Jameel Motorsport Bounces Back from Saturday Dramas to Top Qualifying for Desert X Prix Race 2

Jameel Motorsport enjoyed redemption at the start of the 2025 Desert X Prix Race 2 as they topped qualifying.

The team of Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor started Saturday on the back foot after a roll for Taylor during qualifying for the first race of the weekend. There was no repeat of that on Sunday, with them winning their Q1 Heat, and finishing second in their Q2 Heat, along with taking the fastest Super Sector time to beat Team Hansen's Andreas Bakkerud and Catie Munnings to the top spot.

In Q1 Race 1, Taylor made a strong start to lead into the first corner, but it was ACCIONA | SAINZ XE TEAM's Fraser McConnell who emerged from the tightening right-hander in the lead. From there the Jamaican dropped the hammer and held a 8.665s lead at the mid-race Switch.

In the Jameel entry, Kevin Hansen immediately set about closing that gap once he took over the car, and closed to just over two seconds by the start of the final lap.

His chance to pounce came at Gate 11 on the final lap where he set up a move which he completed two laps later. Sanz attempted to re-take the lead at Gate 15, but her wider entry opened the door for Carl Cox Motorsport's Timo Schider to sneak up the inside, relegating the Acciona Sainz car to third.

STARD's Amanda Sorensen and Patrick O'Donovan finished fourth after getting passed by Carl Cox's hard-charging Klara Andersson on the first lap.

Q2 Race 2 was won by Team Hansen after late race drama for Team KMS and Team EVEN dropped them out of contention.

JBX Powered by Team Monaco took an early lead courtesy of Christine GZ, but similar to the first corner in the first Heat, it was KMS' Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky who exited in the lead after a fine over-under move.

Christine GZ fell further back after EVEN's Hosås snuck up the inside at Gate 15, with the two making contact and Munnings also getting by. Hosås' charge continued right up to the Switch Zone where she slammed on the brakes late to close the gap to the KMS car to just 0.833s.

Kristoffersson maintained KMS's lead on the third lap, but a mechanical failure left him with only front-wheel-drive, allowing Ole Christian Veiby in the EVEN car to close rapidly. But the Norwegian's shot at victory unravelled when his car suffered a total rear motor failure.

The issues for the leading duo enabled Bakkerud to get by both to win for Team Hansen. JBX also capitalised to take second, with KMS and EVEN being classified third and fourth.

In Q2, an issue during the launch left Bakkerud and Team Hansen dropping back at the start, while Scheider maintained the lead for Carl Cox through the first turn despite contact at the rear from O'Donovan in the STARD car.

Schider ran wide at Gate 7, however, allowing Kristoffersson to move the KMS car into the lead. Further contact between the Carl Cox and STARD cars at Gate 16 on the opening lap allowed Bakkerud to close further, but he didn't get by.

The drama between those three allowed KMS to hold a 9.635s lead at the Switch, and that grew to 17.682s by the end of the race once Ahlin-Kottulinsky took over the car.

The Hansen machine, with Munnings driving in the second half of the race, finished fourth behind Carl Cox and STARD, but a missed Gate and a hit Gate flag respectively dropped both down the order.

Much like its sister car, the KMS-run EVEN entry made up for its Q1 struggles by winning Race 2 of Q2.

After a tight duel with JBX's Tommi Hallman through the first turn and first two jumps, Veiby edged into a lead his team wouldn't relinquish by Gate 7 on the opening lap.

It wasn't a foregone conclusion though, with the lead trio of EVEN, JBX, and Jameel all exiting the Switch Zone three abreast.

Three became two soon after with Christine GZ running deep into the turn back onto the track, while EVEN's victory was eventually secured by 4.849s over Jameel, with JBX taking third.

McConnell put the Acciona Sainz car on its side following an off-track excursion between Gates 7 and 8 while trying to catch the top three.

The Extreme E action concludes later today with the Redemption Race – featuring JBX, EVEN, Acciona Sainz, and STARD – at 16:26 local time, followed by the Final at 16:40 local time, which will include Jameel, Team Hansen, KMS, and Carl Cox.

For more information on timings and broadcasters in your local territory, click here.