Veloce Racing claimed victory within the 2023 Excessive E season opener following a post-race penalty for Rosberg X Racing on the Desert X Prix double header in Saudi Arabia.
RXR’s five-time World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson and Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky took the chequered flag within the first Grand Last of the championship’s new-look race format, however a penalty for rushing in a sluggish zone dropped the duo to 3rd.
Veloce Racing’s Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor due to this fact inherited the race win, whereas the Sainz XE staff of DTM and rallycross star Mattias Ekstrom and Laia Sanz claimed second forward of RXR.
The all-electric off-road championship debuted its new format at Neom’s 3.4km sandy course. The quickest 5 groups from the 2, four-lap, five-car qualifying heats progressed to the Grand Last, whereas the slowest 5 male/feminine driver crews made up the grid for the Redemption Race.
The brand new-look X44 staff, owned by seven-time Method 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, emerged as the highest qualifier because of a victory and second place for brand new signing Fraser McConnell, changing rally legend Sebastien Loeb, and his team-mate Cristina Gutierrez.
They had been joined within the last by Veloce Racing, Sainz XE, Chip Ganassi Racing and RXR.
Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky, Johan Kristoffersson, Rosberg X Racing
Picture by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Photos
It was RXR that made the very best begin to the ultimate as Kristoffersson, who was fifth at Flip 1, managed to blitz the run to Flip 2 to emerge within the lead from Veloce’s Hansen, with Ekstrom slotting into third.
The highest three rapidly started to interrupt away from the X44 machine pushed by McConnell and Ganassi’s RJ Anderson, who turned the primary retirement of the ultimate.
Anderson misjudged the observe at Waypoint 17 on the opening lap and rolled his machine, which induced a sluggish zone for the rest of the race.
McConnell was subsequent to hit hassle because the Jamaican rallycross star suffered a technical fault, leaving three automobiles to battle it out.
Taylor took over the RXR entry after the motive force change and rapidly set her sights on chasing down the three.1-second hole to the newly put in Ahlin-Kottulinsky.
The 2016 Australian Rally champion managed to shut to inside 1.5s on the penultimate lap earlier than misjudging a sluggish zone, which value her useful time, and due to this fact settled for second on the flag.
Nonetheless, that was upgraded to a victory and the complete 25 championship factors moments after the end, when Ahlin-Kottulinsky was discovered to have breached the velocity restrictions on the yellow flag zone. The Swede was handed a 136s penalty, that dropped the on-the-road winners to 3rd.
“It was a little bit of a miscommunication – I assumed it [the slow zone] was Waypoint 18 and never 17 so, after I acquired there, it was flashing yellow and it was too late,” stated Ahlin-Kottulinsky.
“It’s a bit disappointing. Johan acquired an incredible begin however sorry concerning the penalty however we’ll take a P3.”
Emma Gilmour, Tanner Foust, NEOM McLaren Excessive E
Picture by: Colin McMaster / Motorsport Photos
The Redemption Race additionally proved to be a dramatic affair as McLaren, Carl Cox Motorsport, JBXE, Abt Cupra and the Andretti squads battled for a most of eight championship factors for the winner.
McLaren’s Tanner Foust and Emma Gilmour clinched the victory in a race that was pink flagged after rolls for Andretti and Abt Cupra on the opening lap.
Contact on the run to Flip 2 between Abt’s 2023 Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah and Timo Schieder’s Carl Cox entry resulted within the former operating into Timmy Hansen (Andretti), who had nowhere to go and rolled. It was the second roll of the day for the Andretti entry after Catie Munnings ended the wrong way up when trying a move within the opening qualifying warmth.
After escaping the incident investigated by the stewards, Al-Attiyah utilized strain on chief Foust however, in making an attempt to dive down the within of the McLaren, the Qatari hit a patch of camel grass and rolled in entrance of the chief.
The incident allowed JBXE’s new signing Heikki Kovalainen into the lead forward of the recovering Foust earlier than the pink flags had been thrown because the automobiles reached the motive force change zone.
Racing resumed after a short delay with Hedda Hosas main for JBXE, though Gilmour and Christine Giampaoli Zonca (Carl Cox Motorsport) rapidly handed Hosas, who ultimately floor to a halt with a technical challenge. Gilmour held on to take a cushty win from Giampaoli Zonca.
The second spherical of the season, and last a part of the opening Desert X Prix double-header weekend, will happen on Sunday.
