Veloce steals the show in Energy X Prix Qualifying Round 2 as leaders fall

Saturday’s Power X Prix qualifying shook up the Excessive E championship image some extra. After Rosberg X Racing and X44 Vida Carbon Racing, who comprise the highest two within the standings, rolled in single-car qualifying, each have been marred by poor finishes within the second spherical that relegated each to the underside of the weekend standings. ACCIONA | Sainz XE Crew, the one different crew with a mathematical shot on the title, conversely has a lot of the momentum coming into Sunday as do Veloce Racing.

Regardless of having a new driver pairing in Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor for the Power X Prix and past, Veloce completed second in Spherical #1 of qualifying earlier than successful Warmth #2 forward of JBXE. When mixed, their nineteen factors within the classification scored them their first qualifying victory and makes them the primary crew not named X44 or RXR to win the session total because the sequence’ inception.

“It’s been a unbelievable day,” stated Hansen. “We did a extremely good job with the arrange and driving enchancment, and I feel we might see that within the first qualifying. We stayed clear all over and had good tempo, simply half a second off P1. Within the second spherical, we saved cool. We had an important place going into it and acquired a lead after the primary lap and had a usually good run. We simply have to make just a few small enhancements for tomorrow, however I feel we could be actually pleased with this primary day.”

Hansen and Taylor notched their first profession XE qualifying victories, although Taylor beforehand gained Spherical #2 on the 2021 Arctic X Prix as an RXR driver.

“[Veloce is] an important crew and we’re having a good time, so to have a primary day like this has been actually encouraging,” supplied Taylor. “There may be nonetheless plenty of work to do on my aspect, however all in all we’ve been capable of push the place we might and handle the place we would have liked to. Now we’re actually wanting ahead to tomorrow.”

After successful the primary spherical, ACCIONA | Sainz positioned second in Warmth #1 behind Andretti United XE. It’s Andretti’s second warmth win after the season opener in Saudi Arabia.

Nonetheless, a lot of the drama surrounded RXR and X44. X44 ran in podium place early on earlier than Sébastien Loeb elected to drop to the rear for clear air, which appeared to work albeit at the price of a powerful end. Cristina Gutiérrez completed fourth within the X44 machine forward of XITE Power Racing. Nonetheless, even when the crew has discovered a method to make use of, they nonetheless face an uphill battle as Gutiérrez’s rollover in Spherical #1 revealed the automobile’s chassis doesn’t meet rules, and X44 should serve a five-second penalty within the Loopy Race.

RXR’s day got here to an abrupt finish when Johan Kristoffersson spun after contact from behind by Nasser Al-Attiyah, and the ensuing injury proved terminal. With RXR out of the image, Al-Attiyah’s ABT CUPRA XE team-mate Klara Andersson held off Taylor for the win however the incident resulted in a thirty-second penalty that relegated the crew to fourth.

“It was a troublesome begin to the weekend for our crew,” reads an announcement from RXR. “We have been hit with our first unlucky setback in Q1 when our Odyssey 21’s again wheels dug into the grass after an intricate nook, inflicting Mikaela to roll, regardless of her greatest efforts to forestall it.

“The crew labored extremely exhausting to rebuild our automobile, so it was prepared for Q2. However regardless of Johan beginning Q2 with a powerful lead, we ended with a DNF after a collision with ABT CUPRA XE brought about our automobile to spin and later lower out earlier than coming into the change zone.

“Whereas we finish the day final within the standings, not all hope is misplaced for our crew. Ought to we win tomorrow’s Loopy Race, we nonetheless have an opportunity to clinch the championship title!”

Classification

Qualifying Spherical #2 outcomes

Warmth #1 outcomes

Warmth #2 outcomes