boasts a distinctive futuristic design and demonstrates a clear step-up in performance with almost double the energy storage capacity – allowing teams and drivers to complete a full race distance at higher speeds without needing to swap cars. The Gen2 car is a testament to the ongoing advancements in battery and electric vehicle technology in the space of only four years.
The fifth edition of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship will see 11 teams and 22 drivers tackle a variety of challenging circuits in 12 cities – across five continents – in a bid to be crowned champion. Formula E will be making its debut in the Middle East on December 15 for the season-opener in Ad Diriyah, with the championship once again coming to a close in New York City over the course of two days on July 13 & 14.
The concept of Formula E is to act as a platform to test and develop road-relevant technologies, helping refine the design and functionality of components and infrastructure – actively speeding-up the transition and uptake of electric vehicles on a global scale.
Formula E is continuing to attract some of the leading names and renowned brands in motorsport and the automotive industry. For this season, Formula E has nine manufacturers on its roster – including Nissan – taking over the existing entry from Renault – and BMW linking-up with Andretti. This number is set to rise further still, with the highly-anticipated inclusion of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche in season six.
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About ABB:
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in power grids, electrification products, industrial automation and robotics and motion, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalisation with two clear value propositions: bringing electricity from any power plant to any plug and automating industries from natural resources to finished products. As title partner of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, the fully-electric international FIA motorsport class, ABB is pushing the boundaries of e-mobility to contribute to a sustainable future. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 147,000 employees. www.abb.com