Veloce Racing and X44 Vida Carbon Racing make strong starts in Chile
It was mixed fortunes for the 2023 championship contenders, though, with ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team (ASXE), Rosberg X Racing (RXR) and No. 99 GMC HUMMER EV Chip Ganassi Racing having problematic starts to the Antofagasta Minerals Copper X Prix.
A collision with the NEOM McLaren Extreme E Team (NEOM McLaren XE) in the opening lap left RXR with a puncture in Heat 1, while ASXE were forced to retire after suffering a technical problem a few corners later.
In Heat 2, No. 99 GMC HUMMER EV Chip Ganassi Racing’s RJ Anderson rolled his ODYSSEY 21 when fighting for position ensuring a DNF in the American outfit’s opening race in the Atacama Desert.
Heat 1
Qualifying 1 Heat 1 saw the three leading title contenders take to the grid together, with ASXE, RXR and Veloce Racing all battling it out for a strong start to Round 9.
As the teams hurtled down towards the first corner, Veloce Racing’s Kevin Hansen seized the advantage to take the lead, despite contact with RXR’s Johan Kristoffersson who took second place.
Kristoffersson was given no room to settle, though, as the Swede was immediately under pressure from NEOM McLaren XE’s Tanner Foust in third. Foust was eager to get ahead, but his attempted move proved costly for the Season 1 champions as the American’s NEOM McLaren XE car made contact with the RXR ODYSSEY 21 causing a puncture.
NEOM McLaren XE’s Foust was given a 10-second time penalty for the attempted overtake.
The resulting contact saw the ailing Kristoffersson and recovering Foust drop back, with ASXE and JBXE sneaking ahead.
That was not the end to the drama in the Heat, though, as in the opening lap melee ASXE suffered a technical problem which forced them into retirement, ensuring a difficult start for the championship leaders in Chile.
As Kristoffersson slowly toured back to the Switch Zone with a puncture, up ahead Veloce Racing stretched out a lead of over eight seconds.
Foust made a decisive move past JBXE’s Andreas Bakkerud to take second on track, but NEOM McLaren XE’s penalty for the collision with RXR ensured they were still third on the timesheets.
After a frenetic opening lap Heat 1 began to settle down.
The order on course remained unchanged after the driver change, with Veloce Racing’s Molly Taylor enjoying a trouble-free two laps to seal the Heat win for the British outfit, with Tamara Molinaro taking second on her JBXE debut with Hedda Hosås, in her first appearance for NEOM McLaren XE, finishing third.
After their first-lap woes, RXR were able to repair the damage to their ODYSSEY 21 to get back on course to take fourth, with ASXE rounding out the order after their DNF.
Heat 2
After showing strong pace in Free Practice, Timo Scheider was fastest out of the blocks to take the lead for Carl Cox Motorsport in Heat 2.
It was a close fight for second behind, with Andretti Altawkilat Extreme E’s Timmy Hansen putting on a firm move to get past X44 Vida Carbon Racing’s Fraser McConnell. The Jamaican initially had the edge, but Hansen recovered to take second with No. 99 GMC HUMMER EV Chip Ganassi Racing’s Anderson close behind.
Anderson and McConnell jostled for position in the opening lap, but it was the X44 Vida Carbon Racing driver who came out ahead, with ABT CUPRA XE’s Adrian Tambay close behind on his Extreme E debut.
Hansen began to press Scheider for the lead, with the German soaking up the pressure behind as the leading four teams crossed the finished line within two seconds of each other after the opening lap.
It was soon to be only a three-way fight for the win, however, as in pushing hard to gain positions Anderson hit one of the inside bankings and rolled his ODYSSEY 21. The American was unharmed in the incident, but the subsequent retirement was a major blow to the team’s title ambitions.
As the teams entered the Switch Zone for the driver change the running order was maintained.That was to soon change, though, as following a slow zone section for the stricken No. 99 GMC HUMMER EV Chip Ganassi Racing car, Andretti Altawkilat’s Catie Munnings and X44 Vida Carbon Racing’s Cristina Gutiérrez leapt pass Carl Cox Motorsport’s Lia Block.
Block was then relegated to fourth by a charging Klara Andersson for ABT CUPRA XE, as leader Munnings began to defend strongly from second-placed Gutiérrez.
The Spaniard made a decisive overtake around the outside of Munnings in the closing stages to seal a crucial Heat victory, while there was even more drama at the final corner as Andersson dropped to fourth. The Swede ran wide after a bad bounce over a bump on the Chilean course, promoting Carl Cox Motorsport’s Block back into the top three positions.
Q1 Heat 1 classification:
1. Veloce Racing 9:27.557mins
2. JBXE +8.848s
3. NEOM McLaren Extreme E Team +15.717s
4. Rosberg X Racing +4:16.629s
5. ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team DNF
Q1 Heat 2 classification:
1. X44 Vida Carbon Racing 8:52.914mins
2. Andretti Altawkilat Extreme E +1.777s
3. Carl Cox Motorsport +7.097s
4. ABT CUPRA XE +13.826s
5. No.99 GMC HUMMER EV Chip Ganassi Racing DNF
